The Growing Trend Known As ‘I-Phoneography’

The growing trend ‘i-phoneography’ challenges the concept of traditional photography, although it could be argued that this is merely a process of technological evolution in an age where technology and social trends are becoming increasingly interrelated.

It is undeniable that the image quality that can be achieved from mobile phones is amazing considering that lens technology did not exist in phones until 2002. Since then progress has been relentless, 61% of the global population is now using a mobile phone.

One serious effect of this increase concerning photographers is just how much will the digital camera market be affected? With more people choosing to use their mobile phones to take photographs digital cameras run the risk of becoming obsolete. Good news for phone manufactures, bad news for the camera industry.

With this considered should we be embracing or resisting this trend shift? My personal view is that although phone technology is advancing it is only impacting amateur photographers and enthusiasts. The more serious and professional photographers will always use digital SLR’Ss. Also phone cameras still have a long way to go before their integrated technology can match the performance of an SLR.

One huge benefit of having a camera within a phone is that it can be very liberating by bringing the beauty of photography to millions of people who otherwise would most probably not participate.

Perhaps the biggest impact of phone camera’s is ‘realtime global documentation.’ By this i mean that news stories and events can be documented and shared around the world in almost realtime. The ability to view the world as others see it instantly. If used correctly for educational and reporting purposes this surely has to be the greatest result of I-Phoneography’

For those who embrace the trend here are a few tips to consider.

1. Capture. The beauty of an iphone is that it allows you to take a photo instantly without too much planning, use this to your advantage and never miss an opportunity.

2. Use apps. The app store offers a huge collection of apps that can create almost any effect imaginable for your images.

3. Share. Don’t be greedy, upload your work on social media sites and showcase your talent to the world!

4. Engage. Give feedback on other peoples images, share information and advice, you may even begin to develop a following.

5. Manage. Get into good habits such as deleting unwanted images, and backing up your data. Why not Sync with i-photo and make storage of your data efficient and easy to navigate.

Tony Mclaren is the managing director of Xseed Photography ltd, to see samples of his company’s work or for more photography tips and advice visit: http://www.xseedphotography.co.uk