One thing I learned quickly is that photojournalism is often about making the best of an imperfect situation. Mobile photography is often like that too. Because you always have your "camera" with you, those random photo opportunities show up when you least expect them. You're in the wrong spot. Or too far away. Someone walks into the shot or a car goes by. You grab what you can. But you don't have to live with it. Cropping became the secret weapon in my photo toolbox.

There’s no better horizon line than the ocean itself, but my pictures tend to lean a tiny bit to the left. Occasionally, I deliberately add some tilt to the composition just for interest’s sake. But, mostly, I’d just as soon take a nice square image as not. Which brings me to the updated Camera App in iOS 17. That has a level!

I’m a fan of random photo samplers. Starting the day off with my pictures from a forgotten moment, portraits of a loved one, or that special trip is wonderful. It’s a delight that’s both simple and profound, like discovering an old cafe matchbook at the bottom of a memory box. Now, since iOS 16.1, you can enjoy that same experience on the Lock Screen itself.

Our iPhones are always with us in ways that the film SLR’s of the past never were. And their small size makes them perfect for candid and street photography. So how do you master the iPhone quick draw?

If I hear one persistent complaint about Apple Photos and iCloud, it’s the ease with which you can unintentionally remove entire memories from your life. Precious photos deleted and gone.

But, ironically, it’s also what makes the Apple Photos experience so remarkably good.

For most of us, Summer is the great social experience of the year. And thanks to the iPhone, it’s ultra easy to collect a whole story in photos and video to keep those moments alive. Often, those excursions are as guests with friends or at a special event like a wedding. Whatever the occasion, there are some easy ways to say thanks with photos that will delight your hosts.

Every parent has that moment, or will, when they notice that their kid has become an adult. You were so wrapped up in the journey that you missed the arrival. A few weeks ago I returned from the 2023 Photo Managers Conference in Orlando and felt smacked by the same discovery.

Last Year I replaced my old iPhone with a spiffy new iPhone 14 Pro and I’m all excited about the cool new features. A lot has happened since my iPhone 11 Pro was fresh out of the box, particularly with the camera. How about a 48 megapixel file? A 3X telephoto. Close up Macro photography.

GPS location tagging on iPhone photos is a world class gift and I can tell you that it's saved me more than once from minutes of swiping through years of pictures to find the one I want. When I show the Places tab in Apple Photos to my clients, and teach them how to use it, I swear that I see tears of joy.

I got the news recently, in an email, that they don’t want me anymore.

That hurts. Sort of.

But, I get it. Relationships are a two way street and I guess I dropped out. Didn’t pay at-tention. Things got in the way.

So there it was.

“It’s been awhile since you logged in . . . Due to inactivity, your account is scheduled for deletion on March 1, 2023”

If you visit any large city and photograph tall buildings, you quickly understand the problem of perspective. Unless you are about half a mile away (just try that in New York) you have to shoot up and use a wide angle lens to fit it all in. The inevitable result is a building that looks like it's falling backwards. And if you're shooting 2 buildings side by side, it looks like they are going to hug.

What professional photographers don’t tell you is how bad they really are. Even the best of them fail most of the time. Which is to say that the images they show are only a fraction of the images they create. The rest? Just digital debris. So success, ironically, is largely a matter of hiding their mistakes.

It used to be, with film, that there were only two kinds of photos. The Keepers and the Discards. Either a picture was worthy of printing or it wasn’t. The iPhone changed all that. Here’s how to manage your Photos Library and keep it under control.

Just when you thought that Apple was running thin on new iPhone camera tricks, hey roll out - TA DAH - Macro Mode. Macro Mode merges image information from all 3 lenses to create one excellent photo. Even better, Macro Mode works with video captures too, including Slo-mo and Time-lapse.

When people reach out for help with their pictures, the conversation always starts with their number. The takeaway is that there is no right or wrong number for the images in your Photos LIbrary. If you are overwhelmed by the state of your collection, it’s not the overall number that’s causing the frustration but is more likely the result. Adjusting your point of view about photo management and understanding what all the numbers mean will deliver a happier outcome.

For me, summer is like a movie. Memorial Day hooks you with the promise of long, fun-filled days in the sun and reuniting with friends. Plots and subplots play out week by week with activities, travel, and reunions.

With a few standard settings, iPhone photography is now the gold standard for point-and-shoot picture taking. But it's also fun to put your own spin on your creative work, and the iPhone Camera app makes that possible too.

Every now and then I have to remind myself that photography is nothing more than painting with light. The scene we face is a rich palette of colors from brilliant to drab that we use to excite photo-sensitive camera pixels in one way or another and come up with some interpretation of the scene itself.