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Photos from the winners of the sixth annual iPhone Photography Awards have been posted on the IPPA website, displaying some of the best pictures taken with an iPhone over the course of the past year.

The photo subjects range from portraits of animals and people to landscapes, with the first place photo depicting a close-up shot of a horse. The second and third place photos were taken during a Holi festival of colors and a snowstorm, respectively.

ippawinner.jpg
In addition to the top three photos of the year, the website also displays the winners from a number of categories, including architecture, nature, seasons, and food.

ippanaturefirstplace.jpg
According to the rules of the contest, all photos were taken with an iPhone. No external manipulation was permitted, though photo editing apps such as Instagram and Snapseed were allowed to be used.

snowstorm.jpg
Apple's iPhone remains the most popular camera choice on photo sharing website Flickr, a title that it has held since 2009. As the iPhone has grown in popularity as a point-and-shoot camera replacement, Apple has worked hard to improve its photo taking capabilities. The iPhone 5 introduced an impressive 8-megapixel camera with enhanced HDR and low-light capabilities and the iPhone 5S, coming in September, is expected to offer further camera improvements.

Article Link: iPhone Photography Awards Showcase Best iOS Photos of 2013
 

blue22

macrumors 6502a
Oct 15, 2010
505
18
iPhoneography...

Camera phones are certainly getting better, but won't be replacing dSLR's anytime soon.

What matters most IMHO is your creativity and passion for the field of photography, not what tools you utilize to make captivating photos from.

That said, it's great to see mobile photography getting the kudos it deserves.
 

nStyle

macrumors 65816
Dec 6, 2009
1,488
987
These are certainly good but its irrelevant what camera these came from. Obviously, from a technical standpoint, they aren't the clearest, sharpest, most accurate photos. They are filtered up "meh".
 

cclloyd

macrumors 68000
Oct 26, 2011
1,760
147
Alpha Centauri A
Camera phones are certainly getting better, but won't be replacing dSLR's anytime soon.

What matters most IMHO is your creativity and passion for the field of photography, not what tools you utilize to make captivating photos from.

That said, it's great to see mobile photography getting the kudos it deserves.

I remember reading an article on The Verge of a photographer who doesn't like to use the best hardware, as they are too good. He said that you can make much better photos with skill and medium grade hardware than just the best hardware alone.

Also dont DLSR cameras take in like 200x more light for less noise in photos than point-and-shoot?
 

phillips321

macrumors member
Mar 2, 2011
39
0
So what would stop me from taking a photo on a dSLR, editing the exif data and resolution to match a valid iphone photo, adding a bit of noise to the image and then submitting?

There is no way to prove beyond all doubt that a photo did actually come from an iphone...just saying (but i would also like to be proved wrong)

[FYI the only way this would be possible to guarantee authentic iPhone photos would be for the iPhone to sign the photo's with a private key when they are taken]
 

star-affinity

macrumors 68000
Nov 14, 2007
1,923
1,216
Impressive photos! It won't be long before phones reach digital camera picture quality.

I think it will be long.
It's hard to get anything else than a small lens and small sensor into a mobile phone, that's where the problem lies.
 

iMikeT

macrumors 68020
Jul 8, 2006
2,304
1
California
The "pro photographers" are getting scared.


Having experience as a professional commercial photographer, I will come out and say that it is reasonable to have some amount of fear with the growing trend of iPhone/camera phone photos becoming accepted in the world of photography. In fact, I have friends who work for ad agencies that have sought out photography in the style of those taken with iPhones.

Despite the growing trend of amateurs using their phones for creativity and dare I say "art", it takes more than just luck for quality work. With the further democratization of creativity, access to creative tools, and forums where anyone can post their work, we as a society may suffer from the lack of quality for a few generations.

Personally, I've never entered a photography contest. The reason is the fact that we have a close-up for a horse winning picture of the year while there are other photos that were far more compelling that it. Every time I've been encouraged to enter my work in one of these contests, I always look at the prior year's winners and they're always some sort of nature/landscape shot. It makes no difference how creative a person is, if a person can point a camera and knows how to open a shutter at the luckiest moment, they can win in these contests.
 

TC03

macrumors 65816
Aug 17, 2008
1,272
356
Camera phones are certainly getting better, but won't be replacing dSLR's anytime soon.

What matters most IMHO is your creativity and passion for the field of photography, not what tools you utilize to make captivating photos from.

That said, it's great to see mobile photography getting the kudos it deserves.
No but they are replacing compact cameras. I don't own a dSLR and use my iPhone 5 as my primary camera. Especially outside when the light conditions are good, the photos are very good. Of course, your average dSLR would be way better, but for average holiday snapshots it's perfectly capable. I think in the future, there will either be smartphones with cameras or dSLR, the segment inbetween will become less relevant.
 

macs4nw

macrumors 601
I remember reading an article on The Verge of a photographer who doesn't like to use the best hardware, as they are too good. He said that you can make much better photos with skill and medium grade hardware than just the best hardware alone.

Also dont DLSR cameras take in like 200x more light for less noise in photos than point-and-shoot?

Sorry, that makes no sense at all. Eliminating skill from the equation, doesn't make it a valid comparison. Your skill level isn't going to evaporate, just because you use a better camera. It's true that a novice most likely can't extract the kind of available quality, built into top-notch hardware.

But a skilled photographer can definitely get better results with "the best hardware", than with any currently available cell-phone camera.
 

Jsameds

Suspended
Apr 22, 2008
3,525
7,987
I wish they could be a filter-free showcase. You can take any old picture and filter it to death until it ticks all the boxes for an arty and moody photograph which then goes on to win awards. It just de-values the whole thing IMO.
 
Impressive photos! It won't be long before phones reach digital camera picture quality.

Well I don't see phones ever reaching dedicated digital camera's (or at least for a long, long time) because both technologies will be increasing in unison. However, I think you can argue that the current best phone camera's are as good as the mid-to-upper digital cameras of about 5 years ago.
 

BJMRamage

macrumors 68030
Oct 2, 2007
2,710
1,233
mehh. they're OK. i can see some work done to these...some of it good, some of it not good.

was hoping to see spectacular photography here.
 

marty1980

macrumors 6502a
Apr 22, 2011
742
654
There were two features that really drew me to iPhone over an Android: (1) The Camera, (2) The selection of apps (particularly games)

I have been extremely happy with my iPhone pictures. We no longer carry point-and-shoot cameras. We still use out DSLR plenty, though.

I attached a photo of a flower that I snapped at a Butterfly garden in upstate New York. I really like the quality of this photo and I have not altered the photo.
 

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PracticalMac

macrumors 68030
Jan 22, 2009
2,857
5,242
Houston, TX
Had to happen, this award.
Nothing intrinsically wrong with this, and I suspect it helps truly pro and serious amateurs be more recognized, as there is much the iPhone cant do photo wise.

I hope this will spur casual phothogs to step up to specialized cameras.


Still, I like to know the story behind this photo!
snowstorm.jpg
 

cclloyd

macrumors 68000
Oct 26, 2011
1,760
147
Alpha Centauri A
Sorry, that makes no sense at all. Eliminating skill from the equation, doesn't make it a valid comparison. Your skill level isn't going to evaporate, just because you use a better camera. It's true that a novice most likely can't extract the kind of available quality, built into top-notch hardware.

But a skilled photographer can definitely get better results with "the best hardware", than with any currently available cell-phone camera.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/14/4620040/frank-ockenfels-photography-interview
 

blue22

macrumors 6502a
Oct 15, 2010
505
18
great points...

No but they are replacing compact cameras. I don't own a dSLR and use my iPhone 5 as my primary camera. Especially outside when the light conditions are good, the photos are very good. Of course, your average dSLR would be way better, but for average holiday snapshots it's perfectly capable. I think in the future, there will either be smartphones with cameras or dSLR, the segment inbetween will become less relevant.

I completely agree. :cool: My iPhone is my primary mid-range camera now too, only need to use a dSRL when I want to do night photography and sharper photography in general.



I remember reading an article on The Verge of a photographer who doesn't like to use the best hardware, as they are too good. He said that you can make much better photos with skill and medium grade hardware than just the best hardware alone.

Also dont DLSR cameras take in like 200x more light for less noise in photos than point-and-shoot?

Compared to a high-end dSLR, camera phones apertures and sensors are very small, and thus less light and sharpness can be achieved with those devices.

High-end cameras are great, but if one lacks an understanding of proper lighting conditions, how to "push" the ISO, and general composition skills, then all they're doing is making "nice & clean" images, but not photography, rarely offering pieces that are interesting or unique. Nothing wrong with that by itself, but it's a whole different level of achievement when one actually pushes the boundaries of the tools they're using and refining their craftsmanship within that field they're utilizing to create imagery from.
 
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