The iPhone Photography Book

by Scott Kelby

Learn to take great photos with your iPhone―the camera you always have with you!
Imagine if someone took the same photographic techniques, principles, and tools used by high-end and professional photographers, but applied them to shooting with an iPhone. Imagine the type of images you’d be able to create using those same ideas. Well, finally, somebody has. The world’s #1 best-selling photography techniques author is about to break all the rules as he shows you how to apply the same techniques today’s top pro photographers use to make stunning images. You’re going to learn exactly how to use these techniques to create images that people will just not believe you could actually take with a phone (but with the quality of the iPhone’s camera, you absolutely can!). Scott leaves all the techno-speak behind and, instead, treats the whole book as if it were just you and he out on a shoot with your iPhones, using his trademark casual, plain-English writing style to help you unlock the power of your iPhone to make the type of pictures you never thought could be done with a phone. You’ll • Which tools to use to make pro-quality portraits in any lighting situation. • How to create stunning landscape shots that people will swear you took with an expensive DSLR or mirrorless camera. • Proven posing techniques that flatter your subject and make anyone you photograph look their very best in every shot. • How to organize and edit your photos like a pro! • The pros’ top tips for making amazing shots of everything from flowers to product shots, from food photography to travel shots, and everything in between. Each page covers a single concept, a single tool, or a trick to take your iPhone photography from snapshots to shots that will make your friends and family say, “Wait… you took this?!”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: iPhone Camera Essentials
Chapter 2: How to Compose Like a Pro
Chapter 3: Photographing People
Chapter 4: Posing People
Chapter 5: Travel & Landscape Photography
Chapter 6: Other Cool Stuff to Shoot
Chapter 7: iPhone Camera Tips and Tricks
Chapter 8: Organizing Your Photo Library
Chapter 9: Editing Your Images
Chapter 10: Incredible Apps That Can Take Your Photos to the Next Level
Chapter 11: Awesome iPhone Accessories
Chapter 12: Photo Recipes

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art, Reference

272 pages, Paperback

Published March 16, 2021

About the author

Scott Kelby is an American author and publisher of periodicals dealing in Macintosh and Personal Computer software, specifically for design professionals, photographers, and artists.

Kelby is editor and publisher of Photoshop User and Layers magazines, president and co-founder of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and is president of Kelby Media Group, an Oldsmar, Florida-based software training, education, and publishing firm.
Kelby is a photographer, designer, and the award-winning author of more than 40 books.

Reviews

[Missy LeBlanc Ivey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The iPhone Photography Book by Scott Kelby (2021), 250 pages.

Wow, oh wow! Out of 5 stars, this book gets 10 stars. Even though it was printed when the iPhone 14 Pro Max was top-dog, it’s still plenty updated enough for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is what I have. But, even iPhone 11 and above have all the features described in this book but maybe not the quality of photos as the 15. This is a must have if you want to learn absolutely everything your phone’s camera has to offer.

The best way to go through this book is to have your iPhone right next to you and actually go through the steps as you read and then practice, practice, practice. And don’t be afraid to be creative.

There’s lots of tips on best camera settings for capturing best quality photos and on lighting for taking food photography, professional-style portraits, taking travel and landscape photos, and more. It even includes tips to “organizing” your photos on your phone. And, I’m so glad he included a whole chapter on how to use the Lightroom photo app for the phone. It’s a completely free app, and I absolutely love it. You can opt to pay $53.00 a year for the more advanced features, but is not necessary at all.

I’m definitely going to have to carry this book around with me for a while. The idea is to view your iPhone as your camera, and don’t just point and click. Just like with a DSLR camera, there are things to consider, like focal points, and f-stops, and different modes for taking pics of different things. Technology is here. Your iPhone 15 Pro Max is a camera, and even professional photographers are starting to whip it out. I can’t imagine hiking with my camera and all those lenses. Ugh!

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone interested jn getting more out of their iPhone’s camera this is the book. Every page is a new tip or trick and many can be applied to photography using any medium. Very casually written but hugely informative.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very informative, learning additional features that I knew nothing about and additional tips on features I was only slightly familiar with. While I’ve started to edit my photos using my computer’s photo program, this got me editing on my phone and the biggest step was to start me using the Lightroom app which has intimidated me up until now. The addition of accessories and photo apps were appreciated! His humor was enjoyed (well, most of the time)

[Lexa Grasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was recommended to me by a coworker who “usually gives this out as gifts” but instead offered me the link to buy it for myself :)

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it. It's a must have for quick tips. Kelby guides us along with the same humorous stories as found in his other photography books. I've really enjoyed being able to improve my photography with his easy guidance. I feel like I can have pretty good photos with my iPhone and don't have to always have my DSLR with me. This will be another good reference book.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

You really can't go wrong with Kelby's books: they are informative, easily digestible, a quirky read, and packed with really great tips and tricks. With this iphone book, there is just enough information to truly help you get the most out of your iphone but not so much that it is tedious or overwhelming. With each tip is a photograph(s) to help illustrate the points perfectly.

The book breaks down as follows: Iphone camera essentials, how to compose like a pro, photographing people, posing people, travel and landscape photography, other cool stuff to shoot, iphone camera tips and tricks, organizing your photo library, editing your images, incredible apps that can take your photos to the next level, awesome iphone accessories, photo recipes. Under these sections are about 15-20 pages with a tip or trick and a photo - in all, this is about a one hour read if you go through every page, much less if you don't need some sections (e.g., you don't really shoot architecture or food and don't want to bother editing the photos on your phone).

The book covers the important topics: everything from extreme close ups, shooting at night, getting your color right, the best tripods, using your Apple Smartwatch to remotely trigger a selfie, how to pose people in flattering ways, and so much more. For advanced photographers, the sections about making the most of your iphone settings as well as a run through of the software and using Lightroom is solid information. For those who are not professional photographers, there are great tips on compositions, selfies, making people look good, and creating compelling shots rather than boring snapshots.

This is VERY friendly and easy to use. There are 'recipes' at the back for specific types of photography and how best to use your phone for them: e.g., photographing food, closeups of flowers, cities at night, pets, travel photography, etc. So you can have this handy reference ready to check in and get the best tips right there quickly and easily.

In all, I learned quite a bit here despite having a strong photography knowledge foundation. For best results, you'll want an iphone 11 or newer but those of us with older iphones will find a lot as well. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to take better photos with your iPhone, I highly recommend this book. Scott Kelby has a great conversational tone that makes this guide easy to read. It feels more like getting help from a friend, then trying to decipher a technical guide. There is a wealth of information on these pages, but it is broken up into bite sized chunks so you can read a little, work on a new skill or on using a new aspect of your phone/camera and then come back to the book. Composition, different kinds of photography, editing your photos and more are all included. You won't think about your iPhone camera in the same way once you've read this book.

[Debbie Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Aimed at beginners/intermediate users, this book taught me so much about taking, editing, and organizing photos with an iPhone. Call it a user-friendly manual, with some humour mixed in. Since I borrowed this copy from the local library, I may need to purchase my own copy. (I took 16-pages of notes and skipped the chapter on editing with apps such as Adobe Lightroom Photo Editor as I don't currently have those apps on my phone.) However, seeing that it is the first book I've read on this topic, I may seek other how-to-books to see how they compare. For now, I'm rating it with five stars.

[Craig Beyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a teaching book, like all of Scott Kelby’s books, with a little of his often-silly humor thrown in. His tips about the basic and more advanced features and capabilities of the iPhone and his guidance on using the iPhone camera will improve almost anyone’s photography. Scott also suggests some additional gear to improve your iPhone capabilities and a few apps that add some capabilities as well. I read this in the ebook version, so I have it with me wherever I go, unlike the print version. Recommended.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children love to give me crap about the quality of my pictures. I'm hoping that I will have absorbed enough from this book to make them stop criticizing me and my photos. Probably, though, all I will remember will be the ridiculous opening pages on each chapter and I will make people think that I take close up pictures of insects because I was dropped on my head at birth.

[M M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good Introductory Book for Iphone photography.
Show cases how to use lighting and angles.
Use of zoom, portrait mode and easy editing inside the Iphone anyone can do.
Recommended Iphone equipment/gear mentioned as well.

[Tim Nowotny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too much more than the author‘s YouTube video on this topic, but I appreciated the helpful structure of the book and some of the pro tips that would have saved me a lot of troubles when I was the stand in for a professional photographer

[Doug Yonce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Useful

If you can get past the weak attempts at humor that occupy too much space, there is an abundance of information on how to maximize your iPhone’s picture-making capabilities.

[Andrew Guthrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

New to iPhone

Chanced on this read in YouTube quite by accident. I followed Scott for Lightroom etc. for my DSLR photography.

This has inspired me to dive in and explore what was just a communication device, and it has opened up a whole new photo taking experience for me.

[Geri Trinler]

great information

[Alyssa Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful!

[Keith Weller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book learned a lot from it a great reference book to keep going back on done in a easy to understand language funny and not made to feel stupid

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply amazed by all the "hidden" features the stock camera app has and would have not figured out if not read this book. Wonderful read and you will definitely learn something useful.

[Marga García León · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all his books, he is my teacher, best and nicer teacher

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

lot of good info in here especially if you're new to having an I phone.

[CP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice quick book on how to take better iPhone photos

[Jeff Sibley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the investment of time!

Kelby is a well respected photographer and owner of Kelby One online training.

While the book was written around earlier iPhone (maybe 14 or 15), the information is still applicable… there may be some new features not covered but still useful (as a reference: I’m a iPhone 16 pro owner/wife has 17 pro).

[Michel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably expected too much :-) I was particularly hoping to find how to adjust to iphone photography coming from DSLRs and modern mirrorless cameras, not so much from a technical point of view ("where is it on the menu?") but as a photographer: in there I was largely disappointed. Yet the book has value.

The book is quite technical, and covers very fine details of use, which is at the same time good and bad. It is good in the sense that it allows you to easily find how to do what Scott Kelby discusses, but it is also bad because it will/has gone quickly out of date. I use the word technical in the sense that it discusses the specific manner in which you can effectuate a process, but, of course, how technical do you need to be when using an iphone?

To me, the most interesting parts of the book had to do with the photographer's qualitative craft: composition (Chap. 2), portraits (Chap. 3 and 4), travel and landscape photography (Chap. 5). I was looking for iphone-specific advice rather than generic tips: I was somewhat disappointed. My wife enjoyed the photo editing chapter (Chap.9) although it felt very elementary to me.

All in all, a solid book that gives many people what they need. As long as you come with reasonable expectations you will be pleased.