Professional photographer Chase Jarvis shot this photo on his iPhone X, using the Key Photo feature to find the perfect frame within the Live Photo in iOS 11.

How can you take great pictures on your smartphone? And is the iPhone X really a step up in camera quality? Professional photographer Chase Jarvis is in a unique position to answer both of those questions, and more.

Jarvis joined us recently to record a segment for our GeekWire radio show, airing this weekend on KIRO Radio (2 p.m. Saturday, 97.3 FM in the Seattle region). In this behind-the-scenes video, he talks about his experience so far with Apple’s new device, critiques our smartphone photos, offers tips for shooting pictures on the iPhone, and tells the stories behind some of his best smartphone shots.

A longtime champion of smartphone photography, Jarvis is an award-winning photographer, entrepreneur, director and the CEO of Seattle-based online learning company CreativeLive, which he co-founded in 2010. He also hosts the shows Chase Jarvis Live and Chase Jarvis RAW. His 2009 book, The Best Camera Is the One That’s With You, was an early demonstration of the potential of smartphone photography.

Chase Jarvis in portrait mode on the iPhone X. (GeekWire Photo / Todd Bishop)

Jarvis has been using the iPhone X since before its release, and CreativeLive is currently offering an online class featuring Jarvis, “iPhone X: The Quick Guide to Great Photos + Video.”

In the video above, he takes GeekWire’s John Cook and me through some of the fundamentals, including basic composition, the rule of thirds, the use of the Key Photo feature in Live Photos, tapping on the screen to focus and adjust light, and other secrets to great iPhone pictures.

He said he does notice a big difference in the quality of the iPhone X camera — calling it “absolutely incredible.” Here’s one example of an iPhone X picture, taken by Jarvis on a recent helicopter ride above Seattle.

Chase Jarvis took this photo using an iPhone X from a helicopter above Seattle.

More interesting, Jarvis said, is how the new Apple device demonstrates the direction of imaging in areas such as augmented and virtual reality, facial recognition and the use of OLED screens. The iPhone X “stands for the intimation of the next path,” he said, “and to me, that’s very, very exciting.”

Follow Chase Jarvis on Twitter and Instagram, and watch our video with him above.

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