I’m on my fifth iPhone in 15 years. The most notable upgrade throughout the various generations? The camera. At least for me, a deliberately distant user of the product.
Better technology is often touted as a great equalizer, and, in some ways, it is. Professional creators can now exclusively use iPhones to shoot pretty amazing photos and videos. So those who aspire to become visual craftspeople have fewer barriers to entry.
What better tech doesn’t do, however, is turn an amateur into a pro automatically. It merely enhances their amateur experience.
When I switched from my iPhone 6S to an iPhone 11, I could now capture more in the same picture thanks to its 0.5x ultra-wide zoom feature. I remember also being able to properly photograph the moon for the first time. Previous lenses basically didn’t work at night.
After upgrading from that iPhone 11 to an iPhone 16 Pro, more new possibilities have unlocked. The 5x optical zoom lets me catch a squirrel in the tree as if it’s right in front of me. The slow-motion and time-lapse videos are now in full HD resolution.
But for all these features, I still know as much about focus, composition, lighting, aperture, and exposure as I did before—which is next to nothing. That better technology? It makes for more fun pics in my family group chat but little else. I’m not suddenly going to steal a professional photographer’s job, since I never aspired to be one in the first place.
We have more technology than ever before. We’re also as busy as we’ve ever been, and the number of possible job options has never been greater. So don’t panic. Leverage what you can to truly improve your work. For everything else, relax. Have fun. Don’t overthink new technology. Enjoy the amateur enhancements.
