Official: This is the best picture taken on an iPhone this year

Boy Meets Shark IPPAWARDS
(Image credit: Erin Brooks, IPPAWARDS)

Ever wondered what it takes to get the very best out of your iPhone's camera? The entrants of The iPhone Photography Awards (or IPPAWARDS as they're snappily known on the official site) certainly seem to know how with some truly stunning shots taken on everything from an iPhone 7 Plus to a snazzy new iPhone 15 Pro Max.

If you've ever felt like you need to see exactly what your iPhone camera can do, then a quick glance at the winners of the IPPAWARDS is a surefire way to 1. show you iPhone cameras are truly excellent, and 2. your shots will never compare to some of the camera wizzes out there.

And the winner is...

Shot in black and white at (one would presume) an aquarium, Grand Prize Winner Erin Brooks has shot an image of a lad, hand planted firmly on the glass as sharks swim on the other side.

A stunning picture to be sure, but if I was someone who had to clean that glass I wouldn't be best pleased to see the boy and greasy mitts smothering my gleaming window to the artificial deep. At least he's not tapping on it.

The image was taken on iPhone 15 Pro Max, making use of the iPhone's incredible camera on the back — and proves that to get the best shots, one has to break some rules. like touching the glass.

The other photos in the list don't seem to break any rules, although they are particularly incredible to look at. My favorite is Paddy Chao's Night Sky in Lake Tekapo, which won 1st place in the landscape category. The sky is expansive, the forest in its shadow unnerving and dark — something I'd happily mount on the wall. And, perhaps more pertinently, there's no flagrant ignoring of aquarium rules. Check out the winners on the IPPAWARDS winners webpage.

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Tammy Rogers
Senior Staff Writer

As iMore's Senior Staff writer, Tammy uses her background in audio and Masters in screenwriting to pen engaging product reviews and informative buying guides. The resident audiophile (or audio weirdo), she's got an eye for detail and a love of top-quality sound. Apple is her bread and butter, with attention on HomeKit and Apple iPhone and Mac hardware. You won't find her far away from a keyboard even outside of working at iMore – in her spare time, she spends her free time writing feature-length and TV screenplays. Also known to enjoy driving digital cars around virtual circuits, to varying degrees of success. Just don't ask her about AirPods Max - you probably won't like her answer.