An iPhone 12 photo has won this year's iPhone Photography Awards, proving that you don't need the latest kit
Heroe - Shot on iPhone 12 Pro, Arandas, Jalisco, Mexico(Image credit: Ivan Silva)
The winners of the iPhone Photography Awards 2023 have just been announced and, to our surprise, the Grand Prize-winning image was taken on the 3-year-old iPhone 12 Pro! It just goes to show that you don't need the latest phone to take prize-winning photos.
Ivan Silva from Mexico was crowned this year’s overall winner for his shot titled Heroe, which shows a young boy shirt standing on a pickup truck loaded with logs. He wears a number 10 Lionel Messi soccer shirt with his arms outstretched, celebrating like the popular South American player. Released in 2020 the iPhone 12 Pro is still up there with the best iPhones for photography, thanks to its triple lens setup, LiDAR scanner and Apple ProRaw file format.
Soy Sauce Village - Shot on iPhone 12 Pro Max, Hung Yen Province, HaNoi, Vietnam (Image credit: Thea Mihu)
Thea Mihu from Germany came in first place, with an image shot on an iPhone 12 Pro Max. Soy Sauce Village was taken in Hung Yen Province, Hanoi, Vietnam and depicts beautiful neutral tones of terracotta soy sauce urns being stirred by someone in a traditional nón lá.
Second place was awarded to Sasa Borozan, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, for Taming Waves. The black-and-white image shows a young boy on the end of a pier holding a rope, taken on an iPhone 13 Pro. In third place came Derek Hagar for another black-and-white image, titled Tucson Morning, shot on an iPhone X.
Taming Waves - Shot on iPhone 13 Pro, Sladjenovici, Croatia (Image credit: Sasa Borozan)
What is perhaps most surprising about this year’s winning entries is that very few were shot on the latest iPhone models. In fact the iPhone 7 – which was released in 2016 – came top in the abstract category, winning first and second place with images by Tim Wheeler and Neil Nesheim respectively.
Skye Snyder took a stunning photo of vibrant flamingoes against a backdrop of trees titled Once En Rosa winning the animal category; Scott Galloway came first in the abstract category for a macro shot of a rolled-up fern leaf titled Wonder Wheel; and first place in the people category was awarded to Daniel Heilig for Sunset Years,showing someone in a wheelchair looking out to a serene lake.
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Prizes include a gold bar from the world’s most recognizable private gold mint for first place, a platinum bar for second and third place category winners, and all winners will receive an IPPAwards certificate. Images were judged based on their originality, composition, style and artistic merit. To view the full winner’s gallery, head to the IPPAwards website.
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Tucson Morning - Shot on iPhone X, El Pesidio, Tucson(Image credit: Derek Hager)
The Long Wait - Shot on iPhone 7 Plus, Stockholm, Sweden(Image credit: Tim Wheeler)
Summer - Shot on iPhone 12 Pro Max, Beijing(Image credit: Shusen Jia)
Once en Rosa - Shot on iPhone 12 Pro Max, San Diego, California(Image credit: Skye Snyder)
Girl - Shot on iPhone 13 Pro, Orange County, California(Image credit: Sofia Ershova)
Why not also check out the best budget camera phones, so you can take stunning photos without breaking the bank.
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Having studied Journalism and Public Relations at the University of the West of England Hannah developed a love for photography through a module on photojournalism. She specializes in Portrait, Fashion and lifestyle photography but has more recently branched out in the world of stylized product photography. Hannah spent three years working at Wex Photo Video as a Senior Sales Assistant, using her experience and knowledge of cameras to help people buy the equipment that is right for them. With eight years experience working with studio lighting, Hannah has run many successful workshops teaching people how to use different lighting setups.
