The iPhone has become a viable photography option over the last few years and has been used by many magazines and professionals. Now, the iPhone’s rear camera was used to capture TIME Magazine’s photo shoot for its “Firsts: Women Who are Changing The World” series. And they look really good.
There are 46 photos and were all captured by Brazilian photographer Luisa Dörr over the last year. What’s interesting is that she used an iPhone 5, an iPhone 6, an iPhone 6s and an iPhone 7. In an interview with Dörr, she explains that she uses the iPhone for her assignments as it’s easier to carry, feels less intrusive and she doesn’t have to bother with lenses, batteries or a memory card.
I bought my first iPhone in 2012. It was just a complement to my work back then. But the expectations as a user were growing exponentially as new models come out. Now, my heavy camera is the complement. I went from carrying a camera only when I was on assignment, to carrying a camera on my pocket every single day. Suddenly I was able to make great pictures anytime, anywhere, without the stress of carrying a bag full of lenses, cards and batteries. Also, it feels less intrusive to the model when you ask to take a photo with your phone. I liked the practicality, and of course I liked the resulting images.
Dörr shot all the photos in a square format with automatic HDR turned on for the best dynamic range. Since she used only an iPhone to shoot her subjects, the photo shoot actually ended up being shorter. The shortest shoot was two minutes, long. While the longest was around 20 minutes. All of this is great news for anyone who loves taking pictures. For professional photographers, it means you have other options. Which Dörr said, are less intrusive and doesn’t require that you carry all that extra around with you. And for amateur photographers, or anyone who just likes to take pictures, it means you can shoot some pretty quality stuff just using your iPhone.
Firsts is an incredible look at women who have broken the glass ceiling. It showcases so many women including:
- Mae Jemison – the first woman of colour in space
- Loretta Lynch – the first black woman to become U.S Attorney General
- Ava DuVernay – the first black women to direct a film nominated for a Best Picture Oscar
- Ellen DeGeneres – the first person to star as an openly gay character on prime-time TV
- Katharine Jefferts Schori – the first woman to be elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church
- Ann Dunwoody – the first woman to rise to four-star general in the U.S. military
- Gabby Douglas – first American gymnist to win solo and all-around gold medals at one Olympics.
- Kathryn Smith – the first woman to become a full time coach in the NFL
And so many more! Including Hilary Clinton, Serena Williams and Oprah Winfrey, as pictured above. But I will say that personally I am a bit disappointed to see Kellyanne Conway in here as the first woman to run a winning presidential campaign. I am all for female empowerment, so I don’t like the way I feel about this, or even thinking about it in a negative way. It would be a great accomplishment if the circumstances were different, I think. I mean, it is a great accomplishment, but it’s shadowed by an incredibly dark period in history. One that we’re still going through.
Regardless of that, this is an incredible feature by Time. And it’s also an incredible use of technology. I love to see when technology changes lives for the better. In this case it’s doing two things. 1) It’s making people’s lives easier, in terms of being able to do their job, and 2) It’s presenting us with this amazing show case of “firsts” for women. And the pictures look amazing as well. If you haven’t already, you should check it out.