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Michael Harrison

In this course you will learn how to take great photos using your iPhone. This course will help anyone who wants to get into the exciting and growing sector of iPhone photography.

Take Professional Photographs using only your iPhone, which you will be Proud to Share with your Friends and Family or Use for Work. 

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In this course you will learn how to take great photos using your iPhone. This course will help anyone who wants to get into the exciting and growing sector of iPhone photography.

Take Professional Photographs using only your iPhone, which you will be Proud to Share with your Friends and Family or Use for Work. 

  • Find out how to take fantastic photos using iOS 10 (with updates through to iOS 16)

  • Recognise some practical aspects of photography – things like how to stand and how to hold your iPhone

  • Learn the basics principles of photography – a must for beginners, a refresher for seasoned professionals

  • Maximise the quality of your photographs by learning the inbuilt tools to edit and perfect 

iOS 17 Update - June 2023

iOS 16 Update - June 2022

iOS 15 Update - August 2021

Update = Night Mode and the Ultra Wide Camera Lens - March 2021

iOS 14 Update - July 2020

iOS 13 Update - September 2019

iOS 12 Update - June 2018

iOS 11 Update - June 2017 

Vastly improve your skills at iPhone Photography 

Over the last 100 years photography has continued to evolve and change, the latest chapter now being smartphone and iPhone photography. These changes require photographers to continually change, adapt and update their skill base.

This course therefore uses the latest iPhone and the latest software to make sure you are at the absolute forefront of this new exciting avenue of photography and keeps you ahead of the competition. 

Content and Overview 

This course actively encourages you to get involved, after many lectures there are small tasks set which help you to put into practice what you have just learnt. Although you could just sit and go through all of the lectures, the course is designed to be as practical and fun as possible as well as academic.

The course is split into 4 easy to understand sections – (1) Understanding the software and what you can do with it (2) Some basic principles of photography which will help you to take great photos (3) Learn how to use other equipment when using your iPhone, and (4) Make those great photos even better by showing the power of photo editing.

During the course you will also visit many locations and examine many photographs taken by the lecturer – this makes the course a lot more interesting and fun, rather than it being delivered in a boring “classroom” format.

As well as video lectures so you can see how to do everything, there are also quizzes for you to check your knowledge, and interaction with the lecturer and other students in the online groups – this allows you to share your new skills with others also taking the course and provides support and encouragement for you to keep carrying on and improving even after completing the course.

So by the end of this course you will no longer be bemused when you look at those “Shot on an iPhone” posters and wonder how they got those photos looking so good – why? – because you will be taking those great photos yourself.

Whether you need these new skills for your professional work, or you simply want to show off to your friends and family then this course is really for you, in fact, it is the only one you need to look at.

This course was initially shot with an iPhone 7 using iOS 10.

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What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Take great photos using their iphone
  • Recreate those "shot on an iphone" tv adverts
  • Edit photos on their iphone to print or share with friends and family
  • Understand some basic principles of photography that can be used with other equipment
  • Use other photographic equipment like tripods and lenses

Syllabus

Course Introduction and Get Involved
Mobile iPhone Photography - Course Introduction
Sign Up to Facebook / Instagram Groups
Course Supplementary Material
Read more

This quiz helps you to remember all the information you have learnt in this section of the course.

Traffic lights

Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Teaches basic photography principles, which are essential for beginners and a good refresher for those with some experience
Explores photo editing directly on the iPhone, which allows learners to enhance their photos without needing external software
Covers the iPhone camera app and its functions, which helps learners fully utilize their device's capabilities
Includes updates for iOS 11 through iOS 17, which ensures learners are familiar with recent iPhone photography features
Features a section on ancillary equipment like tripods and lenses, which expands the creative possibilities for iPhone photographers
Course was initially shot with an iPhone 7 using iOS 10, which may not reflect the capabilities of newer iPhones

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Reviews summary

Beginner's guide to iphone photography

According to learners, this course is a fantastic starting point for anyone wanting to improve their iPhone photography skills. Many find the instructor's style engaging and easy to follow, making the technical aspects of the iPhone camera and basic photography principles simple to understand. Students appreciate the clear explanations and practical tips that they can immediately apply. The course content is frequently praised for being up-to-date, particularly mentioning the instructor's efforts to incorporate latest iOS features. While some mention it's tailored for beginners and may not delve deep into advanced techniques, the consensus is that it provides a solid foundation and significantly boosts confidence in taking better photos.
Best suited for those new to photography.
"As a total beginner, this course was perfect for me. It didn't assume any prior knowledge."
"Good for complete novices, explains everything from scratch."
"If you already know basic photography or your iPhone camera well, this might be a bit too basic."
"Definitely for beginners, might not satisfy someone looking for advanced editing or techniques."
Covers fundamental composition and light.
"Learned about composition rules like the rule of thirds which helped my photos instantly."
"Covers the basics of light and perspective which is essential for any photo."
"The section on photography principles was a great addition, not just iPhone-specific stuff."
"Understood the importance of leading lines and framing."
Regular updates cover latest iOS features.
"Love how the course is updated to keep up with the latest iOS versions. Very relevant."
"It's great that this course is constantly being updated for the latest iOS versions."
"Appreciate the recent update covering the new features in iOS 17. Keeps the course relevant."
"The instructor keeps adding updates as iOS changes which is super helpful."
Builds confidence in taking photos.
"Feel much more confident in using my iPhone camera now."
"This course gave me a really solid foundation in basic photography principles using my iPhone."
"Great start to understanding the iPhone camera beyond just clicking the shutter."
"It helped me feel confident about experimenting with different settings."
Instructor is engaging and knowledgeable.
"The instructor is very engaging and clearly knows his stuff."
"Love the enthusiasm and clear instruction from the lecturer."
"Instructor is excellent, easy to listen to, explains everything simply. Highly recommended."
"Great teacher, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, easy to follow."
Provides actionable advice for better photos.
"Lots of helpful tips, techniques and secrets that you can use in every day life to improve your photos."
"Gives some really good tips and guidance that can be applied immediately to enhance photos."
"I learned some excellent tips for taking better pictures with my iPhone."
"Very practical advice given throughout the course, making it easy to implement."
Course is easy to understand for newcomers.
"This course is excellent for beginners and very easy to follow along with. Instructor is clear and concise."
"Great, easy to understand course. Lots of tips and tricks clearly explained. Thank you!"
"Very clear explanations of the functions and how to take great pictures. I'm a complete beginner and feel like I've learned so much already."
"Simple to understand, well laid out, and very helpful tips explained thoroughly."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in iPhone Photography Masterclass | The #1 Beginners Guide with these activities:
Review Basic Photography Principles
Reinforce your understanding of fundamental photography concepts like aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to better grasp how the iPhone camera simulates these settings.
Browse courses on Aperture
Show steps
  • Read articles or watch videos explaining the exposure triangle.
  • Practice identifying examples of good and bad composition in photos.
  • Take practice photos using different lighting conditions.
Read 'National Geographic Complete Guide to Photography'
Gain a broader understanding of photography principles that extend beyond the iPhone, enhancing your overall photographic eye.
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'National Geographic Complete Guide to Photography'.
  • Focus on chapters covering composition, lighting, and storytelling.
  • Reflect on how these principles can be applied to your iPhone photography.
Read 'The iPhone Photography Book' by Scott Kelby
Supplement your learning with a comprehensive guide dedicated to iPhone photography, covering techniques and tips not explicitly covered in the course.
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of 'The iPhone Photography Book'.
  • Read the chapters relevant to your areas of interest or weakness.
  • Practice the techniques described in the book with your iPhone.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Practice Composition with the Rule of Thirds
Improve your composition skills by actively practicing the rule of thirds, a fundamental technique for creating visually appealing photos.
Show steps
  • Enable the gridlines on your iPhone camera.
  • Take at least 20 photos, consciously placing key elements along the gridlines or at their intersections.
  • Review your photos and analyze how the rule of thirds impacts the composition.
Document a Local Event
Apply your iPhone photography skills in a real-world setting by documenting a local event, focusing on capturing the atmosphere and key moments.
Show steps
  • Identify a local event you'd like to photograph.
  • Plan your approach, considering the event's schedule and key moments.
  • Take photos throughout the event, experimenting with different angles and compositions.
  • Edit your photos and create a photo essay or slideshow to share your experience.
Create a Photo Series: 'A Day in My Life'
Solidify your understanding of iPhone photography techniques by creating a photo series that tells a story about your daily life.
Show steps
  • Plan a series of 5-10 photos that capture different aspects of your day.
  • Take photos throughout the day, focusing on composition, lighting, and storytelling.
  • Edit your photos using the iPhone's built-in editing tools or a third-party app.
  • Share your photo series on social media or with friends and family.
Explore Advanced Editing Techniques
Expand your editing skills by exploring advanced techniques like color grading, selective adjustments, and using layers in third-party apps.
Show steps
  • Choose a third-party photo editing app like Snapseed or Lightroom Mobile.
  • Find tutorials online that demonstrate advanced editing techniques.
  • Experiment with different techniques on your own photos.

Career center

Learners who complete iPhone Photography Masterclass | The #1 Beginners Guide will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:
Social Media Content Creator
A social media content creator is responsible for producing engaging content for various platforms. This often includes high-quality photographs, and this course can help you learn how to take great photos using only your iPhone, which is extremely helpful as many creators rely on mobile photography for their work. The course provides detailed instruction on iPhone camera features, basic photography principles, and photo editing, all of which can be directly applied when working as a social media content creator. You'll also learn how to maximize the quality of photos using inbuilt tools, a critical skill for any content creator. In short, this course can help build a foundation for producing professional-looking visual content.
Freelance Photographer
A freelance photographer takes images for commercial or personal use. This course helps a freelance photographer develop their mobile photography skills using an iPhone, providing all the tools needed to capture high-quality photos. The course's emphasis on practical aspects of photography, such as stance and grip, along with its deep dive into iPhone software and editing tools, makes it valuable for anyone looking to offer photography services. The course helps build a foundation of understanding basic principles of photography, such as perspective and rule of thirds, which can be easily applied to a career as a freelance photographer. It may be particularly useful for those who specialize in on-the-go content creation.
Real Estate Photographer
Real estate photographers create images of properties for sale or rent. The ability to take high-quality photographs using an iPhone is critical in this field. If you are pursuing a career as a real estate photographer, this course will teach you the best techniques to use the equipment that you have and still take professional-looking photos. The course covers crucial elements like focus, exposure, and composition. The course goes through how to maximize quality using the inbuilt tools to edit and perfect images, which is essential for producing eye-catching property photos. The skills taught in this course may lead to success in developing a professional portfolio.
Online Retailer
An online retailer sells goods through online marketplaces. High-quality product photography is essential to attracting customers, and this course can help an online retailer improve their product images using only an iPhone camera. The course covers everything from basic camera functions to photo editing, and all of these skills may be valuable to an online retailer. Anyone who wants to improve their product photography skills using just their phone should take this course. The ability to edit and perfect images using inbuilt tools is also beneficial for capturing professional-looking photos of products with minimal additional equipment.
Blogger
Bloggers often use images to enhance their written content and engage their audience. This course is ideal for a blogger who needs to take great photos using only their iPhone. It provides a complete overview of iPhone photography, from understanding the software to learning basic photography principles. The course's focus on practical tasks and photo editing techniques can help a blogger create visually appealing content. The course may be useful because it teaches the basics of photography and may help improve the visual aspect of a blog or other online publishing.
Marketing Assistant
A marketing assistant supports marketing teams with various tasks, including content creation. This course is relevant to a marketing assistant because it teaches practical photo skills for using an iPhone. Marketing materials often require appealing photographs, and this course covers the basics of photography, understanding software on the iPhone, and editing tools within the phone. The ability to maximize photo quality with editing is an asset in marketing. The course may be useful for improving one's ability to create visual content in a marketing role.
Event Planner
An event planner coordinates and manages events, often needing to capture photos for promotion or documentation. If you are a event planner, this course provides practical training on how to use an iPhone to take great photos. It covers the fundamentals of photography as well as how to use other photographic tools. The course may be useful for an event planner who wants to be able to capture high-quality images at events without having to enlist the help of others. This course can help you to develop the skills to take great photos.
Journalist
A journalist researches and reports news stories, and images form an important part of reporting. This course may help a journalist learn how to use their iPhone for photography. The course provides training in how to use an iPhone to take great photos, covering topics like composition and editing. The course includes an overview of iPhone software and various shooting techniques that could be used in the field. With this course, a journalist may improve their photography skills and produce professional-looking images for their stories.
Travel Guide
Travel guides often take photos of their tours to share with clients or for promotional purposes. If you are a travel guide, this course may help you to develop your iPhone photography skills. This course can introduce you to the software, different aspects of photography, and editing tools, all of which may be useful for taking and sharing great pictures of tours. The course encourages practical use and may result in a travel guide who is able to capture more professional images just using their personal iPhone.
Personal Assistant
Personal assistants often handle tasks that require photography, such as documenting events or capturing images of items. This course may be helpful for a personal assistant who wants to improve their skills using only an iPhone. The course covers the basics of iPhone photography, editing, and how to use different software. The course's practical tasks can help a personal assistant improve their skills to take professional-quality photos right on their phone. This course may be useful for someone who needs to use an iPhone camera for a variety of work tasks.
Graphic Designer
A graphic designer creates visual concepts, often working with photos to create final pieces. This course may help a graphic designer refine the images that they will use in their client work using just an iPhone for source material. The course covers many aspects of iPhone photography, from camera functions to editing, and these skills may improve a graphic designer's approach to visual work. This course explores the software and different aspects of image creation that may open new pathways for graphic design.
Art Director
An art director is responsible for the visual style and images used in a project or campaign. This course may be helpful for an art director as it provides practical training when using an iPhone for photography. The course covers everything from the basic camera functions to editing images on the phone, skills that may be useful in daily work. An art director may find this course valuable for understanding image capture in the mobile space. Although mobile photography is not a standalone focus of the role of art director, it may be useful for a variety of needs.
Visual Merchandiser
A visual merchandiser creates appealing displays in retail environments, often needing to take photos of these displays for planning and documentation. This course may help a visual merchandiser to become more proficient with iPhone photography. The course can provide basic to intermediate training and it covers topics like how to use the software, editing, and how to compose an image well. The course may be helpful for a visual merchandiser who wants to improve their photography skills using an iPhone.
Teacher
A teacher may take photos for classroom projects, field trips, or to engage with students. This course may be helpful for a teacher who wants to take better photos using only their iPhone. The course covers operating the camera software and how to make the most of editing tools, all of which may be useful when sharing photos with students and their families. This course may be useful for those wishing to create classroom content on the fly, or on a budget. The course's practical teaching method may be useful for learning new skills.
Tour Guide
A tour guide leads groups of people on sightseeing trips, and they may take photos of what they see with their phone. A tour guide may find this course helpful if they would like to capture better photos using their iPhone. This course covers the basics of photography, photo editing on the iPhone, and how to use other equipment. This course may be useful in helping to capture better photos for social media promotion or for sharing with clients. The basics that this course teaches may be useful in a number of situations.

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in iPhone Photography Masterclass | The #1 Beginners Guide.
Great resource for learning how to take better photos with your iPhone. It covers a wide range of topics, from basic camera settings to advanced editing techniques. It's written in a clear and concise style, making it easy to understand even for beginners. This book useful reference tool for any iPhone photographer.
Provides a comprehensive overview of photography principles and techniques. While not specific to iPhone photography, it offers valuable insights into composition, lighting, and storytelling that can be applied to any camera. It is more valuable as additional reading than as a current reference. This book is commonly used as a textbook at academic institutions.

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