iPhones are pretty cool, but....

I watched a video tonight about the upcoming iPhone — specifically its camera features. The video was by a photographer, who was quite impressed at the quality of images modern phones can capture. Indeed phones have been getting better and better, but are they going to replace professional photographers anytime soon?

Phones, because they’re small, have very tiny lenses for photos. This means that a lot of what changes in each generational update aren’t the optics, but rather the software; things like a shallow depth of field (soft blurring of the background behind a subject) can be faked using clever software algorithms and, while not perfect, definitely fall into the “good enough” range for most everyday users.

Modern photography, though, isn’t just about the camera. And while professional cameras and lenses have far better sensors and optics than anything possible on a phone, the real magic comes not from the equipment but from the photographer’s knowledge.

Lighting, exposure, composition, and digital retouching all factor heavily into what modern photographers are able to do. For us, the process involves understanding our subject’s strengths, developing creative concepts, coaching our clients through their poses, perfecting lighting, and using software to turn our photos into works of art. While the hardware we use has its value, a great photographer can do more with less — I once watched a high-end commercial photographer create a professional-looking product image in his home using nothing but a reading lamp and a phone. He was able to do it because he understood how to manipulate the light to capture the most dramatic image possible.

I love that phones have made it easier than ever to take great looking photos and share them with the world, but I’m pretty confident that photographers are going to be around for a long time yet. The difference between professional photos and iPhone photos is often quite stark, and since photographers’ tools are also evolving, I don’t expect that to change anytime in the foreseeable future.