2016 saw the biggest jump in camera quality for the iPhone, and the iPhone 7 Plus made almost every photographer's mouth water. It didn't matter if you were a pro or just someone who liked to take nice pictures – the camera was amazing, the photos it took were beautiful, and the price was MUCH lower than your standard DSLR
The double camera aside, features like portrait mode and even just simple black and white shots made the iPhone 7 Plus look like a DSLR and then some, which made it all the more impressive that sports and event photographer Brad Mangin claims he made more money shooting events with his iPhone than his DSLR cameras.
2016 ended in a most fitting fashion for the new way I am trying to earn a living as a freelance photographer. On December 27, I was on Montara Beach photographing a college volleyball player on assignment for Volleyball USA magazine. The big story here? I was shooting the entire assignment with my iPhone 7 Plus.
Mangin details how liberating and freeing it was to simply shoot and edit on the iPhone without the extra bulky equipment. He agrees at one event that he wouldn't even bring his Canon cameras: just his iPhone 7 Plus.
My iPhone was not a gimmick. It was a real tool that allowed me to make great pictures that could be delivered in a timely manner to help the TOUR get images from the event out to the world. My iPhone also allowed me to go behind the scenes and bring the fans following the TOUR on social media closer to the players. Because I am not loaded down with big and loud SLR cameras, the players, caddies, and everyone else around the game of golf is much more relaxed around me when I shoot with my iPhone.
The photos he took at the events he shot were beautiful, and you can check out a number of them down below, but this raises a question: is iPhone photography slowly taking over DSLR photography? Do you think that in the next few years, everyone will be shooting on their iPhone, ditching their Canons and Nikon's by the side? Or do you think there will always be a place for DSLR photography?
Let us know what you think in the comments below!
