Photography for Anxiety Relief | Healing Through iPhone Art

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I didn’t plan to find healing through my iPhone. I just wanted to walk the yard, breathe, and feel the sun again. But somewhere between the flowers, the quiet, and my bulldog’s wrinkled grin, I started to see differently. Photography became more than art—it became therapy. Proof that peace can live in pixels, and that even the smallest lens can help us see the world, and ourselves, more clearly.

Healing through photography — English bulldog Trixie in backyard, taking a moment from her busy day to sniff the flowers.

Finding Calm in the Frame

This spring and summer, while I was recovering, I found myself wandering my backyard — slowly, carefully, iPhone in hand. Recovery takes time, and sometimes, that time feels heavy.

Out there among the flowers, the gardens, and my English bulldog, Trixie (who doesn’t wag her tail so much as she wiggles her whole back end),

I found something healing. I found photography again.

From Safety to Serenity

Funny thing is, I didn’t start carrying my iPhone for the camera. I carried it for safety.

I’ve had neurological issues that can mimic a stroke or seizure, and when I was finally able to get outside again, I wore my Apple Watch for fall detection. If something went wrong, it could send my wife, Rondel, a text — complete with a map of where I was.

How cool is that?

So the iPhone was supposed to be my safety net. But along the way, it became something much more — a creative companion.

Creative mindfulness with Lightroom Mobile edits

A Backyard Becomes a Sanctuary

I saw something of interest.

I raised my camera.

I looked at what I saw.

I thought about what I felt.

And I tried — as best I could — to capture that feeling.

All those photos? They helped me just as much as the ones I took with my DSLR or my mirrorless camera.

I walked the yard, found something that caught my eye, raised the camera, thought about what I felt, and tried to capture that feeling. I arranged the elements into something pleasing — something that told a story.

I loved watching the bees on the flowers, happily pollinating away.

The Viewfinder and the Moment

The viewfinder blocks out distractions. But the iPhone does just fine. It does what I need it to do — it grounds me, it gets me into the moment of taking a photograph, working a composition, getting lost in the frame.

Are there things I miss? Sure. I love bringing a viewfinder to my eye. It’s more intimate — it’s easier to get lost in the scene when everything is framed by that small rectangle of light.

And that work takes my mind off my worries.

That’s the beautiful thing about photography.

Rhode Island landscape photographer takes a few minutes to snuggle with his English Bulldog Trixie

Photography as Mindfulness

I live with a fair bit of anxiety and PTSD, and photography becomes a mindfulness exercise that calms my racing mind.

Any creative endeavor really does this — sketching, writing, playing guitar — many of which served me well when my medical issues kept me from venturing out with my main cameras.

Photography connects my breath to the shutter — one frame at a time.

Lightroom Classic: My Old Friend

I’ve always been a huge fan of Lightroom Classic. I’ve used it since version 1.0, when it was a pretty simple tool, and I’ve taught countless classes on how to use it.

With each release they have added more and more functionality, especially in the Develop Module.

There was a time, long ago in a galaxy far away, where I would manage my images in Lightroom, but do most of the developing in Photoshop. As time marched on, more and more editing tools were added to Lightroom. So much so that for the most part I don’t jump into Photoshop for photo editing.

Therapeutic photography with iPhone and Lightroom Mobile

A Midnight Discovery: Lightroom Mobile

Fast forward to today — I’m in the hospital, bored out of my mind.

At midnight last night, I lay in the dark watching YouTube videos and stumbled on a Lightroom Mobile tutorial by mistake. A few minutes in, I realized it wasn’t what I’d searched for — but by then, my curiosity was piqued.

Two thirty-minute videos later, I was downloading the app over the world’s weakest hospital Wi-Fi.

By 2 A.M., I was blown away by what I could do:

✅ Set white and black points? Check.

✅ Correct white balance? Check.

✅ Remove people from behind my granddaughter at her cheerleading game? Check.

✅ Masks? Mind-blowing check.

I’ve sprinkled a handful of these edited iPhone photos into this post — proof of what a photographer can do with an iPhone and Lightroom Mobile.