The Guardian

The rise of mobile phone photography

From candid snapshots to sleek ad campaigns and everywhere in between, mobile phone photography
has advanced rapidly in a few short years
Richard Gray
Fri 16 Nov 2012 23.50 GMT

Your phone camera is your best camera, because it's always with you. When people say this about
mobile photography, or iphoneography as it's also called, they're usually talking about snapping those
unexpected moments: a man in a banana suit on his way to work; a celebrity involved in a punch-up;
or maybe just a beautiful sunset.
Certainly, mobile photographers are much more prolific than average amateur "big camera"
enthusiasts. They have their photographic brains switched on all the time, looking for possibilities.
And the ubiquity of these cameras, combined with their unobtrusiveness, have made them
particularly effective at capturing candid moments in public spaces.

But, for many, the initial snap is just the start. It's the raw material for a new creative process. Most
mobile phone cameras take very dull photos. But it doesn't matter, because there are hundreds of
apps to help you turn them into something amazing. And that's what's really at the heart of it. Costing
pennies, mobile photography apps give you the creative power of Photoshop, and more besides,
without being tied to your desk. This makes mobile photography incredibly liberating for the creative
photographic spirit. Suddenly, every free moment is an opportunity to both take and craft images.
These apps have accelerated the creative process, as well as allowing you, quite simply, to be more
creative, more of the time, for less money.

Instant gratification
The ability to show your images to the world on platforms such as Instagram has made mobile
photography an incredibly vibrant genre. A few years ago, I might have taken the world's greatest
photo, but it would be destined to sit unseen on my hard drive – and that wouldn't have given me
much of an incentive to take more. Of course, I could upload my big camera photos to photo-sharing
websites such as Flickr, but that would mean shuffling back to my desk, connecting cables. Sharing via
mobile phone is hassle-free. Your latest creation can be exhibited to the world immediately – and
people can give feedback straight away.

People love getting comments about their photos and take great inspiration from the images of others.
It's little wonder, with such a vibrant web of personal exchanges, that the genre has been booming,
resulting in millions of people taking great photos every day, and experimenting (or
"appsperimenting") with their images in highly creative ways.

The importance of apps for mobile photography means the genre is characterised by, and criticised
for, highly processed images that can bear little connection to reality. But big camera photographers
distort reality, too. Before they shoot, they choose shutter speed, aperture and ISO to achieve their
desired effect. Many photographers tweak their images in Photoshop. So where does this idea of
objective photographic reality come from? We see reality all the time through our eyes, so it's nice to
take a break from it.

Who's taking the images?

At the last count (September 2012), Instagram, the largest dedicated platform for mobile
photography, had 100 million users worldwide and hosted 4 billion photos. Facebook hosts far more
photos (around 140bn) but not all are taken with mobile cameras. More significantly, perhaps, the
second most popular camera on Flickr – which caters for all types of camera – is the iPhone 4S, just
ahead of the iPhone 4.

There are other dedicated mobile photo platforms, such as EyeEm and Starmatic, but Instagram was
the first of its kind and has built up a critical mass of users that makes it difficult to challenge. Had
Flickr launched a mobile app a couple of years ago to integrate with its online archive, Instagram
might never have existed.

A large number of mobile photos are snapshots of daily life – people simply Facebooking their lives –
but people are doing a lot more with mobile photography nowadays than simply taking photos of their
birthday parties or their cats. Having discovered they now always have a camera with them, that there
is very little cost involved and that they can interact socially through their photos, millions of people
have taken up photography through their smartphones as a creative hobby.

Suddenly, thanks to the social platforms, photography has a purpose. People have started taking more
aesthetic photos that connect (thanks to hashtags) with complete strangers across the globe. What's
more, the apps have released enormous creativity in people who might otherwise never have got
involved with photography.

Pioneering online forums such as iphoneart.com and wearejuxt.com are showcasing some amazing
mobile photographers and artists (see images below) and are leading the way in a new genre of
photography. Other groups, such as instagramers.com, have taken mobile photography offline, with
more than 330 regional groups worldwide organising regular photo walks and meetings.

Online communities such as wearejuxt.com and iphoneart.com are leading proponents of mobile phone
photography. Clockwise from top left: Long Day ... Wrong Way by JQ Gaines; In the Parlour by Janine; Snow
Crab Mist by MaryJane Sarvis; Bluesman by David Norbut.
Where does mobile photography fit?
Traditional photojournalists have most to fear from mobile photographers. If something dramatic
happens on the street ... sorry, someone's already there taking a photo of it. Your average citizen
photojournalist won't compose as well as a professional, but they will be on the spot to capture the
moment and be able to publish immediately (heavy processing has no place in good
photojournalism).

With commercial photography, the need for high resolution and impeccable light-handling makes
phone cameras completely inadequate. Resolution in fine art photography can also be an issue, but, in
theory at least, the high-end aesthetic photography world is not concerned with kit – just results. As
mobile cameras deliver increasingly higher resolution photos, the results can be printed ever larger.

Mobile photography can be very good at street and editorial photography. Mobile photographers can
get close to their subjects and not be recognised as a photographer, allowing them to get more
authentic images of people. Michael Christopher Brown recently produced a compelling photo essay
on the revolution in Libya using only an iPhone (below). Although he was criticised for overprocessing
his images in Hipstamatic, shooting on the iPhone gave him a level of access prized by professional
photographers.

A selection of images from Michael Christopher Brown’s photo essay of the Libyan revolution. Photograph:
Michael Christopher Brown

Mobile photography and business

Businesses have realised that mobile photography, through Instagram, provides a new channel for
effective visual advertising, and are making use of the social media platform in two ways. The first
method is to open an account under their own name and simply feed photos to their followers. The
second, more controversial, way is to hire Instagram users with a large number of followers, so-called
superusers, and get them to take photos featuring their products.
To avoid having a reputation as a platform full of covert junk ads, Instagram has started to take steps
to avoid creating so many superusers in the future. But, to date, it is not known to have taken any
steps to ask its existing superusers to be more explicit about when they post sponsored photos, or to
stop feeding the platform with so many.

And it's not just businesses that have realised the full influencing power of Instagram. An Israeli
group, Once in a Lifetime (onceinalifetime.org.il), recently invited a group of 10 Instagram superusers
to tour the country and take pictures – which were distributed to more than 1.5 million followers in
total.

The filters so commonly seen on Instagram are even feeding back into the mainstream. A recent Sky
Sports campaign featured sepia-tinged framed images reminiscent of one of the app's most popular
filters.

Photography agencies are also tapping into the trend. With clients increasingly on the lookout for
photos with the authenticity of imperfection, agencies are turning to non-professionals and the 250
million-plus photos uploaded every day to the internet. Some, perhaps ahead of the curve, are also
seeking out the heavily processed look typical of mobile apps.

Two agencies have been set up specifically to sell mobile photos: Foap will market your best mobile
photos for a flat $10, and pay you $5 if they sell; and Scoopshot allows mobile photojournalists to set
their own price, then takes a commission on each sale. Both agencies seem to avoid photos with
any heavy processing.

The $1bn price tag on Instagram perhaps served as a wake-up call to many businesses that there is
money to be made in mobile photography. But as a young genre, it remains to be seen how money will
be distributed.It also remains to be seen how Instagram will deal with the commercialisation –
and potential devaluation – of its brand.

The offline world of mobile phone photography

Exhibitions As a young genre, mobile photography is still finding its own identity. Its roots may be in
online and digital, but it has aspirations to be taken seriously by the rest of the photography world
and various physical exhibitions have taken place. The LA Mobile Arts festival recently brought
together 200 mobile artists, and a recent Instagramers exhibition in Spain was accompanied by a day
of talks and presentations.
Some exhibitions are the result of competitions. One of the biggest, the Mobile Photo awards, takes its
winning photos on a tour of various US cities. The iPhone Photography awards, the longest-running
competition (since 2007), offers no prizes, just the prestige of winning. Instagramers London and
Photobox will host an Iconic London exhibition in mid-December, accompanied by a competition to
find the Photobox "motographer" of the year.
Publications There is a small body of mainly instructive literature about iphoneography, most notably iPhone
Artistry by Dan Burkholder and iPhone Obsessed by Dan Marcolina, who has also just released an interactive
app for the iPad with step-by-step editing tutorials and reviews of some of the key apps. High-end print
magazines devoted exclusively to fine art mobile photography, such as Spain's Shooters have also started to
emerge.
Forums There are dozens of daily blogs and community websites about mobile photography. One of the
trailblazers, and the originator of the term "iphoneography", is iphoneography.com, which provides up-to-the-
minute reviews of apps and hosts a gallery of mobile work. Instagramers.com also posts regular news of mobile
photography events and developments.
Tutorials There are various recorded tutorials online, such as iPhone Camera Essentials, and several groups
have organised real-time workshops. Offline, the photography department of Kensington and Chelsea College
launched the UK's first five-week evening class earlier this year, and the Photographers' Gallery will be running
a similar course from mid-November to mid-December.