Conde Nast uses Apple's iPhone 7 Plus to shoot covers for 'Bon Appetit,' 'Traveler'
Publisher Conde Nast is continuing to use the powerful camera of the iPhone 7 Plus to its advantage in important areas of its publications, with two magazines using photographs generated by Apple-produced smartphone for their cover shots.
Conde Nast Traveler's 21st annual Hot List Awards issue features an image of a small boat on a beach in St. Barts. The image for the May issue highlights the iPhone 7's Portrait mode, which uses a depth-of-field effect to keep objects in the foreground sharp while applying a "bokeh" blur to the background.
It is claimed this is the first instance of a travel publication cover being shot using an iPhone 7 Plus.
The other magazine using the iPhone for its cover is Bon Appetit, with its Travel issue featuring a portrait of a woman with a blue background. For the shot, the magazine's creative director Alex Grossman explored Oaxaca, Mexico's Tlacolula Market, to find an ideal location and subject.
Photographers Peden + Munk were chosen to shoot the cover, said to have been selected for having an adventurous style that works well within Bon Appetit's pages.
"The iPhone lens is how we look at photography now," said Grossman. "It changes the whole process and feel of a photo shoot, making it more intimate, less invasive, more nimble. We wanted to create something our readers would relate to."
"This is technology completely changing how the publishing and design industries are moving forward," Grossman adds.
This is not the first time that iPhones have been used in a major way in magazines. Last year, Bon Appetit experimented by shooting the magazine's entire issue using iPhones, with photographers exchanging their heavy camera bags for a pared-down equipment list.
At the time, the photographers noted a number of benefits to working with iPhones, with Daymon Gardner calling it "liberating" to use, while Michael Graydon suggested shooting on the iPhone forces photographers to let go of their "ego," losing the "intense and professional" appearance associated with a DSLR camera.
There were some negatives to be found as well, with Matt Haas believing he looked like a "tourist gone rogue," while Cait Oppermann said she "felt like a creep" photographing people with a smartphone while they waited in line. Even so, the experience left the photography team with positive experiences of working professionally with an iPhone for a camera.
Conde Nast Traveler's 21st annual Hot List Awards issue features an image of a small boat on a beach in St. Barts. The image for the May issue highlights the iPhone 7's Portrait mode, which uses a depth-of-field effect to keep objects in the foreground sharp while applying a "bokeh" blur to the background.
It is claimed this is the first instance of a travel publication cover being shot using an iPhone 7 Plus.
The other magazine using the iPhone for its cover is Bon Appetit, with its Travel issue featuring a portrait of a woman with a blue background. For the shot, the magazine's creative director Alex Grossman explored Oaxaca, Mexico's Tlacolula Market, to find an ideal location and subject.
Photographers Peden + Munk were chosen to shoot the cover, said to have been selected for having an adventurous style that works well within Bon Appetit's pages.
"The iPhone lens is how we look at photography now," said Grossman. "It changes the whole process and feel of a photo shoot, making it more intimate, less invasive, more nimble. We wanted to create something our readers would relate to."
"This is technology completely changing how the publishing and design industries are moving forward," Grossman adds.
This is not the first time that iPhones have been used in a major way in magazines. Last year, Bon Appetit experimented by shooting the magazine's entire issue using iPhones, with photographers exchanging their heavy camera bags for a pared-down equipment list.
At the time, the photographers noted a number of benefits to working with iPhones, with Daymon Gardner calling it "liberating" to use, while Michael Graydon suggested shooting on the iPhone forces photographers to let go of their "ego," losing the "intense and professional" appearance associated with a DSLR camera.
There were some negatives to be found as well, with Matt Haas believing he looked like a "tourist gone rogue," while Cait Oppermann said she "felt like a creep" photographing people with a smartphone while they waited in line. Even so, the experience left the photography team with positive experiences of working professionally with an iPhone for a camera.
Comments
A more accurate description would be: "Publisher Conde Nast is continuing to use the powerful camera of the iPhone 7 Plus for no other reason than to get the free publicity that comes whenever some major outlet uses an iPhone for its photos/videos".
The continuing push against using the right tool and a trained artist...
I'm speculating that this was in fact a trained artist with assistants using a tool that could get the job done to satisfy the requirement, and most likely with third party apps in manual mode. No professional photographer lost his job.
I sympathise if you are lamenting the loss of a generation of hard won skills. I've personally experienced three such transformations...Plate camera >> Roll Film >> Medium Format >> Digital and each one was seismic. Put simply, photography moves on regardless of the photographer's time and investment. However, skills are transferable if the photographer has a god eye tho' the superseded content creation loses market value. At least this democratisation's price_of_entry is much lower.
I think it's great and free advertisement for Apple's iPhone. If the iPhone can actually manage pro-grade quality photography, that's a good thing for most people who aren't willing to invest in a DSLR or don't have that much interest in photography in general. It's no wonder those inexpensive digital cameras disappeared. I can't even remember the last time I saw a person using one of those older digital cameras.
I recently went on a short family holiday and, for the first time, took nothing but my iPhone 7 Plus as a camera. I got beautiful snaps that can be used on a nice A4 size photo book for memories.
My only regret is that I didn't have the kind of zoom I'd like.
I wanted to buy an OlloClip lens kit before leaving but it wasn't going to arrive on time. I would have loved experimenting with it.
Overall, vacation snaps are really well covered by the iPhone.
If I was to go on a Safari or something, I'd definitely carry a dedicated camera though.
That being said, these shoots generally cost thousands of dollars and require travel and coordination in order to meet deadlines. The ability to step behind the camera and get the shot so all that money is not wasted is why pro level equipment is used. I would not be surprised if in addition to the shots done on the iPhone that photos were also taken with a pro DLSR as backup.
Personally I think stunts like this devalue what the photographer brings to the table. There was Chicago newspaper a few years back who fired all his photographers and gave their writers iPhones thinking it was the equipment not the artist that made a difference. The results were as lackluster as if you asked the photographers to start writing stories. http://gawker.com/heres-what-your-newspaper-looks-like-when-you-fire-your-603984820