There’s no doubting the “Shot on iPhone” campaign has been successful for Apple, and the 10 winners of the latest contest showcase the best photos taken all around the world using iPhone devices from the 7 to the XS Max.
Running from January through the beginning of February, Apple’s contest started off with some controversy. When it was first announced, the prize was nothing more than exposure, stating that the winning images would showcased on billboards around the world, Apple retail stores, and online including Apple.com, Instagram, Twitter, and Weibo. What was notably missing was any kind of payment or cash prize to the winners for image usage, to which Apple quickly rectified and updated the terms of the contest to include a licensing fee.
Nikita Yarosh (Belarus), iPhone 7 / IG: @yarosh.nikita_
A panel of 11 notable judges, including the official White House photographer for the Obama Administration, Pete Souza, and Apple’s Vice President of Marketing, Phil Schiller, selected the winning images. They included comments for each photo as to why they stood out and what they liked about them.
Blake Marvin (US), iPhone XS Max / IG: @blakemarvin
The images are undoubtedly amazing, but if you're like me and have driven by previous "Shot on iPhone" billboards and wondered how on earth did they shoot that on an iPhone, then this next part may be of interest to you. Apple noted for the contest that, "Photos can be straight from the camera, edited through Apple’s editing tools in the Photos app or with third-party software." Basically, a little enhancement was allowed to help the images stand out even more.
Andrew Griswold (US), iPhone XS /IG: @andrewgriswold
Darren Soh (Singapore), iPhone XS Max /IG: @darrensohphoto
Dina Alfasi (Israel), iPhone X /IG: @dinalf
LieAdi Darmawan (US), iPhone XS /IG: @adidarmawan
You can see all of the winning images at Apple's Newsroom.
Lead Image by Alex Jiang (U.S.), shot with iPhone XS Max / IG: @justphotons
Man, great images. You can always make something amazing if you just open your eyes to the possibilities around you.
I like the landscapes on this website as much as the next person, but that first shot of the tennis court and the third one of the dropplets are outstanding. I wish we had more like them highlighted here. They are proof that if you get creative, you don’t really need an amazing camera or epic locations.
Thanks for sharing, I’ll be sure to check out the rest in the morning.
That first one, of the Choi Hung Basketball Court in Hong Kong, has to be one of the most-photographed scenes in Hong Kong. Sure, it makes for a good photo, which is why it's so popular. But why is this photo any better than all the other millions?
My thoughts exactly. And it is objectively oversaturated...
One of the judges had this to say about it: "There is actually life behind the surface of an average apartment building in an unknown city."
Anyone who's spent any time on Instagram will know exactly where this is, as it is one of the most photographed spots in one of the biggest cities in the world...
I can see where you’re both coming from, but there are some arguments to be made.
First, from a photographer’s point of view, the saturation is a little much. However, from a marketing standpoint, trying to reach the average person, it’s right about what it needs to be. I feel a lot of people here only see photography as art, and forget that it’s also used as a marketing device for the average Joe who don’t look at photos the same way we do. Personally, I’m more bothered that photos using the teal style sky won.
As for the location, that’s entirely subjective to what photos you’re exposed to. You could have given me 50 guesses and I don’t think I ever would have guessed Hong Kong because I’ve never seen this location before. I could easily say that “Nachi Fall” and “Futami Okitama Shrine” are locations everyone knows, because I follow a lot of Japan based photographers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if many people here haven’t seen them more than once or twice.
I’m not trying to start a beef, I just think perspective is important