Hey, everyone!

May is almost here. The sun is starting to shine a little longer each day. And the beautiful flowers are starting to bloom, enticing us all outside for some well-earned family time.

When I log into Facebook my newsfeed at the moment, it is positively bursting with my friends’ lovely snaps of their children. It’s great to see so many of you out and about among the spring flowers.

Since we all have smartphones with pretty sophisticated cameras these days, it is certainly possible to take some great shots simply with your phone.

So, this got me thinking.

In the age of the iPhone, do you need a professional photographer?

Playing devils advocate for a minute, why would you want to book a professional photographer, like me?

When you can potentially capture great outdoor portraits on your phone, is the investment into a pro photographer worth the money?

Is it really worth spending a couple of hundred pounds on professional portraits when you can take your own for free?

So, with this in mind, last week I did a bit of an experiment.

Comparing the iPhone with a professional camera

When I was out in the bluebell woods myself, photographing the beautiful Amira , I grabbed my phone (a shiny new iPhone ) and handed it to Amira’s mummy.

I asked her to get some photos of me photographing Amira, and some shots of Amira on her own.

Putting the iPhone to the test

Now my iPhone is great. Being the latest model, it has an excellent quality integrated camera. So, I was actually amazed at how badly the shots turned out.

I expected vibrant bluebells, a gorgeous warm glow and a creamy background with Amira looking amazing in the foreground.

But this is the shot from my iPhone. You can see for yourself, it isn’t very impressive!

In fact, it’s hard to see Amira at all!

The background is way too clear and messy, the colours are flat and where has that gorgeous warm glow gone?

I was pretty disappointed with the iPhone’s performance to be honest.

Why you need a professional photographer

In contrast to the poor quality iPhone picture that Amira’s mummy took, this is the portrait I captured on my professional camera.

I took this photo while I was stood next to Amira’s mummy. So I was in the same location at the same time, working with the exact same lighting conditions.

I use a professional quality Canon camera and, an essential piece of my kit for this kind of shot, a really long lens.

The advantage of a long lens over the iPhone is that it it allows me to do a tighter crop of the subject. And it does an amazing job of blurring out that messy background and bringing Amira to the forefront of the photo, since I am in control of the apeture of the lens.

The result is a carpet of gorgeous bluebells (deliberately, not all in focus), the child in sharp focus (drawing your eye immediately to her) and the gorgeous golden light falling on her skin.

Wow! Isn’t this a major improvement to the iPhone snap!

Amateur vs. pro photography

You could be forgiven for thinking that these two pictures weren’t taken on the same day, let alone the same time! There is such a huge difference between the two images!

The professional portraits I took were a hit with Amira’s mummy and I’m told that this one is going to be printed and mounted onto the walls at Amira’s home.

The iPhone snap will be deleted!

Heres a few more of the stunning Amira

Proof you need a professional photographer

So, that’s why (in my opinion anyway), in the age of the iPhone you still need a professional photographer!

Even with the very latest smartphones and iPhone cameras at our disposal, the results are so inferior to the quality that a professional photographer can produce.

Now I know this, of course, but I wonder if the thought has ever crossed your mind before? Whether you need a professional photographer? Or whether you could save yourself some money and do a D.I.Y portrait session.

Well, if you’re after the kind of portraits that I can produce, I hope that this may have helped you to answer that question!

If you’re now convinced and would like to book a spring flowers outdoor photoshootplease contact me as soon as possible to book your slot.  I’m on 07749 270431 or email me at karenwiltshire@me.com or complete the contact form on my website

The bluebells are only around for a few more weeks and I only have limited bluebell sessions left.

Karen x