This macro photo WON “Shot on iPhone” Macro Challenge! Was shot by Indian software engineer

This year, the iPhone 13 Pro added a new macro mode for photography and as expected, it won hearts all over the world! People soon started using the macro mode to get new perspectives, or even make their jobs easier. Apple, hence, decided to host a global photography contest, challenging owners of the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max to showcase their creativity using the macro mode. Called the Shot on iPhone Macro challenge, the competition saw entries from around the world and one of the Indian entries won it!

The Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge saw several entries, and chose 10 winners from across the world. The top 10 winners are from China, Hungary, India, Italy, Spain, Thailand, and the US. These photos will be features on Apple’s website, Instagram page, and billboards across the cities in which the winners reside. Out of all the photos, you can check out the one that came from India here.

Indian Software Engineer wins Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge

Out of the 10 entries, it was India’s Prajwal Chougule who won the contest. Chougule is a Software Engineer based in Kolhapur and says that photography has been a passion since his college days. He initially started with street photography and eventually moved to a more minimalistic style.

"I am a nature lover and love going on early morning walks, with my iPhone 13 Pro. The “golden hour” brings the best out of nature and is a photographer’s delight. Dew drops on a spiders web caught my attention and I was fascinated how the dry spider silk formed a necklace, on which the dew glisten like pearls. It felt like a piece of art on natures canvas,” says Prajwal when asked about his winning entry, which is a spider’s web with dew drops on it.

The panel of judges also included an Indian photographer, who was part of choosing the 10 winning entries. Apeksha Maker, co-founder of commercial photography firm The House Of Pixels, Mumbai, said on the winning Indian entry, “This image is so perfect that it looks like an illustration. The well-arranged dew drops on the spiderweb are captured with great detail. It’s something that most people would miss around them. There is some sort of harmony in the drops; at first glance the viewer could be deceived on what the subject is. The iPhone does a fantastic job at focusing on such a fine detail, with close to almost no definitive background."

If you missed out on participating in the contest, don’t worry as Apple shares some tips to make the most out of your iPhone’s macro camera. Note that the macro mode is only available on the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max, not the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini. 

Tips to get great macro photos on iPhone

Step 1: Make sure to get close to your subject. You can get as close as 2 cm from the subject. 

Step 2: Place the primary point of focus near the center of the frame, to get the sharpest focus. 

Step 3: Tap an area in the viewfinder to set a specific focus point. 

Step 4: Shoot at .5x to capture an Ultra-Wide field of view, or choose 1x for tighter framing. Note that the iPhone will automatically switch cameras as you get close while maintaining the 1x framing.