What is iPhoneography?

Many people have asked me if “iPhoneography” is a word that I invented. Although I’d love to take credit for the creation of the word, it has been in use since the original iPhone 2G made photography with a cellular phone a reality. Wikipedia defines iPhoneography as “the art of creating photos with an Apple iPhone. It's a style of mobile photography that differs from other forms of digital photography in that images are shot and processed on the iOS device.”


Many uses have been found for iPhoneography images; 

• Street photography allows the photographer to photograph people more discretely than using a full size digital SLR. 
• Retro photography uses specialized “apps” to allow the photographer to create old-style photos resembling Polaroid, Kodak Instamatic and other styles of photos that resemble images from the 50’s and 60’s. 
• Creative photography allows the photographer to use apps but not limit themselves to “retro” looks. Many photographers and artists also use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture to edit and process their photos giving them more creative options. 
• General Photography allows you to always have a camera with you, always ready to take pictures when the opportunity arises.

Many purists believe that iPhoneography images should be both shot and edited with only an iPhone. Personally, if I had my choice of editing on a 3.5 inch iPhone screen or a computer screen, I’ll always go for the larger screen. I guess my “purist” days are over. iPads are also useful for editing images using the same apps that are available on the iPhone.

Additional resources for iPhoneography can be found in the excellent book, “The Art of iPhoneography” A Guide to Mobile Creativity. Also check out the online iPhoneography blog to learn more. 

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