As smartwatches and smartphones get smarter every year, I tend to forget some basic functionalities that make these two devices work so well together. Take the Apple Watch: did you know that it can actually control your iPhone camera? Truth be told, this one simple feature actually slipped my mind a couple of times.

Needless to say, this feature makes it great for snapping group photos, so you don’t have to ask the person in your group with the longest arm anymore to take a selfie shot. On top of that, the Apple Watch can also show a preview of the camera. Again, a basic feature, but I still find it very convenient in order to get the right framing in a large group photo.

While we’re (somewhat) on the topic, it’s worth noting that I took the shots featured in this article with the iPhone 15 Pro under the guidance of some experts, including photographer Muhd Hidayatullah and photojournalist Annice Lyn. Now that it’s the month of Ramadan with Hari Raya fast approaching, it’s apt to take some photos themed around the upcoming celebration.

Now, even though I took these shots with the iPhone 15 Pro, there’s no doubt that even the base iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus can deliver similar results. While the Pro model’s more sophisticated camera hardware helps – especially the zoom lens – it still comes down to the photographer to capture the “right” shot, such as a son asking for forgiveness from his mother during Hari Raya.

Beyond photographing the festivities, I was also taught some neat tricks to shoot portrait style shots. From experimenting with shadow to layering different subjects together, you can really capture some great-looking shots if you know what to look out for.

Now, to be frank, I don’t experiment as much as I should when it comes to photography. As my smartphone reviews on this website show, I often default to wide landscape shots and close-up of certain subjects – well, mostly of food or animals – when I’m testing out smartphone cameras. That is to say it was nice to have a fresh outlook on how to approach photography – “looking through a new lens,” if you will.

Anyway, if you’d like to learn more about the iPhone 15 series, check out my comprehensive reviews of the iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro. With Hari Raya coming up, it’s a good time to consider upgrading to either one of the two latest iPhones.