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iPhone 16 Pro Max Can a professional photographer with a 13 Pro shoot better photos than newbie with a 16 Pro?

1096bimu said:
Is that the only parking lot they've been to? Or did they go to many different parking lots, took many different photos and these are the only good ones out of hundreds of bad ones?

Also I never said every parking lot has a beauty value of zero. If you find a good photo of a parking lot then almost by definition, that's an exception.
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I think an exceptional photographer will be able to get a good picture out of any parking lot, at any time of the day. It'll take a lot of skill and creativity, for sure, so in that sense, yes, it's unusual to get an artistic picture at a non-scenic spot. But once a photographer conceives of a good concept for a photograph, it shouldn't take hundreds of shots to get a good one. A lot of walking around the parking lot looking for good angle/lighting/etc to form the concept, sure. But once a solid concept is formed, it should take maybe dozens of pictures to get a good one, not hundreds.
 
Answer to the original post: Yes, a well-trained and talented professional photographer will produce better results. Great photography is not about the tool in your hands, its about composition, patterns, subject-matter, and light.
 
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Yeah.. because the iPhone / camera is just a tool. The photographer makes the image, not the camera. As a photographer, I hear this all the time.. “Wow! Your camera takes awesome pictures”. It’s me, the photographer, not the camera.

Same goes for archery, golf, firearms etc. all tools wielded by the user.
 
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The average phone/camera user does not think about the image composition which makes a great image. It is not just the subject but its relationship to its surroundings. The professional photographer will win with a brownie camera.
 
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I would say 95% of the people with iPhone 16 pro Max and last years 15 pro max haven’t used the camera to their fullest or used them to their full capabilities.

For example, I am do videos and short films on a freelance basis. One time I appreciate about my 15 pro max is the Log video recording feature that was introduced on the pro model phones. But in reality I would say 98% of people with the phone will never touch that feature.

But honestly, photography is all about lighting, environment, and if you have some knowledge of photography. Most people just point and click with no thought given to much else. That’s why Apple hasn’t been shy of marketing pro model photos to filmmakers, photographers, and creatives or tech YouTubers as the pro model are targeted towards this demographic.
 
Maybe unpopular opinion but you’re not going to outperform talent by paying to “win”.

Any photographer with talent and experience will outperform a novice regardless of the medium/camera used.
 
I am a prosumer who, when I go out “to take photos,” carry a Sony A7RV with a selection of prime lenses, shoot RAW and post-process in Capture One. But when I’m out and about, I carry my iphone 14 pro, and it’s “the best camera since it’s the one that’s with me.”

The thing about good equipment is it gives you more options - which includes the option to really mess up. I’ve often taken a photo with my “good” camera where I’ve forgotten to adjust one of the settings, and then the snapshot I took with my iphone as a backup saves me (especially shooting in ProRAW and using RAWpower). There also have been times where the lighting is tricky - high contrast in extreme dynamic range, noon-time light - where I’ve taken a photo with my Sony, worked on it post-processing, came out with something I liked - and found it’s better than the iPhone backup shot, but not that much better. iPhone does a lot of the heavy lifting.

I wish Apple would stop sharpening so much as the default, but it does a surprising good job when I take the time to stop, compose, frame a scene appropriately - though never as good as when I have my good equipment. (Especially the Sony prime lenses….the 24 and 50 mm GMs are incredible).
 
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Pros get all the limbs in frame or intentionally cut at midpoints (mid thigh, mid shin, etc)

Amateurs cut off fingers, foreheads, toes, half feet, etc lol

Pay attention to the edges of your photo and that will improve them immeasurably

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An amateur with a professional camera on full auto will take a better quality photo than a pro with an iPhone, but the subject and composition comes from experience…
 
azhava said:
"Better" in what way?
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Quality. There's still no substitute for a larger sensor and high quality glass.
My point was, the pro with an iPhone will likely take a more pleasing photograph - as they know how and what to look for.
 
RRC said:
An amateur with a professional camera on full auto will take a better quality photo than a pro with an iPhone, but the subject and composition comes from experience…
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Only in the most technical sense! The photos a pro will take with an iPhone will be nicer photos than those of a typical snap-shooter given an EOS-1D. Every time.
 
Bungaree.Chubbins said:
Only in the most technical sense! The photos a pro will take with an iPhone will be nicer photos than those of a typical snap-shooter given an EOS-1D. Every time.
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I'm not sure an amateur with high-quality camera will take a technically better photo than a professional with a cheap camera. The amateur won't know what adjustments to make, and the professional will know how to compensate for the limitations of inferior equipment.
 
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A good photographer could take a better photo with a disposable camera than a noob using the best camera in the world (obviously). If Miyamoto made a game on the NES and a noob made a game using Unreal Engine 5, which do you think would be the better game 😅
 
Mr.Fox said:
A professional photographer will pick up a camera. This is a real camera, like Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus and so on. And the iphone camera is a misunderstanding. Tape it up with duct tape, duct tape and forget it like a bad dream.
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The best camera is the camera you actually have with you when you need it.

If your job is a pro photographer and you're taking photos for work - obviously you'd have a DSLR.

if you want a camera for regularly snapping family memories, you're far more likely to have your phone with you in the moment.

That's where mobile phone cameras win.

As above though, no camera will replace user skill for other factors that matter like composition, etc.
 
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Doesn’t matter what phone or camera you have. It’s all about composition.
 
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