iPhone 15 Pro Max Photography: A Game-Changer with Some Caveats

The iPhone 15 Pro Max continues Apple’s legacy of pushing mobile photography into new territory. With a powerful triple-lens system and a 5x telephoto zoom exclusive to the Pro Max model, it’s clear Apple had photographers in mind. The 48MP main sensor produces crisp, detailed images in bright conditions, while Smart HDR 5 balances highlights and shadows for a natural look. Computational photography remains a standout feature, making everyday snapshots look expertly composed with minimal effort.

Low-light performance sees further improvement, thanks to a larger sensor and faster aperture. Night mode activates automatically, capturing more detail with less noise, even in challenging conditions. Apple’s Deep Fusion tech ensures fine textures are preserved, and with the option to shoot in ProRAW, advanced users can take full control in post-processing. The iPhone 15 Pro Max also supports Log video recording, turning the phone into a mini cinema camera for creators who want maximum dynamic range.

However, despite its strengths, the iPhone 15 Pro Max isn’t without flaws. The new 5x telephoto lens is limited in its versatility due to its fixed focal length; shots in the mid-zoom range (between 2x and 4x) rely on digital cropping or lower-quality sensors. Additionally, while ProRAW and Log video are powerful tools, they require significant storage space — something that could quickly become an issue, especially with the base 256GB model.

Ergonomically, the titanium build is lighter, but the phone remains bulky, which can make handheld shooting over extended periods tiring. The user interface of the native Camera app, while polished, still lacks full manual controls unless third-party apps are used — a downside for photographers wanting granular settings like shutter speed, ISO, and white balance adjustments.

In summary, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is one of the best smartphones for photography on the market, combining powerful hardware with intelligent software. It’s ideal for travel, social media content, and even semi-professional work. Still, limitations in zoom flexibility and manual control remind us that it’s not a full replacement for a dedicated camera setup — yet. For many, though, it hits the sweet spot between convenience and creative potential.

More photos for sale

 

Last night, someone bought a picture of a timber wolf I took several years ago at Parc Omega.  Fine Art America just paid for itself and then some.  Thank you to the buyer in Colorado.  

 The above photos were taken in the Ottawa Valley on October 10, 2020.  No one around and it was very peaceful.  Even went out for dinner.  Considering Ottawa is in another lockdown, we had to go out of town to get something to eat.  Gotta love the draconian levels of government in Canada. 

Both pictures are available for sale here and here.  Hopefully they'll be approved on my Adobe stock portfolio and my Deposit Photos portfolio.

I don't like being in front of a camera

I really don't like being in front of the camera lens.  I really don't.  I'm very self conscious.  I don't like the sound of my voice, let alone how I look.  I'm 43 years old.  I should not be this self conscious.  Especially in 2019.  I'm not a high school teenager anymore.  I went out today to do a video blog today for YouTube.  Unfortunately the little mic I bought off Amazon was the wrong one so no audio at all.  First world problems.  Ordered the correct one when I got home.  Should be here tomorrow.  Thanks free Amazon Prime.  😇

May 16, 2014

May 16, 2014.  That was the first day I got accepted at Shutterstock to sell my photos.  Today I had my 4800th sale.  I sold my first photo a few hours after my photos were accepted.  It was an exciting time for me.  I had 7 photos that were accepted.  This is my first photo sold.  This is my 4800th download that a buyer bought.

As of 16:36 EST, I have 14,462 photos accepted and 1,527 clips accepted at Shutterstock.  I cant believe it's been five years already.  I only now post to Shutterstock, Pond5 and Storyblocks.  I really, really enjoy photography and videography.  It's so much fun.  Please support me by buying from either my microstock portfolios or my website.

Darkroom 4.0.2 versus Apple Photos

Darkroom 4.0.2 (current version) blow Apple Photos out of the water.  Apple Photos is just a digital asset management piece of software.  It doesn’t even do that well as Darkroom 4.0.2 does it much better.  Darkroom 4.0.2 is much more feature rich than Apple Photos.  There are of course a few things missing in Darkroom 4.0.2 like noise reduction, retouch, dodge and burn, layers, a graduated ND filter like feature and masking.  I would love if noise reduction and retouching would be added to the software.  That would be enough for me currently.  I hate switching apps to do just one thing in that app and finish off in Darkroom 4.0.2.  Apple Photos is just used for the import of photos and clips for me.  I’ve tried to use the software to edit my photos but it’s just not worth it.

Years ago, Apple had a really good digital asset management for semi-pro and pro photographers but discontinued it as apparently no one was buying it which I find kinda bullshitty.  I knew a lot of photographers in my area who had a Mac who used it.  At that time Adobe’s Lightroom DAM was buggy, slow and a waste of money.  I refuse to buy into Adobe’s subscription model especially on the iPad.

If you’re a photographer working on solely on the Apple iPad, I highly suggest Darkroom 4.0.2.  It’s not Photoshop or Affinity Photo but if you need quick, good editing software that acts like Lightroom without the monthly subscription I’d recommend Darkroom 4.0.2.  After publishing this blog post, I will go on the Apple App Store to write a review and ask for the necessary features to be added to Darkroom 4.0.2.