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It has to be said that these days you can't walk out the door without seeing one or a hundred people snapping away their life experiences on their smart phones. With the additional inspiration via apps such as Hipstamatic and Instagram, it seems everyone is an instant photographer - not only able to take a cool photo, but able to process it too.
With this in mind, the question often arises on whether the iPhone (and other smart phones) has caused the photography market to be over-saturated therefore threatening the pros. Or more directly, should pro photographers be threatened by iPhones? If you ask me, the answer is a very simple and resounding, no. On the contrary, I've actually totally embraced the movement, taking sides with one of my favorite photographers, Annie Leibovitz, who proclaims the iPhone to be the best "snapshot camera" around. I completely concur. If you follow us on Twitter, Facebook or even, dare I say it, Instagram, you will see that we keep a common practice of utilizing our camera phones in and about the studio. For those sunrises over the streets of NYC, ornate dinners or snaps from industry events, I will certainly whip out my iPhone 4S for a quick snap & post. As I'm in the profession of documenting life, I think it's a great way to capture life's moments or practice your artistic eye.
Of course, there is a staggering difference between a Professional Photographer and the layperson with iPhone in hand. From technique to pure knowledge of equipment, it's really hard to compare the two. And although you might be able to take a very cute photo of your baby on your iPhone, there is still a very certain something that, say, a children's photographer could produce. There is something that makes a photographer a photographer and, in my opinion, a nifty smart phone won't be able to replace it - no matter how cool the processing apps get.
