iPhone 4 (no filter)

That moment when you're walking down a quiet alley in east London and you suddenly spot a very moody cat sitting gracefully in front of a scarlet-red door, and you left your fancy camera at home. Oh wait!, you do have a camera on you - your smartphone. Result!





To be fair, these days, many people now rely on their smartphones entirely for their photography needs. With their ability to instantly share photos on social media, and great editing apps such as VSCO and Snapseed, sometimes smartphones are even more suited to some people's needs than dedicated cameras.





iPhone 4 + VSCO cam









iPhone 4 + VSCO cam

Personally I use a 5 year old iPhone 4 (I know, I know). The camera on my iPhone is now considered mediocre at best, but I still manage to get satisfactory photos with them. Satisfactory to me anyway. My favourite app right now is VSCO cam. Unfortunately after updating my iPhone to the latest firmware permitted on it, I've lost most of my VSCO presets, so I usually don't use filters anymore. I aim to get the 'perfect' light in the first place. If you ask me, it doesn't matter which smartphone you have, you can still get great photos. You just have to learn how to use the camera on the smartphone - that's all.





I also find my iPhone very handy as a backup for my analog cameras. Sometimes I'd run out of film and something awesome would happen. Those are the moments when I'm most grateful for the camera on my smartphone. Since analog cameras have really changed my style of shooting, I often yearn for manual controls on my iPhone. There are some apps like Camera+ that give me a level of control - way more than using the default camera app.





iPhone 4 (no filter)





iPhone 4 (no filter)

Smartphones particularly lend themselves perfectly to street photography in my opinion. Not only because they are small and unobtrusive, but also because people usually don't take you seriously when you shoot with one. Also, because virtually everyone is pointing their smartphones and shooting snapshots all day. They are super silent and have wide angle lenses that can focus really close. Seriously, some of my best street shots have been with my iPhone. Again though, I think one must take the time to learn the skills of shooting with a smartphone to get the best out of them. Learning the skills makes you quicker on the draw. For instance in the above photo of the lady in the stripped dress, I turned around and saw this view which only lasted for about then seconds, after which she got up and left.









As usual, I may get some commission if you do take the class because I'm an affiliate of Craftsy, but I honestly think it's one of the best smartphone photography classes you'll ever find. Ever.