The Smartphone Photography Guide: Shoot*Edit*Experiment*Share

by Peter Cope

Thanks to our smartphones, we've all become camera-carrying photographers, able to snap a photo whenever and wherever we want. But how can we realize the full potential of this powerful tool? Complete with "Pro Tips," "Try This" panels, jargon-buster explanations of technical terms, and advice on video settings, this smart guide will help you take, create, manipulate, and share your phone images like an expert.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2015

Reviews

[Sotiris Makrygiannis]

Very good basic book for insta fans and wanna be photographers. I liked the selection of mobile apps recommend and a bit the hints given.

[Peter Tillman]

I picked this up off the new-book shelf at the library, hoping to learn something new. At over halfway through, nothing that I don't already know. I'll skim through the rest and come back to this, but I think I'm done.

This little book might be useful for someone who is completely new to cell phone photography, or photography in general. It's attractively-produced, with some nice photos. But I'm really not the intended audience. Abandoned at about 80%.

[Oak Khant]

With a smartphone camera in nearly everyone’s pocket, photography has become more accessible than ever. In The Smartphone Photography Guide: Shoot, Edit, Experiment, Share, photographer and author Peter Cope teaches readers how to take better pictures using the smartphone they already own. The book covers the basics of taking, editing, experimenting with, and sharing photos, making photography seem approachable even to someone who has never used a camera before. Although Cope does well in creating an accessible introduction to smartphone photography, his effort to simplify the subject, combined with the book’s age, makes it much less useful for photographers who already understand the basics.

Cope’s main goal with this book was to make smartphone photography easy to understand. Rather than focusing on complicated camera terminology or advanced photographic theory, the book explains basic concepts such as composition, lighting, camera controls, editing, and sharing photos in simplified language. It encourages readers to experiment with their phones and shows how different techniques can improve ordinary photos. The book also discusses smartphone photography apps and editing tools that were available when it was written. Overall, the book is more of an introductory guide than as an advanced photography reference.

One of the book’s biggest strengths is its accessibility. Cope understands that many readers of the book may have little to no experience with photography, so he avoids overwhelming them with any technical language. This makes the book more approachable and easy to follow. Instead of assuming that readers already understand concepts such as exposure or dynamic range, Cope explains photography in simple terms and focuses on practical advice. For someone picking up smartphone photography for the first time, this is probably very helpful.

However, the simplicity of the book is one of its biggest weaknesses for more experienced photographers. Cope often avoids technical language to the point that some explanations become less useful for readers who already know a decent amount about photography. Someone who understands exposure, composition, and image processing will find much of the material familiar and overly basic. Instead of explaining why certain photographic techniques work in more technical detail, the book generally focuses on simple instructions that are easier for a beginner to understand. As a result, the book does not offer much new information to experienced photographers looking to improve beyond the fundamentals.

The book’s age is another significant limitation. At this point, The Smartphone Photography Guide is about ten years old, which is an especially long time in the world of smartphone cameras. Smartphone photography technology has changed dramatically since the book was published, with major improvements in computational photography, image processing, camera sensors, stabilization, and other features. Modern phones can perform sophisticated processing automatically, meaning that some of the advice in the book reflects a very different era of smartphone photography. A reader today may find that some of the techniques and limitations discussed in the book no longer apply to modern phones.

The app recommendations are an even more clear example of this problem. Some of the apps mentioned in the book are no longer available, while others have become irrelevant due to newer and more capable alternatives. This makes one of the book’s practical sections much less useful to a modern reader. A photography guide can remain valuable even as technology changes, but recommendations for specific apps become outdated much more quickly than general principles of composition or lighting.

The discussion of HDR in this book is also a strong reflection of the period in which the book was written. Cope presents HDR, specifically digital HDR effects, with great enthusiasm, almost as if it were some magical solution for improving photos. While HDR is still useful in some situations, photographic styles have changed considerably since then. Many photographers today tend to prefer more controlled and contrasty images rather than the heavily processed HDR look that became popular when the book was written. This doesn't necessarily make Cope's advice wrong, but it does show how closely the book is tied to the photographic trends of its time.

Despite these weaknesses, the book still succeeds at its primary purpose: introducing beginners to smartphone photography. Cope’s straightforward writing style makes the subject approachable. The problem is that the book does not go far enough for readers who already has a solid understanding of photography, and its age makes several parts of it increasingly difficult to apply to modern smartphones.

Overall, The Smartphone Photography Guide: Shoot, Edit, Experiment, Share is a useful beginner’s guide but is an outdated resource for more experienced photographers. Its clear explanations and lack of intimidating technical language make it suitable for someone who is completely new to smartphone photography. However, experienced photographers will find the material too simplified, while the outdated technology, app recommendations, and enthusiasm for digital HDR effects limit the book’s relevance today. Cope succeeds in making smartphone photography accessible, but the book is much more of a representation of smartphone photography in its era than as a comprehensive guide for modern photographers.

[Greta]

A basic guide to photography with the latest tech. For the budding photographer-as-artist. Now that everyone has a camera, "Every human being is an artist..." as Joseph Beuys said. There's an app for that, too.

[Jody]

Although I didn't get anything out of this, the book itself is well done for a beginner photographer.

[Khoo Yi Feng]

Finished this in one sitting. Peter dissects smartphone photography techniques and identifies applications to help the man on the street. I benefitted from this book. Next step, apply :)

[Waskitho Wee]

found this book at big bad wolf sale at Surabaya Indonesia.
Lot of usefull tips for a beginner shooter like me, even if i use mirorrless, the tips still applied.
Good book.

[Anupam Kumar]

Pretty basic book. Not even sure if the purpose of the book