We went inside iPhone Photo Academy, its flagship course, and pulled together the real curriculum, the true pricing, the Trustpilot data, and an honest list of what's good and what isn't.
4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot · hundreds of thousands of students since 2013
iPhone Photography School is the biggest name in iPhone photography teaching, running since 2013 with over 647,000 students in its flagship course alone. That course, iPhone Photo Academy, is taught by founder Emil Pakarklis. It is clear, well shot, and built for people who have never thought about composition or camera settings in their life.
It won't impress you if you already shoot manual on a real camera — the core is deliberately basic. And the videos stream only, so there's no offline viewing. But for an iPhone owner who wants their photos to stop looking flat, it is a genuinely good starting point, and the 30-day refund makes it low-risk.
It's an online school that teaches people to take better photos with the iPhone. Emil Pakarklis started it in 2013 as a blog and grew it into a catalog of more than a dozen courses — everything from absolute-beginner camera basics to landscape, street, editing, drone and video.
The one most people mean when they say "iPhone Photography School" is iPhone Photo Academy, the beginner flagship. That's the course this review digs into, because it's the one that draws the searches and the one most buyers start with. If you already know your way around exposure and composition, the school points you instead to its more advanced Capture It All course.
A quick note, since people ask: this is not an Apple product. It's an independent company. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc., and the school isn't affiliated with them.
The honest question isn't "is it good" — it's "is it better than the free and cheaper options." Here's how it lines up.
| iPhone Photo Academy | YouTube | Udemy courses | Skillshare | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structured, ordered path | Yes — 5 modules | No — scattered | Varies | Varies |
| Built only for iPhone | Yes | Mixed | Some | Some |
| Taught by | Founder, full-time pro | Anyone | Mixed instructors | Mixed instructors |
| Typical cost | $49 one-time | Free | $15–130 | ~$14/mo |
| Lifetime access | Yes | Yes | Yes | No (subscription) |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days | — | 30 days | Trial |
| Ads / rabbit holes | None | Constant | None | None |
Bottom line: YouTube wins on price and loses on structure. If you enjoy assembling free clips into a path yourself, save your money. If you'd rather follow one ordered course made for your phone, this is where the $49 goes.
We logged in and went through the current course — not the older version other reviews still show. Here's what it actually looks like.
Short, well-produced videos with a clean player — captions, playback speed, and per-lesson Comments, Notes and Files tabs. Lessons range from ~5 to ~23 minutes, and some have been re-recorded for the newest iOS.
One honest caveat: videos stream only — there's no offline download, so you need a connection to watch.
Every lesson in the current iPhone Photo Academy — 5 core modules plus 4 bonus modules. Open any to see what's covered.
Every lesson has a comments thread you can only see once you're enrolled. We read through them — here's what stood out, and it contradicts a claim you'll see in other reviews.
Some reviews claim there's no support here. The threads say otherwise. When one student hit a no-sound bug, a staff member replied the same day with a fix, and a fellow student added a browser workaround. Questions rarely sit unanswered.
Students answer each other, share what worked, and swap tips lesson by lesson. It isn't a forum you visit separately — the conversation sits right under each video, which keeps it on-topic.
A student pointed out the instructor re-recorded lessons so the material stays up to date, and staff confirmed a lifetime-updates add-on that adds lessons for the newest iOS camera. This isn't a course frozen in 2019.
Most of the questions are practical — how many hours the course runs, what the lifetime-updates add-on includes, the odd playback hiccup. We folded the most common ones into the FAQ below, with the answers staff gave.
Real reviews from Trustpilot and the school's students. Hover to pause.
"Excellent online photography course. Easy to follow, and it has shown me so many things I did not know my iPhone could do. My photographs have improved."
"Worth every cent, don't miss it. Even if you have been using DSLR or mirrorless cameras for years, there will still be a lot of new things you will learn."
"People are starting to comment on my photos!"
"I now take the best iPhone photos I've ever taken."
"Not only do you learn how to use the tools, you learn why each tool is important. The sample shot setups are explained in detail, and the explanations are clear."
"This iPhone photography course is both practical and enjoyable. It's easy to watch and you can recap if needed. I've learnt a completely different way to shoot."
"Now I take photos only with my iPhone and leave the big camera at home."
"I've had an iPhone for years and I never knew how much it could do."
"iPhone Photo Academy changed my way of viewing the world."
"I've learned so much about the iPhone camera since joining this course."
"I finally know how to use the hidden features of my iPhone camera."
"My iPhone has become a tool for creative expression."
The worries people have before buying, with straight answers.
"Can't I learn all this free on YouTube?"
Some of it, yes. The tips exist, scattered across thousands of videos with ads in between. What you pay for here is one ordered path built for the iPhone, taught start to finish. If you enjoy piecing it together yourself, YouTube is a fair alternative.
"I don't have any talent."
You don't need it. The whole course assumes you're starting from zero and teaches the rules good photos follow — where to stand, how to read light, which lens to use. It's a skill, not a gift.
"My iPhone is a few years old."
Fine. The techniques work on any iPhone from the 5S onward. Most of it is composition and camera fundamentals that don't care which model you own.
"Is it legit, or a scam?"
It's legit — running since 2013, hundreds of thousands of students, 4.8 on Trustpilot, and a 30-day refund you can actually use. The only real question is whether the level suits you.
"I already know photography."
Then the core will feel basic — be honest with yourself. The school's more advanced Capture It All course is the better fit if you want depth beyond the fundamentals.
"What if I don't like it?"
There's a 30-day money-back guarantee. You email support and get a refund — long enough to watch the whole thing and decide.
Still unsure? The 30-day guarantee means you can try it and decide for real.
See the course for yourselfList ~$249 / €295
$49~€59
one-time (or 3 payments) · lifetime access
At the $249 list price you'd hesitate. But it's almost never sold at list — the real price is usually $49, and at $49 the maths is easy. You're getting a founder-taught, well-produced course with dozens of lessons and hours of bonus critique, for less than a single in-person lesson would cost.
The one thing to be clear-eyed about is that perpetual discount. "$249, now $49" is marketing; treat $49 as the price and judge it on that. On those terms it's fair, and the 30-day guarantee removes the risk.
Who should skip it: anyone who already shoots manual and understands light and composition. You'll find the core too basic. Look at the advanced Capture It All course instead, or spend nothing and use YouTube.
This suits one person especially well: someone with a recent iPhone who takes a lot of photos and quietly feels they should be better. If you shoot on auto, never touch the settings, and want a friendly way in, it's built for you.
It also fits people coming back to photography, and parents or travellers who just want sharper, better-framed shots of the moments that matter — without carrying a second camera.
It's a weaker fit if you already own a proper camera and know exposure and composition, or if you're on Android. The ideas transfer, but you'd be paying for lessons filmed on a phone you don't use.
Yes. It's been running since 2013, has taught hundreds of thousands of students, holds a 4.8 on Trustpilot, and includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.
No. It's an independent company founded by Emil Pakarklis. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc., and the school isn't endorsed by Apple.
iPhone Photo Academy is usually $49 (list price around $249), a one-time payment with lifetime access. Other courses run $49–99.
Yes — the techniques apply to any iPhone from the 5S onward. Most of the course is fundamentals that don't depend on the newest model.
No. The lessons stream only, so you need an internet connection to watch. This is one of the course's real limitations.
Yes, a 30-day money-back guarantee. If it's not for you, email support within the window for a full refund.
The course runs to over 10 hours of video across the modules, plus hours of bonus photo-analysis critiques. You watch at your own pace, with lifetime access. (This is one of the most-asked questions in the course's own comment threads.)
It's an optional extra that adds updated lessons for the latest iOS camera app, plus a bonus module on the Camera Control button and the newer Photographic Styles. The core course works fine without it.
iPhone Photo Academy does exactly what it promises: it takes an iPhone owner who shoots on auto and gives them a clear, founder-taught path to better photos. It's basic by design and streams-only, and the pricing theatre is a bit much — but the teaching is solid, the bonus content is genuinely deep, and the refund makes it risk-free. For the right beginner, it's an easy recommendation.
See the course and current offer