Fashion Photo Shoot Conducted Using iPhone 3GS

[MacRumors]

Fstoppers posts an in-depth look at a recent fashion photo shoot conducted by fashion photographer Lee Morris using only an iPhone 3GS for the camera work. While the photos were processed in Photoshop, Morris notes that photos taken with professional-level cameras would be subjected to the same treatment. Post-processing, many observers have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of the images.

I posted a few of the images and asked people to critique them (never exposing that they were shot on my cell phone). I couldn’t help but laugh when a few of our readers claimed that these were “the best images I had ever taken.” Nobody ever claimed that they were too grainy, too soft, or lacked detail.

Morris also produced a video showing how the shoot unfolded and demonstrating how photography should be more about taking good photos than obsessing over technical details.

There are so many photographers who are obsessed with noise, sharpness, color, dynamic range, megapixels, chromatic aberration, moire, distortion, etc. So many photographers get wrapped up in the technical side that they forget how to take compelling images. This video is for them.

Article Link: Fashion Photo Shoot Conducted Using iPhone 3GS

 

[iphones4evry1]

Great Video!!! (if you watch to the very end, there's a comment about AT&T vs Verizon)

"I don't want to hear any more complaints about you not having enough equipment to shoot great behind the scenes photos." ---- But he had several grand worth of lighting and white screens - not to mention the service that he used to touch up the photos (but...

I agree with the photographer that it's more about how you arrange the objects and the angle of a picture than is the quality of the image. Yes, the quality matters, but the setup and angle have much more of an impact.)

Should professional camera makers be scared? Maybe not yet, but it's becoming apparent that non-professional cameras are catching up quickly to those $1500 cameras that the pros buy. For example, the handheld camera that I bought for $199 recently is 12MP and has over 30 different scene selections and a bunch of adjustments. I can take darn good pictures with it!
With the iPhone 3GS's 3.2MP, if you are adjusting the size of the image down to fit on your computer screen, 3.2MP is plenty ... and it just becomes about the quality of the processor and software and ability to make adjustments.

If he had used an iPhone 4, he would not have had to worry about a phone call interrupting his photo shoot - the call would have been dropped before the phone ever rang.

 

[frozencarbonite]

It's all about lighting and composition.

 

[friedmud]

As a serious amateur photographer... I totally agree that too many photographers focus on tech specs instead of thinking about creating compelling images.

Photography is ART. Art has nothing to do with megapixels. It's about conveying emotions and inspiring your viewers.

It's not that better technology has no role... just as with better canvas or paints for a painter... every piece of technology can be utilized by a good professional. It's just that the technology is certainly secondary to good artistic vision and excellent field skills. Only after you are truly a master of your craft does the technology start to make a (significant) difference.

Every time I see a soccer mom walking around with a huge DSLR with a stock lens on it and it set to Auto... I want to find out what salesman at Best Buy told her that was a good idea and kick him right in the nuts!

One thing I regularly tell people that are interested in my camera gear is: DONT BUY A DSLR UNLESS YOU WANT TO DO PHOTOGRAPHY AS AN ART FORM. A really good point and shoot will produce better pictures on Auto than a DSLR. And just as with this story, if you give a point and shoot to someone with good creative vision and is a master of their craft they can create spectacular photographs.

Anyway... this isn't going anywhere. If you want to get into photography... just start learning about how to take compelling pictures... even if all you have at your disposal is an iPhone...

 

[xStep]

Before seeing the story here, I had just finished watching that video and enjoyed it. Totally pro work flow that shows what these people can get out of their equipment. If you don't want to watch the entire video, the results can be seen in the last 23 seconds.

Here is a music video done on the iPhone 4. Read the comments to understand some of the interesting look.

 

[nagromme]

They’ll really love the iPhone 4 then!

...
Should professional camera makers be scared? Maybe not yet, but it's becoming apparent that non-professional cameras are catching up quickly to those $1500 cameras that the pros buy.
...

It’s a combination of that (consumer gear’s specs improving) along with a second, more important factor: people realizing that results matter more than specs and bullet lists.

 

[iphones4evry1]

They’ll really love the iPhone 4 then!



It’s a combination of that (consumer gear’s specs improving) along with a second, more important factor: people realizing that results matter more than specs and bullet lists.

I agree. It's all about the angle the photo is taken, how you pose the object you are photographing ... that is a lot more important than the fancy equipment and touch ups. I have seen a lot of amateur photography on Flickr and other parts of the internet that have had much more style and impact than some magazine covers (not all, but some) that I see. Sure, they might not have the fancy photoshopping, but the angle and impact makes the view say "Wow" when they see it, even though it may not have been as touched up as as pro photo that doesn't have as much wow factor. Consider the photo at the top of this thread - the art in the background, the look in her eyes, the way her head is tilted and the color of the shirt she has on - that can make much more of an impact than whether the image has been photoshopped or not.

 

[parish]

Great Video!!! (if you watch to the very end, there's a comment about AT&T vs Verizon)

Ah, so that was what that was about. Sounded like he pronounced it ver-eye-zon is that right? I assumed it was verry-zon (mind you, I do pronounce OS X Oh Ess Ecks )

 

[rhett7660]

As a serious amateur photographer... I totally agree that too many photographers focus on tech specs instead of thinking about creating compelling images.
...snip...

Easy there you might get all the 8 megapix phone camera people up in roar over this comment. Specs are everything!

And for the record I agree with this statement completely.

 

[dude-x]

Ah, so that was what that was about. Sounded like he pronounced it ver-eye-zon is that right? I assumed it was verry-zon (mind you, I do pronounce OS X Oh Ess Ecks )

It's Ver-eye-zon. The company I used to work for was a branding company and they said it's a cross of Veritas and Horizon. So Verizon...

 

[Fuchal]

It helps to have thousands of dollars of lighting equipment too.

 

[deceiver]

yeah in a studio set up like that + prof make up artists + photochop people, I could prob shoot good pics like that with the razr3! Agree with the rest of his points that equipment doesnt make the photographer but this is a bit misleading here...

 

[DylanLikesPorn]

This is a bogus video. You need to spend thousands of dollars on lighting equipment and studio space and retouch artist to re-create those shots. But if I had a choice between an iPhone 3GS or an entry level DSLR, I'd pick the DSLR.

 

[PsudoPowerPoint]

I especially liked the part where he says:

I posted a few of the images and asked people to critique them (never exposing that they were shot on my cell phone).

If people didn't react negatively to the technical quality of the image, then it says a lot about the camera on the 3GS.

 

[goobot]

I'm gana kill him for that last comment

 

[Doctor Q]

I think this was a blatant attempt by MacRumor to boost business by putting a cover girl in a news story. But MR goofed and put it on Page 2.

This fashion shoot does show that the camera in the 3GS can be very effective in the right hands. Meanwhile, we the photography amateurs manage to take poor photos no matter how good our cameras are!

 

[eat me]

This is a bogus video. You need to spend thousands of dollars on lighting equipment and studio space and retouch artist to re-create those shots. But if I had a choice between an iPhone 3GS or an entry level DSLR, I'd pick the DSLR.

bravo. At least someone here is not a total tool. The guy is just PRing himself, and you lot are happy to swallow up his hypocrisy.

ps - I do fashion, so I'm not just talking out of my ass. These things are not done with 3Gs.

 

[Evangelion]

This is a bogus video. You need to spend thousands of dollars on lighting equipment and studio space and retouch artist to re-create those shots.

That also applies if he had used a DSLR, so what's your point?

 

[Evangelion]

ps - I do fashion, so I'm not just talking out of my ass. These things are not done with 3Gs.

No ****, Sherlock?

You are right. They are done using expensive lighting-equipment, expensive lenses, expensive cameras and tons of post-processing. Not to mention tons of skill and talent But apparently you can het good results even if you replace some of that uber-expensive gear with an iPhone.

 

[rhett7660]

bravo. At least someone here is not a total tool. The guy is just PRing himself, and you lot are happy to swallow up his hypocrisy.

ps - I do fashion, so I'm not just talking out of my ass. These things are not done with 3Gs.

Did you even watch the video? He stated he was going shoot the same way but replace his camera with an iPhone camera. He was still and did use the lighting etc.

 

[mdwsta4]

An entertaining video if nothing more. People who argue megapixels, fps, etc don't seem to get it. it's not about what you use, but how you use it.


LOL! What 'Pros' do you know that buy a $1500 camera? Hell, even my 5D2 costs more than that and I'd hardly consider myself a pro

Should professional camera makers be scared? Maybe not yet, but it's becoming apparent that non-professional cameras are catching up quickly to those $1500 cameras that the pros buy

I'm not quite so harsh, but in most cases I do agree that people who buy DSLRs do so because they automatically think they're going to get better pictures which is not true. Especially with the stock lens, auto mode, and no post processing. if they don't take the time to learn, they'll almost guaranteed to be disappointed with the results.

Every time I see a soccer mom walking around with a huge DSLR with a stock lens on it and it set to Auto... I want to find out what salesman at Best Buy told her that was a good idea and kick him right in the nuts!

One thing I regularly tell people that are interested in my camera gear is: DONT BUY A DSLR UNLESS YOU WANT TO DO PHOTOGRAPHY AS AN ART FORM. A really good point and shoot will produce better pictures on Auto than a DSLR. And just as with this story, if you give a point and shoot to someone with good creative vision and is a master of their craft they can create spectacular photographs.

 

[mdatwood]

This is a bogus video. You need to spend thousands of dollars on lighting equipment and studio space and retouch artist to re-create those shots. But if I had a choice between an iPhone 3GS or an entry level DSLR, I'd pick the DSLR.

The only hard to cheaply recreate light in the whole shoot is the strip light. They even mention in the video that 2 of the lights they went and got at home depot for $50 total. The light boxes you can easily make at home on the cheap. I've known both of the guys for a long time and remember when they were making everything in order to save money. Also, keep in mind they used hot lights. No fancy flash mechanisms or anything else that required special equipment.

Studio space? Empty corner in your house and some sheets...boom studio.

Touchup? A little know how and trial and error and it's pretty easy to get good pictures if they are taken right to start with.

Regardless, the point of the video was to show that any camera can have nice artistic shots pulled out of it. Like any good experiment he only changed a single variable (studio shots done with a D3 would have gone through all the same processes).

bravo. At least someone here is not a total tool. The guy is just PRing himself, and you lot are happy to swallow up his hypocrisy.

ps - I do fashion, so I'm not just talking out of my ass. These things are not done with 3Gs.

Of course he's PRing his site. Why does MR post articles?

He is a professional photographer and does all types of photography. You're right that a shoot of this nature isn't usually done with a 3GS, but the point was to show that is COULD be done with a 3GS and turn out pretty well. I think he pretty successful.

 

[daver11]

Ah, so that was what that was about. Sounded like he pronounced it ver-eye-zon is that right? I assumed it was verry-zon (mind you, I do pronounce OS X Oh Ess Ecks )

I'ts pronounced like "horizon" but with a "ve" instead of "ho", so the first syllable is "verr" instead of "whore",

 

[Feng Shui]

Should professional camera makers be scared? Maybe not yet, but it's becoming apparent that non-professional cameras are catching up quickly to those $1500 cameras that the pros buy.[/B]

Pros don't buy entry-level SLRs.

 

[pol0001]

With all the light equipment, it is relative easy to produce good photos with the 3GS. Even the camera in my 3G can make stunning photos if the light conditions are right.

But that said, I think he is right that photography is more about composing an image and knowing how to make use of what your camera can do.