iPhone Photography School Review

Many of us aren’t getting the most out of the powerful technology in our pockets. That’s where iPhone Photography School comes in.  

Improving your photography skills using your phone can not just help you record beautiful memories, it can also unlock your creativity, with skills that will last a lifetime.

iPhone Photography School is certainly comprehensive. You’ll learn everything about iPhone photography, from the camera set-up, to composition and lighting, to post-production photo editing. 

And if you own a smartphone, you’re already halfway there.

But how does iPhone Photography School work? Is it worth it? And will you really improve your photography skills? Learn all this and more in this iPhone Photography School review.

But first, if you’re pushed for time… 

This detailed iPhone Photography review covers: 

• What is iPhone Photography School?
• Who are the instructors and how does it work?
• How much does it cost, and can you get a free trial?
• What an iPhone Photography School lesson looks like, and its best classes
• iPhone Photography School for business
• How I reviewed it plus what I did and didn’t like
• Who iPhone Photography Course is for
• How to find the platform’s best courses
• Is it legit, can you get a refund, and are there alternatives?
• What other reviews have said
• How to open an account
• Is iPhone Photography School worth it?
• FAQs

Having said that, let’s get going!

What is iPhone Photography School?

iPhone Photography School was founded in 2015 by Emil Parkarklis. He wanted to share what he’d learnt and make iPhone photography more accessible for everyone who owns one. Their philosophy is that if an image is worth 1,000 words, your iPhone is worth $1,000.

And you can learn to use it to its full potential for a fraction of this cost.

The platform currently has more than 430,000 paying customers worldwide, and has been hugely successful since it began nearly a decade ago. Every iPhone user has something to learn from the iPhone Photography School.

This company is challenging the myth that you need expensive, professional equipment to take good photos. Instead, they want to show you that the only camera you need to capture outstanding images is already in your pocket.

How does iPhone Photography School work?

With iPhone Photography School, you can pick a program that most appeals to you from the range of skills and techniques available to learn. Each course is paid for individually, but includes incredible content with lifetime access to that content. 

The videos are pre-recorded by the company’s experienced educators, designed to take you through each new skill step by step. They’re fully flexible. So they can be completed whenever you’d like at your own pace, and wherever you like, as you can download the videos to learn offline, too. 

Within the overarching theme of taking pictures on your phone, on this platform you can learn about diverse aspects of smartphone photography, including:

• Photography basics
• How to take great videos 
• How to edit your photos, using applications like Lightroom and Adobe
• Taking photos in urban, landscape, and other settings
• Photo shortcuts
• Different iPhone camera settings, techniques, and tricks 

Only using the technology in your pocket, this platform promises to help you access your creativity, and produce incredible images.

How much does iPhone Photography School cost?

On iPhone Photography School, each course is available for a stand-alone purchase. Prices vary depending on the class, but the site advertises regular prices as $300-$620. However, users will find enormous discounts nearly constantly available, usually reducing the prices to $60-$120. 

Especially with the reduced prices, this is a fantastic price for such a life-long skill, which you can use everyday.

To make the courses even more accessible, iPhone Photography School includes the option of completing payment in three installments. Simply choose this option at checkout to set up the payments. 

iPhone Photography School free trial

The platform has example videos available if you sign up with your email, to give you a taster of what a lesson looks like.

But don’t worry too much about a free trial – the 30 day money-back guarantee means you have a full month to make up your mind about the course, with no financial risk. 

What a lesson is like

All of iPhone Photography School’s courses are designed to be completed on your iPhone, through the platform’s free app. The learning interface is purpose-designed and provides a user-friendly experience. It's designed to get you up and running using your iPhone to its full capacity in no time. 

Each lesson is made up of videos explaining concepts and techniques step by step, without using photographer’s jargon or overly complicated ideas. With beautiful image examples to show you how it’s done, you’ll be picking it up in no time.

Best iPhone Photography School classes

While all of iPhone Photography School’s classes focus on photography, and especially smartphone photography, the things to learn within that category are varied. The most popular classes on this platform include: 

1. iPhone Photo Academy 
2. iPhone Editing Academy 
3. iPhone Video Academy 
4. Capture it All 
5. Photo Shortcuts 

But the best course for you will depend entirely on what you’re interested in, what you want to get out of it, and what experience you already have. 

I’ve categorized the programs which are available on iPhone Photography School. Plus I've done a bit of research on each one, to give you more of an idea of what you might like to learn about.

General skills

iPhone Photo Academy: Led by company founder, Emil Pakarklis, iPhone Photo Academy is the platform’s introductory course to the concept of smartphone photography. It gives you all the tips and tricks in the book to improve your pics. Master your iPhone camera, learn to think like a photographer, and discover the blueprint to producing great photos, every time. 

Capture It All: This class comes from Clifford Pickett, a renowned photographer known for using his iPhone to capture amazing moments. You’ll learn how to use every technique available on your phone, beyond just taking pictures. From panos to hyperlapses, motion blur to night mode – to get the most out of your phone’s camera.

iPhone Video Academy: Successful social media content creator Simone Ferretti has curated all his knowledge on how to capture incredible moving footage on your phone in this video masterclass. He’ll take you through the basics. From positioning and framing – all the way to the technical – video editing, use of drones, and project ideas. And he throws in some social media top tips too. 

Photographic styles

iPhone Landscape Mastery: In this practical course, Clifford Pickett shows you how to get your photo to match the beauty of the view in front of you. Through the incredible landscape of the Italian Alps, this course is eight hours of practically one-on-one instruction on all the techniques you need to get to grips with this photographic style.

Urban iPhone Photography: Learn to take photos that are as dynamic as their subject – the city. Another fantastic opportunity from Clifford Pickett, this course will help you find the beauty in the urban landscape and understand how to capture it with your iPhone. You’ll cover how to shoot architecture, street scenes, and interesting character studies, and produce great results.

iPhone Food Photography: Andrew Scrivani is a well-known photographer with a diverse creative portfolio, who is especially renowned for his stunning, hunger-inducing images of food. His courses goes over everything you might be doing wrong in your images of food. From lighting, to styling and props, to angles and composition – he'll help you get it right.

Technical Skills

iPhone Editing Academy: Emil Parkaklis is here to help you take your images to the next level, through subtle, impactful editing. The best photography is the product of more than just the raw image. The finish is just as important, and in this course, Emil will teach you the skills required to quickly and effectively improve your pics using both Lightroom and the iPhone photos app.

Digital Camera Mastery: Looking to improve your skills using a slightly higher-tech camera? Mark Hemmings shows you how to get the most out of your DSLR, without relying on ‘auto’ mode. Understanding the technical aspects of your camera – like ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and f-stops – will help take your pictures from average to exceptional.

Photo Shortcuts: Mark Hemmings teaches you the secret to taking consistently outstanding photos in this shortcuts class. It reveals 50 practical, easy-to-follow formulas for taking beautiful photographs in any situation.

Lightroom Editing Mastery: This course reveals the great secret of the professional photographer: post-production. Editing is vital to producing incredible results. And Mark Hemmings will teach you the fundamentals of Lightroom, a highly recommended editing software designed to help you create stunning visuals efficiently and effectively.

iPhone Photography School for business 

Courses from iPhone Photography School are not currently available for business, as they are designed for individuals to develop their personal creativity and learn new skills with their iPhone.

Who are the instructors?

All of the instructors are professional photographers with years of experience under their belts. They’ve decided to share the skills they’ve learnt through a creative career, trial and error, and tons of research, all condensed into a manageable program 

Emil Parkaklis is a self-taught photographer who founded the company nearly a decade ago, after learning everything there was to learn about shooting photos and videos on his iPhone. He dedicated himself to sharing this information with everyone else who uses a smartphone – which is nearly everyone.

Clifford Pickett is a professional iPhone photographer and has worked with brands like British Airways and Clinique, shooting high-budget campaigns, only from his iPhone. A digital nomad, educator, and content creator, Clifford is well-equipped to get you taking photos like a pro in no time. 

Simone Ferretti is a social media influencer with an impressive following, sharing photography tips and tricks all from his phone to help others up their game. Finally, Andrew Scrivani is a renowned photographer and videographer, having worked with big-name brands, and is especially well-known for his beautiful images of food.

How I reviewed iPhone Photography School

I took the time to dive deep into iPhone Photography School’s website, iOS app, courses, and instructor profiles, and looked at what the rest of the internet had to say about the platform. Then, I compiled it all into this review. 

What I liked about iPhone Photography School

Comprehensive content, competitive prices

Loads content is covered in these courses, which makes a visible difference to the photos you’re able to produce. The best part is, the cost is relatively cheap considering the value of these skills and the quality of the teaching. 

Up-to-date courses

To keep up with Apple’s consistent annual releases of new iPhones, iPhone Photography School is likewise constantly renewing and updating its courses. This means that all of the information you get will be super relevant, and include all of the latest tips, tricks, and features. 

User-friendly platform design

iPhone Photography School has an incredibly smooth web design, and a state of the art iOS app, purpose designed for students to download and complete lessons on, when they’re on the go. The app, website, and lesson interface designs make for an extremely user-friendly experience, helping you master new skills more easily.

Learn from the best

All of iPhone Photography School’s instructors are experienced professionals, who’ve decided to share their hard-earned skillsets with their students. You’ll learn from people who’ve been in the photography game for a long time, and make the most of their expansive knowledge.

No-risk, high-reward

This platform has a 30-day, full refund guarantee. So if you try out the course and find that it’s not for you, all you have to do is send one email to get your money back, no questions asked. There really is no risk in trying out this fantastic opportunity. 

What could be improved 

Designed for iPhone users

Although helping iPhone users get the most out of their camera is the main draw of the platform, those who prefer Samsung, Google, or other phones, might not get as much out of these courses. However, iPhone Photography School believes that users of all types of smartphones would benefit from these phone photography courses.

Aimed at beginners 

More experienced photographers may find the jargon-free explanations of techniques and styles a little basic. However, even highly-trained, professional photographers may not know everything about making the most of their iPhone camera – so there’s still something to be learned.

Equipment-specific courses 

Undertaking courses specific to the iPhone camera means that you might not be fully equipped to take on a DSLR camera, if your photography journey takes you down that route. However, iPhone Photography School does have some fantastic digital camera courses, too. Plus, photographic techniques – like composition, angles, lighting, and technical settings like exposure – are transferable across equipment, so you’ll never be starting from square one.

Who iPhone Photography School is for

What’s great about this platform is that nearly everyone could benefit from learning how to properly use the camera on their phone – especially because we’re all using them, all the time, anyway.

The fantastic selection of different courses covering different photographic skills means that this platform has something to appeal to nearly everyone. 

Although it’s mostly aimed at beginners to photography looking to improve their amateur pics, I’m certain that more seasoned artists could benefit, too. 

I think that iPhone Photography School would be great for someone who:

• Has never tried photography, and wants to start with the equipment they already have
• Wants to improve their photography to capture personal memories and moments beautifully
• Is looking to make an impact on social media through iPhone photography 
• Wants to learn fantastic insider tips from professionals 
• Is keen to explore their creative side, through an accessible medium
• Has some experience in photography, and wants to see what an iPhone can do

Can I buy iPhone Photography School courses as a gift?

iPhone Photography School courses are not currently available to buy as a gift.

Tips for finding great courses on iPhone Photography School

The best way to find great courses on this platform is simply to browse its website. It’s super user-friendly and interactive, and includes stunning examples of the kind of images you might be able to take having completed these courses. 

Explore each course description by following the links on the home page. And discover everything you’d learn, information about the instructor, course prices, benefits, and more. 

Is iPhone Photography School legit?

Although it may seem too good to be true, iPhone Photography School is a legitimate platform. 

It was founded nearly a decade ago by Emil Parkaklis, who still runs the company himself. He's seen more than 430,000 happy customers since its inception. Plus, you can search for iPhone Photography School across social media platforms, as well as instructor’s names, to see the photography of the experts delivering your course. 

If that’s not enough, rest assured that I’ve explored the platform in depth. I've found that it is able to deliver its impressive promises, for a great price. 

iPhone Photography School refund 

This platform has a fantastic refund policy. If you don’t like the course in the first 30 days, you can receive a full refund, no questions asked. All you have to do is send the course provider an email, and you’ll get your money back.

iPhone Photography School alternatives 

If you’re not sure that iPhone Photography School is the place for you, it might help to look at some of the other iPhone photography courses that are on offer. 

To help with this you could check out our best photography courses review.

Alternatively you could try SkillShare. This is a platform run by and for artists and creatives, which has a fantastic learners community. It offers over 30,000 skills based courses with a ton available for photographers. One pro about this platform is that students sign up to a membership, which means complete, unlimited access to all of the courses.

Another great choice is Udemy, a well-known learning platform which has over 100k courses available. Courses can be bought individually and you can learn about every aspect of photography – for iPhone or otherwise – on this site. The size, scale, and scope of Udemy means you know it will be a solid choice. 

Finally, The Photo Academy is a platform dedicated to delivering online courses in iPhone Photography, and exploring the capabilities of smartphone photography. Its different level courses means that this platform might be better for more experienced photographers, as you can choose which stage to begin at.

iPhone Photography School reviews: what others have said

I wanted to give you a balanced review of this platform, so I’ve searched across the internet to find out what other people have been saying. 

iPhone Photography School has a 4.9/5 star average of all site reviews, and its social media followings are testament to the impression its photography makes, with 2.9 million followers on Facebook, 2.7 million on Instagram, and 736 thousand subscribers on Youtube.

I googled ‘iPhone Photography School reddit’ to see what was being said about it.

One user – who hadn’t actually purchased the course – said:

These type of courses rely on marketing designed to trick people into impulsively buying them. iPhone Photography School Reddit review.

However, another user who actually did buy a course from iPhone Photography School felt:

It was worth the price… What I love about the course is the teaching style, the dashboard, the support you get from the team and other students. iPhone Photography School Reddit review

So there you have it, from someone who actually bought the course – it’s well worth it. 

Evaluating iPhone Photography School

Features: Each course purchased on this platform will get you access to fantastic tutorials, a purpose-designed learning interface, expert knowledge, and a community of learners. These are really competitively priced courses designed to help you unlock your creativity and pursue your photography dreams, only using the technology in your pocket.

Content quality: The lessons are taught like in-depth workshops, without any inaccessible jargon, in really manageable chunks. Each course is fully flexible, designed to be completed whenever and wherever you like, and vary in length. A fantastic user-interface makes it a great learning experience.

Content breadth: iPhone Photography School focuses on smartphone photography, but within that has courses that will teach you everything from technique, composition, lighting, and angles to editing, specific photographic styles, and post-production. It really has got it all.

Teachers: The instructors on this platform are all highly experienced photographers, who’ve worked with big-brand names and have produced fantastic work. They’re willing to share the tips and knowledge that they’ve built up over a lifetime with the students of iPhone Photography School. 

Supporting materials: Everything students need to complete these courses can be found in the iOS app, downloadable for all iPhones from the App Store. And of course, you’ll need your smartphone. 

Payments and refunds: At full price, these courses cost between $300-$620. But there are near-constant discounts which means you’ll be getting them at a great price. Plus, there’s a 30-day refund guarantee, if you decide its not for you.

Support: You can reach iPhone Photography School support on their help site: help.iphonephotographyschool.com or through their email: emil@iphonephotographyschool.com.

How to open an iPhone Photography School account

Getting started is easy. Simply choose the course that you want, go to checkout, and set up payment for instant, lifetime access to your chosen program. 

Is iPhone Photography School worth it?

In my opinion, taking a class on this platform is absolutely worth it. Especially if you’re interested in getting started in photography, but don’t want to spend loads on specialist equipment. 

If you’re a little more experienced in photography, or you’re looking for a more general course about technique and photographic theory, you might not find that this is the place for you to start learning. 

However, I think nearly everyone can benefit from learning how to take better pictures on their iPhone, a skill that you’d use all the time, in your daily life. 

Plus, there’s no-risk involved in purchasing a program on iPhone Photography School, as the 30 day refund policy means you can get all your money back, no questions asked. 

iPhone Photography School Frequently asked questions