Apple Shares New Shot on iPhone XS Video With Portrait Tips From Photojournalist Christoper Anderson

Apple this afternoon shared a new video in its ongoing "Shot on iPhone" series, this time showcasing the work of photojournalist Christopher Anderson, who Apple says is known for "magnetic portraiture."

In the video, which is in portrait orientation and meant to be watched on an ‌iPhone‌, Anderson provides some tips on what he pays attention to when creating a portrait of a person.


Anderson says he takes into account lighting conditions and interesting backgrounds when setting up to take photographs, as well as anticipating the movements of his subjects and the look of the foreground and background to get the perfect shot.

To add color and intrigue, he plays with props or an object that can create shadows of reflections to define subjects and obscure parts of the image that might be distracting. He uses things like keys, glasses, bottles and mirrors to experiment with different looks.

Post processing is also important, and be says that he uses a lot of Apple's built-in tools for adjusting contrast and lighting.

Apple has shared multiple videos in its Shot on ‌iPhone‌ series, including several longer-form videos created by various artists, including the recent Maldives video and a series of nature scenes called "Don't Mess With Mother."

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Top Rated Comments

mrarick Avatar
77 months ago
REALLY? A vertical video to promote better photography techniques...

Just say no to vertical videos!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fathergll Avatar
77 months ago
Who do you think this campaign is for? Serious question. Do you think the cost / benefit ratio is worth it in the end?
General public. It's marketing for the worlds most popular camera that people would use for Instagram and other social media platforms.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Elyzien Avatar
77 months ago
I never understand why Apple posts 480p videos!!?>!?! Where is the 1080 or 4k? WTF?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ErikGrim Avatar
77 months ago
Some really cool, playful, things to experiment with when taking portraits here. I especially liked the wire.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
omglolbbq Avatar
77 months ago
I liked the videos content, but why shoot video in portrait!
Because most people will probably view it on a portrait screen. Ya know… like a phone.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ronno Avatar
77 months ago
I liked the videos content, but why shoot video in portrait!
Especially when he is shooting in vertical the whole time (as he is shooting portraits) why not also shoot the video in vertical, rather than horizontal and have most of the frame empty of content??
Also, millions of people watching this video on their phones (obviously...)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)