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In December 2024 we retired the Stockimo app, but we’re still accepting Smartphone photos. You can read the latest update here. If you’re looking to upload your mobile phone photos to 17�Թ����� you can sign up here.

This blog article from 2018 has been kept live for archival purposes.

In 1824, developed a photographic process called heliography using bitumen of Judea spread on a silver plate. The resulting images are one of the earliest surviving photos, which Joseph would be quite glad about as it took several days to get the right exposure. Twelve years later, the process was tweaked and reduced to a single day.

However, it wasn’t until 1840 that made a breakthrough when he found that images can be formed on sensitised paper in a relatively short amount of time. These images could then be made visible in a process we now know as development and fixing.

Anyone who’s developed their own film will know what a fascinating and satisfying process it is (and not because of the chemically-induced wooziness). So one can only imagine what it must have been like in the 19^th century seeing an image magically come to fruition. Suddenly, we found a way to reproduce scenes with unerring accuracy; we can now document life in the most objective way possible, share the most poignant of experiences without bias and see parts of the world that could only be imagined before.

It wasn’t until the start of the 20^th century that photography became more widely available to the public with the affordable Kodak Brownie camera. But despite its growing popularity, cameras were often seen as a tool rather than a vehicle for Art. Admittedly, this wasn’t helped by Kodak’s marketing strapline “you press the button, we do the rest”. Was this the start of snobbery in photography?

Perhaps but technological advances in photography have generally been welcomed – anything that gives you more space to think about the creative process is always a good thing. The less you’re fiddling with settings and wondering how to access your metering options, the more time you have to think about your composition, depth of field and focal point. A camera is supposed to be part of you, capturing exactly what your eyes see, conveying the evocative allure that made you stop and notice.

Fast forward to the current century where a predicted that 1.2 trillion photos will be taken in 2017. Of that, a whopping 85% would be taken on mobile. That hardly seems surprising yet there continues to be a stigma towards mobile that suggests photography is desperate to shake the connotations from Kodak’s century old strapline.

When the earliest camera phones (remember when they were called that?) were released in the early 2000s, the resulting pictures showed life in a new light: authentic, raw and unbridled as groups of friends candidly traded gossip while a camera phone was snapping away with careless abandon. The beauty of mobile photography is that it’s in the moment; there’s no premeditation and thus we go back to capturing life as the eye sees it. This desire for genuine subjects in imagery is backed up by our 2017 Trends Report where we found buyers in the UK are moving away from staged shots to more authentic scenes.

So should mobile form part of your kit bag yet? We think so and so does contributor David Poole who’s been shooting since the 80s. He says:

Accessibility is an important aspect here as mobile phones become omnipresent. Most phones also have a quick access to the camera function now. Remember that old philosophical saying: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Or the more modern and facile version: “Pics or it didn’t happen.” This is every photographer’s worst nightmare: noticing something remarkable happen in front of you only to realise you don’t have your kit on you. Except that you do! Your phone.

The creative process is also put into question here. With the myriad of filters available, some may argue that images are more creative now while others will argue that images are becoming derivative. There are even some arguments against the authenticity of mobile photography due to all the filters. Does anyone remember this same argument coming about when digital photography was coming to the fore? But it must be remembered that we’ve always had the capabilities to alter images – in the darkroom, developing your black and white negative film for longer will increase contrast. And Instagram filters were actually inspired by .

Then we come to the immediacy of mobile. It’s not inconsequential that the digital world is now all about immediacy. The popularity of live streaming and Instagram stories is a testament to this. For this reason, it is editorial photography that has benefitted most from mobile where urgency is the name of the game. With mobile, not only is it easy to never miss a beat but to then process your image on the fly and upload it within minutes will endear you to news outlets. This is why we’ve integrated 17�Թ����� News into Stockimo so that photographers can upload as quickly as possible.

But there’s one thing that’s more exciting than anything else about the rise of mobile photography; we now have unprecedented access to a whole raft of new talent. Not only is this good for image buyers who might find more unique imagery that doesn’t follow the usual photography conventions but it’s also good for photography in general – more competition will only drive up the quality of work as people try even harder to differentiate themselves from the pack.

Here at 17�Թ�����, we believe in mobile photography so much that we don’t differentiate between pictures based on what they’re shot on. Within the library, you’ll see images created from mobiles and DSLRs coexisting and selling at the same price point. That’s because from the image buyer’s point of view, there is no difference. Yes, there is a minimal grade of quality that makes an image saleable but beyond that, it’s all about the narrative within the image and how that will enhance the message in an alluring way.

Of course, there are many forms of photography that cannot be done with a mobile. But there are many more that can. And ultimately, regardless of technical capabilities, there is only one camera that you need. In the words of Chase Jarvis: “The best camera is the one that’s with you.”

Have we convinced you? If so, check out and start uploading straight from your iPhone.