The eye is the most important thing…
One of the things I hear quite often is, “It’s easy for you to take good pictures because you’ve got an expensive camera.”……I’ll be honest, that one really frustrates me.
Yes, I use a Nikon full-frame Nikon camera with a 45.7-megapixel sensor and it’s fantastic. It gives me large files, sharp detail, and flexibility in editing. But it doesn’t make the photo for me. It doesn’t walk the streets looking for opportunities, choose the composition, find the light, or anticipate the moment before it happens. That part is always down to me as a photographer.
And the truth is, some of my favourite images weren’t taken with the Nikon at all. They were taken on my trusty iPhone 13.
Because what makes a great photo isn’t the price tag of the kit. It’s about four much simpler things:
Seeing: training your eye to notice details others might miss.
Composition: arranging shapes, lines, and patterns within the frame.
Light: understanding how it changes the mood of a scene.
Timing: reacting quickly enough to capture a moment before it disappears.
That’s why the best camera really is the one you have with you. And often, that’s just your phone.
Every shot in this blog I took using my phone. Its not even a particularly new or fancy phone, its and iphone 13 from 2021, and has a 12MP camera, that shoots f1.6 as default. One tip I have is don’t reply on the inbuilt camera app, try and find something that gives you a little more control around the settings. I often use the camera option in the lightroom mobile app, this allows me to capture RAW files with more data that the native camera (although I know newer iPhones have RAW capability in the camera.)
The Pixies live at Brixton Academy
The energy comes from the light beams, the silhouettes of the band, and the raised hands in the crowd. It is all about atmosphere and timing.
Shot on iPhone 13. 5mm. 1/45sec. f1.6 ISO 400.
London Skyline at Sunset
Strong layers: warm golden light on the buildings, the sweep of the Thames, and St Paul’s standing proud against the sky.
Taken on iPhone 13. 5mm 1/540sec f1.6 ISO50.
High Peak Engine House, Derbyshire. England.
Texture and drama. The crumbling stone, heavy clouds, and the bright wagons create contrast and mood.
Taken on iPhone. 1.5mm 1/2400sec f2.4 ISO 25
Panning the Moped in Harpenden
Motion and Light. Panning helps to blur the background while keeping the rider sharp, creating a sense os speed and motion.
Taken on iPhone13 5mm. 1/10sec. f1.6 ISO32.
So yes, a camera like the Nikon Z7 has its advantages. It gives me control, detail, and options in post-processing. But it isn’t the reason a picture works. They work because of seeing: noticing something worth capturing, and then using composition, light, and timing to bring it together.
The gallery below are all iPhone photos too.
It’s not the camera. It’s the eye behind it.