iPhone Photography - trial and error

I think the iPhone handled this well, though I will admit the shadows were
 quite dark and I lightened them a bit in post-processing.

I am in the process of putting together some materials for a workshop I will be giving next month.  One of the things I am going to cover is the difference between photographs taken on the iPhone, a smaller digital camera  (point-and-shoot), and the DSLR.

These flowers were in the shadows, which I find the iPhone favors.  The
 more even the light, the richer the photos are.  The color in this photo is very strong.

As most of you have found, the iPhone does take good photos, and it's biggest plus is the phone's size and portability.  Very convenient and it works well in a lot of instances.   I want to see how well it works under a variety of circumstances, so I take it on walks with the dog, shopping with friends, and to work.

The photos in this post are the results of my first "formal" comparison study - shooting with the iPhone exclusively.

This photo was actually taken with someone else's phone, but  the results
 are consistent with what I have seen in my own photos.  The back lighting is
distracting,  and the phone doesn't do well with this contrast.  One thing that
would have helped is if we had stood on the other side of the showcase,
with the light facing us.  By the way, this photo was taken when I 
presented Christie Freestone, Literacy Coach, with a copy of my
new book, W is for Wonderkids!

I love taking close-ups, so this fall photo was perfect.  For the most part
it is a good image.  It is too soft in the front, and the perspective is a bit off.
One piece of advice is to get your camera as close to the subject as you
can. When you zoom in you lose detail - the photo becomes more "grainy." 

So what about action?  Here our Kaycee is about to "catch" some geese.
I think it handled the stop-action pretty well.

Another close-up, where it is soft in the front and a bit elongated.
I did not use the phone's zoom feature on this or the acorn shot.

Yes, elongated....but very cute.  For this photo it works.
 In none of the photos am I using a flash.

This fellow was hanging upside down on a cable alongside the house.
I just got as close as I could, without zooming in.

Inside a classroom, with the light from the windows adding
 enough light that I didn't need the flash.  I really avoid the
artificial light as much as I can.

I got as close as I could, then did crop the photo post-processing.

The look on this face, with her new toy, was priceless.
Amazingly, Kaycee stood still long enough for this shot.  I filled
 in the shadow a little following the taking of the photo.

This, and the next shot, are two of my favorite shots, though the log in 

the front may be a bit soft, above.   But the iPhone handled the wide angle 

very well.  This may be the biggest strength I have found thus far

Yes, I think wide angle is a definite strength of this technology.

Please leave a comment on how you use your phone photography and what you think of the results.  I would love to have some quotes to add to my materials, which I will make available following the workshop.

Happy Shooting!