What is iPhoneography All About?

[Editor's Note: I'm not sure if you are aware, but I'm kind of sort of maybe obsessed with iPhoneography and mobile photography, in general. If I'm not using my dSLR for a client shoot, I'm definitely using my iPhone to capture everything. A few writers and I have touched on the subject before, but I wanted somebody who would be dedicated to the cause, and presto! Enter: David Pringle. I was directed to him and discovered he would be the perfect candidate to help me push information about the wonderful world of mobile photography. I wanted him to introduce himself to you and let you know why you should be using your smart phone for more than Facebook and Twitter (which reminds me: are you following us on both? DO IT! NOW!!! I hope you enjoy his article and the future posts regarding this up and coming art.]

I was excited when Fuel Your Photography editor, Patrick Onofre, asked me to write an iPhoneography column for this site.  When I began carrying my first iPhone, its first-generation camera was poor at best. This fact did not deter me from exploring the quickly-evolving pack of photography apps exploding onto the App Store.  When the iPhone 4 was released, a whole new world was given to us.  The image-quality on the iPhone 4 was much improved over the previous iterations and allowed for the wonderful art that we iPhoneographers created to be printed larger, be more explorative, and look better.

You may be wondering why a site devoted to beautifully conceived and technically-well executed photography would focus on mobile photography.  After all, the cameras in most cell phones are sub-par and offer no manual control or interchangeable lenses.  In fact, those reasons are why iPhoneography has become so popular.  If I pull out my iPhone to snap a photo, most people barely notice.  If I pull out a $5,000 DSLR, people take notice.  As a matter of fact, they stare, ask questions, walk away, hide, or give a cheesy grin.  An iPhone is so common that most people ignore it. This way I get a candid and natural photograph. Other benefits are that an iPhone camera is dead-simple to use and is always at your side.  The best camera is the one that is with you.

The iPhone also offers a host of apps which give you the ability to post-process or filter your photos in many different manners.  My intent in this column is to offer my readers my fair evaluation of these apps intended to be used on iOs devices to create photographic art.  Some apps are designed to take interesting photos, others apply filters or effects.  Recently, I have purchased an iPad 2 and am discovering the world of iOS post-production.

As a professional photographer in the field and an artist, I should be able to bring both angles on the apps and the devices on which they are used. I will give you real-world examples of how I used them and how they are best used by you. Hang tight to your iPhone and join me in a quest to create the best mobile art that we can.

–David Pringle