I have a smartphone and I take an occasional snap shot with it but it’s only to share on social media or something.
But I’m a full time fine art photographer. I create art that people purchase and hang on their wall. As such I create with intent and purpose. I create with professional level equipment.
Here are a few reasons the fine art photographs you purchase from my portfolio were created using professional cameras and lenses.
Sensor Size
I examine my photographs at 100% for things like sharpness, dust spots and chromatic aberration. Professional camera set at low ISOs such as 100 produce amazingly fine “grain” that you can see at 100% magnification in Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop.
Small sensors such as those found in cell phones and cheap cameras look chunky and gritty when examined closely.
Final Image Size
I routinely sell prints in the 20 x 30 inch range and above. If a photograph is worth taking and intended for the fine art market, I want a file size that can be printed in large sizes.
Cell phones are designed to create small resolution images for the web. Pro cameras are designed for the demands of print.
Lens Quality
Look at the line up of Canon lenses. Why so many? Because each lens serves a specific purpose. Compare that to a single cell phone lens designed to basically take selfies.
Also consider the size of the lens. Do you think the same quality is achieved from a lens smaller than a dime?
Which brings us to lens selection. I have lenses that cost upwards to $2,000 but they will last longer than probably 10 phone upgrades if not longer.
Each lens in my kit is available to solve a specific problem or to achieve a certain result. Macro lens for getting in close, wide angle lens for going wide, zoom lens for getting closer to the subject, Tilt-Shift lenses for correcting perspective, fast lenses to blow out the background, etc.
What does the smartphone have? One lens.
The Viewfinder
Call me old fashioned but I compose best with one eye looking through a view finder. If you think about it, the final print is going to be 2D so it makes sense to look at the scene with one eye. Looking at a flat screen with both eyes makes it more difficult to compose a scene for the final result.
Smartphones will never supersede cameras
For the casual snap shot photographer the smartphone has replaced the low end compact cameras in the marketplace but for the serious photographer, dedicated cameras with interchangeable lenses will always be superior.