A collection of some of the best Apple iPhone photos ever taken from the last few years. Incredible images you won’t believe were shot on a smartphone
Why you can trust Pocket-lint (Pocket-lint) — Apple’s iPhone has long been known for offering a great camera. These flagship smartphones are capable of some incredible photography, so much so that many modern photographers often ditch their DSLR cameras in favour of the ultra-portable iPhone. The results are often spectacular too. To honour the efforts, the iPhone Photography Awards were born in 2007 and have been choosing award-winning photos every year since. Apple also encouraged iPhone photographers to share their best works for the Shot on iPhone Challenge. As you can imagine, the images submitted to both these competitions are nothing short of fantastic. We’ve combed through them to bring you a collection of our favourite photos taken over the last few years. Incredible images you won’t believe were shot on a smartphone. If you feel like you’ve got what it takes, you too could submit your photos to the iPhone Photography Awards to see if you can win an award in one of the 16 categories. The registration page of the IPPA 2022 is already open and the deadline is 15 March 2022. 11 photography tips and tricks for better smartphone photos Dan Liu A Walk on Mars Second place for Photographer of the Year in the IPPA 2021 awards went to this beautiful image by Dan Liu from China, titled ‘A Walk on Mars’. It was shot on an iPhone 11 Pro Max in Qinghai, China. Jeff Rayner Side-Walking on Air Taken by Jeff Rayner, this image won third place for Photographer of the Year in the IPPA 2021 awards. It was shot on an iPhone X in Los Feliz, Los Angeles and we love it. Matteo Lava Frozen Lines Matteo Kava shot this stunning image named ‘Frozen Lines’ on Lake St. Moritz in Switzerland. It was taken on an iPHone 7 Plus and it won third place in the Abstract category for the IPPA 2021 awards. Laila Bakker Strike a Pose This stunning image was taken on an iPhone X by Laila Bakker from the Netherlands. It won first place in the Animals category in the IPPA 2021 awards. Yuexiang Wang Candy Yuexiang Wang won first place in the Architecture category with this beautiful image called ‘Candy’ at the IPPA 2021 awards. It was shot on an iPhone 8 Plus. Liz Huang Untitled Liz Huang from the United States took this image in Manhattan, New York with an iPhone X. It won first place in the City Life category at the IPPA 2021 awards. Ann Ghory-Goodman PR_CTICE S___AL DI_TANCE Third Place in the City Life category at the IPPA 2021 awards is this lovely shot. Taken by Ann Ghory-Goodman in Orleans, Massachusetts, it was shot on an iPhone 11 Pro. Glenn Homann Untitled Second place in the Environment category of the IPPA 2021 awards went to this image of stacked cups, which we adore. It was taken by Glenn Homann on an iPhone 11 Pro. Lizhi Wang Flight from Iguazu Lizhi Wang from the United States won first place in the Landscape category of the IPPA 2021 awards with this image of the Paraná River in Argentina. It was taken on an iPhone XR. Christian Horgan Black Summer Blue Montaigne Winning first place in the People category of the IPPA 2021 awards is this shot called ‘Black Summer Blue Montaigne’, taken by Christian Horgan. It was taken in Sydney, Austraila on an iPhone X. Krysten Crabtree Untitled Winning first place for the Portrait category of the IPPA 2021 awards is this lovely shot from Krysten Crabtree. It was shot in Ohio on an iPhone 12 Pro. Claire Droppert A Dutch Morning This stunning sunset picture taken in Kinderdijk in the Netherlands was shot by Claire Droppert and it won first place in the Sunset category of the IPPA 2021 awards. It was taken on an iPhone 11 Pro Max. Danette Spriggs Sunrise Over Our Pond Another beautiful sunset picture is this one from Danette Spriggs taken in Angleton, Texas. It won third place in the Sunset category at the IPPA 2021 awards and it was shot on an iPhone 12 Pro Max. Tatiana Merzlyakova Magic of Aurora Borealis Winning first place in the travel category is this stunning shot of the Aurora lights taken in Teriberka, Russia. Tatiana Merzlyakova took it on an iPhone 12 Pro Max. Sharan Shetty Bonding Shot by Sharan Shetty from India on an iPhone X, this image titled ‘Bonding’ won first place for Photographer of the Year in the IPPA 2021 awards. It was taken in Yanar Dag, Baku, Azerbaijan. Istvan Kerekes Transylvanian Shepherds Taken by Istvan Kerekes in Targu Mures, Transylvania, this stunning image of two shepherds won the grand prize for Photographer of the Year in the IPPA 2021 awards. It was shot on the iPhone 7. Matt Charlton — @mattsee Yellowstone Matt Charlton snapped this shot on his iPhone called Yellowstone. It’s such a beautiful photo and there are plenty of others on his Instagram — @mattsee. Sarah M Lee Untitled This amazing shot was taken by Sarah M Lee on her iPhone. We love everything about it — the colours especially. You can see more shots taken by Sarah on her website — www.sarahmlee.com. Matt Charlton — @mattsee West Thumb Basin Another fabulous shot taken by Matt Charlton on his iPhone. We absolutely adore this one. Matt’s Instagram has plenty more great shots to have a look through. IPPAWARDS Free from the past This beautiful shot was taken in Varanasi, India on an iPhone X by Kristian Cruz from the United States. We love the colours, the detail and everything that’s happening in the image. We aren’t surprised at all that it won first place in the travel category for the iPhone Photography Awards 2020. IPPAWARDS Beach Chair Taken on Westhampton Beach, New York with an iPhone 6, this picture of a beach chair is one of our favourites from the 2020 winners of the iPhone Photography Awards. Best smartphones 2021 rated: The top mobile phones available to buy today By Chris Hall · 3 September 2021 The atmospheric image was taken by Danielle Moir from the United States and it won first place in the other category. IPPAWARDS Flying Boys This fabulous image taken by Dimpy Bhalotia from the United Kingdom in Banaras, India won her the grand prize for Photographer of the Year in the iPhone Photography Awards 2020. Bhalotia said: «I see the world in monochrome and I find art in the extraordinary details of the seemingly ordinary life on streets. I believe the universe is a piece of art and so is every soul and street.» This image was taken on an iPhone X. IPPAWARDS Beauty in everyday Winning second place in the abstract category of the iPhone Photography Awards 2020 is this beautifully symmetrical shot taken in Irvine, California. Beauty in everyday was taken on an iPhone 8 Plus by Veronica Yoo from the United States. IPPAWARDS Waterfall Winner of the first place in the nature category of the iPhone Photography Awards 2020 is this beautiful picture of a waterfall. The picture was taken on an iPhone 7 Plus by Lisi Li from China. IPPAWARDS No walls Winner of the first place for photographer of the year in the iPhone Photography Awards 2020, this image shows an annoyingly unfinished but brilliant painted wall. Taken by Artyom Baryshau from Russia in India, the image titled No walls was taken on an iPhone 6. IPPAWARDS Immersion Now this is what we call a panoramic shot. What a beautiful photo of Meteora, Greece. Taken by Garrine Tsang from Canada on an iPhone XS, this image titled Immersion won thord place in the panaroma category of the iPjhoen Photography Awards 2020. IPPAWARDS Kea at Mount Luxmore Avishai Futerman from Isreal took this beautiful image in Fiordland National Park, New Zealand on an iPhone XR. The image won second place in the nature category of the iPhone Photography Awards 2020. IPPAWARDS Duomo Di Milano Shot on an iPhone X, this image of the magnificent Duomo Di Milano cathedral in Milan, Italy won first place in the architecture category of the iPhone Photography Awards 2020. It was taken by Haiyin Lin from China. IPPAWARDS Flamingos We absolutely love this image of two beautiful pink flamingos shot on an iPhone 6S. The dark green leaves and lovely mirrored water make the animals really pop. Winning second place in the animals category for the iPhone Photography Awards 2020, Flamingos was taken by Ji Li from China. IPPAWARDS Cotton Candy This image of a child sitting on a bench with cotton candy in front of their face brings a smile to ours. Taken in Vorontsovsky Park, Moscow by Ekaterina Varzar from the United States on an iPhone 6, Cotton Candy won first place in the children category of the iPhone Photography Awards 2020. IPPAWARDS Marble Canyon This stunning image of the Marble Canyon in Arizona was taken by Kaiwen Jiang from China and it won first place in the landscape category of the iPhone Photography Awards 2020. Jiang took the image on one XS Max. IPPAWARDS Nightfall at the Dolomites There’s nothing quite like a sunset and this photo has so much beauty to admire. Taken by Leo Chan from Hong Kong on an iPhone 11 Pro, Nightfall at the Dolomites was captured in Auronzo di Cadore, Italy. This stunning shot won first place in the sunset category of the iPhone Photography Awards 2020. IPPAWARDS The Cloud This appropriately named, perfectly framed image was taken by Dominic Dähncke from Spain in Tenerife, Canary Islands. The Cloud won third place in the landscape category of the iPhone Photography Awards 2020. It was taken on an iPhone 8 Plus. 泳桥 黄/IPPAAWARDS Dreams in the basket A small baby takes a casual and relaxing nap in the middle of a field in China. In the background, workers can be seen busying themselves with the daily grind. We only hope this child’s parents are nearby. An incredible photo of life shot on an iPhone 5S. This image was chosen as the second place winner in the iPhone Photography Awards lifestyle category in 2018. Neri Rivas/IPPAAWARDS Jasper the Raptor From the 2019 winners of the iPhone Photography Awards (children’s category) comes this image snapped using an iPhone XS. A simple photo of a small boy in a raptor mask appears to show a dinosaur child in the shadow. Cocu-Liu//IPPAAWARDS The wonky one Sometimes great photos are just a matter of perspective. Other times, they’re just fantastic snaps of weird and wonderful locations. This shot was captured by Cocu Liu in the wonderfully sloping streets of San Fransisco. The building isn’t actually wonky, it’s the camera that is. Zarni Myo Win I want to play Just a simple photo of boys doing what boys do best — getting muddy and having a great time. This image was shot on an iPhone 7 Plus in Yangon, Myanmar and was given third place for Photographer of the Year 2018 in the iPhone Photography Awards. «A young boy who lost his leg was watching his friends play soccer, and he said he wanted to play soccer if he could.» Shuo Li/IPPAAWARDS The one with the long neck This incredibly moody, atmospheric and perfectly timed photo was snapped by Shuo Li using an iPhone 7 Plus. This image was selected for the third place in the animal’s category in iPhone Photography Awards 2017. «It was taken in Maasai Mara National Reserve, on October 6,2016.
