iPhone 6 Plus used by White House Christmas photographer

This year, a professional photographer opted to forgo using a big DSLR camera and fancy lens to capture the White House's Christmas decorations, and instead used an iPhone 6 Plus. As Apple loves to mention at each year's unveiling of a new iPhone, the company's smartphone has become the most popular camera in use today, even finding use in situations where professionals previously would never consider using a mobile device.

Freelance photographer Brooks Kraft says the iPhone 6 Plus gave him notable advantages while capturing the Christmas celebrations this year. With more than 10 years of experience of shooting White House events, Kraft says the iPhone was more than capable, with its compact size, ability to take shots in rapid succession, and advanced capture modes. But more important to him than the technical features was that using the smartphone allowed him to photograph more candid moments, and be less noticeable to subjects when in the moment.

"I notice that people just don't react the same way [when you're using an iPhone]," Kraft told Time, adding, "If you are looking to capture something candid, people are so used to seeing mobile devices that their reaction time is slower." Also, the main reason for choosing the 6 Plus was because it offers optical image stabilization.

The photographer says most of his shots were taken in the "square" picture mode. Because he wasn't given a lot of time to set up shots, the large 5.5-inch screen made framing a bit easier to take photos before being ushered to the next room. As many professionals would surely agree, Kraft says he wouldn't completely abandon his DSLR for an iPhone, especially for "important" situations, but the 6 Plus was an ideal tool for this shoot.

SOURCE Time