iPhone 13 Mini Street Photography
Intro
We've come a long way from flip phones equipped with 3 megapixel digital cameras. I can still remember my old Samsung slide phone I got with Metro PCS back in high-school, back in ‘09. The concept of taking a picture whenever with something that fit right in your pocket was so revolutionary. Yet, being honest… the pictures were always horrible, low resolution, blurry and “pixel-ey”. But only years since then, smartphones have changed the game dramatically. Leaving many to argue the best camera is not with Sony, Nikon or Canon, but with the small device that’s almost assuringly currently sitting in your pocket.
I’ve never been one to constantly upgrade to the newest iPhone each year with every new and updated release. I’ve always been one to make my tech last until it’s absolutely necessary to replace. However when my iPhone 7 that I held on to for years finally gave out and wasn’t holding a charge, it was time for a new phone.
I ended up choosing to go with the iPhone 13 mini. I can go on listing the many reasons as to why I chose it but ultimately it came down to size and form factor. Not needing to have the biggest phone screen ever helps me keep that sense of minimalism, clean, simple, less. Yet, I quickly came to realize after the first few days of use, it was quite an upgrade from the iPhone 7, especially with the camera.
Set Up
To really test out the camera on the iPhone 13 Mini, I decided to take it out to shoot some street photography. So I set out to my local hangout spot of Uptown Whittier to take some digital photography with my newest phone.
Armed with my GoPro Hero 7 Black strapped to my chest mount and my new iPhone in hand, all I had to do was walk around and take pictures of things I thought were interesting.
Street Photography
The iPhone 13 Mini is equipped with a dual camera system, one wide and one ultra wide with a minimum aperture of f/1.6. This can dramatically change the way you compose a shot, since you can choose to include way more of a scene instead of cutting in tight with a 35mm or 50mm lens.
Also the phone works pretty much automatically, just set up the scene and tap the screen to point and shoot.
The ease of use in the street is really effective since you don’t have to manually set up your aperture or shutter speed to take a shot. Basically you just point and shoot and take the picture you want to take. As far as camera operation, I had no trouble working the phone at all.
For anyone who wants to get into street photography but is maybe nervous about how they would look in public pointing a DSLR camera around, the iPhone does have one major advantage that I immediately noticed, it’s completely conspicuous.
Since practically everyone today owns a smartphone, seeing someone out in the street using their phone is pretty much a an everyday sight. So no one bats an eye when they see someone using their phone, as compared to say using a Canon with a 35mm lens that’s much more bulky and intimidating.
Walking around the streets of Uptown, I was pleasantly surprised with how relaxing it was to simply scout around without the need of a huge camera or lens to just snap some pictures of people going about their day.
Thoughts
Overall I was extremely impressed with the performance of my new iPhone. The pictures came out clear and crisp, even in the harsh afternoon light. The combination of the wide and ultra-wide cameras make for interesting compositions, allowing you to capture the entire side of a building if you want.
The iPhone’s strong suits in photography are in portability and convenience. With something you can simply keep in your pocket, you can take some amazing high quality photos.
The obvious drawbacks are that you won’t get the complete control of shooting a picture that a DSLR would give you. Controlling your aperture and your shutter speed in a camera allow for way more creative control and help to make a picture the way you actually want it to come out in your idea.
Low light can also be an issue, however I plan to explore that in a future video.
iPhone’s are also infamous for taking very sharp and oversaturated photos. This can sound like a good thing but when a photo is too sharp and too over colored, it can fall victim to that “super digital look” when a picture is too ‘pixel-ey’ and flat.
In all, for a photographer the saying is always this, the best camera for photography will never be the most expensive or latest one, but the one you know how to use the best and the one you keep with you at all times.
