It's easy to look at camera phones as somehow inferior to their dedicated photo and video counterparts. But the simplicity of smartphone shooting has enabled savvy content creators to really think outside the box and create some truly incredible works. One such content creator is Jordi Koalitic.
The Xiaomi Creator's Instagram is filled to the brim with clever photography and videography project ideas, but two really caught my attention. One is a short video of a person walking their dog along a beach at sunset, but through the sound hole of a classical guitar. The other is a photo of a person standing atop a guitar, walking towards the sunset in the distance.
They were captured on the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and 14 Ultra respectively. But what really impressed me is that the special effects are created entirely in-camera. In a world where we often turn to photo editing software or video editing software to create surrealist images, Jordi's approach is refreshingly practical.
The first piece of content might look like it's being shot through the sound hole of a guitar, but Jordi's Instagram Reel reveals that it's a clever ruse. It looks like he's cut out a sound hole-sized circle into a piece of wood and attached some guitar strings.
This DIY prop is then used to frame the subject, while an assistant plucks the strings so it looks like the 'guitar' is being played. Jordi himself can then frame the 'sound hole' with his Xiaomi 13 Ultra and gradually move the camera phone forward to zoom into the scene.
He also makes great use of the phone camera's slow-motion capabilities. Using slo-mo creates a smoother zoom and enables the viewer to watch as the strings slacken and reverberate as they're plucked. Mesmerizing!
The second piece of content is altogether more simple, but no less effective. The Instagram Reel shows a subject standing atop a short pillar, while Jordi holds a classical guitar flat in front of himself, pointing it towards the subject while resting his Xiaomi 14 Ultra on the fretboard and taking the shot.
Make sure you check out more incredible content on Jordi's Instagram. I know what photography projects I'll be trying this weekend!
Want to capture your own incredible phone camera content? You might be interested in the best phone for video recording and vlogging or the best rugged phone.
