HackIllinois vs PhotoSensei

Download the official HackIllinois 2026 app for a complete in-person hackathon experience! With our app, you can: - See how much time you have left to hack! - View the time, location, and other details for all of our events. - Scan QR codes at events to obtain points! - Play duels against other members for points. - Get checked in by staff for food and other events. - Redeem points for merchandise and raffle prizes through our newly improved Point Shop! - View your rank, points, and other personal information. - and more!

PhotoSensei teaches you to actually see. Most photography apps hand you filters. PhotoSensei hands you assignments. Each lesson explains one real technique, sends you out to shoot it, and then tells you honestly how you did. NEW: GEAR SPOTLIGHT FOR IPHONE 18 PRO The iPhone 18 Pro is the first iPhone with a real variable aperture and manual Pro controls. Gear Spotlight is eight missions built to teach you what they are for. Control depth of field with the four aperture stops. Freeze motion or streak it with shutter speed. Stop down to f/4 for daylight motion blur no iPhone could shoot before. Turn street lamps into starbursts. Read the histogram. Set white balance by hand. Choose grain as a style instead of suffering it as noise. Each mission sends you into your Camera app with Pro controls, then brings the photo back for AI feedback on what the aperture, the shutter or the light actually did. These are photography lessons taught through the phone in your hand. HOW IT WORKS Every lesson follows the same rhythm. You learn the concept. You read the key points. You get a mission — a specific photograph to go make. Then you shoot it and submit it. With Pro AI Monthly, an AI photography instructor evaluates your actual photo against that lesson's criteria and tells you what worked, what didn't, and why. Not a score. Specific, constructive feedback on the photo you just took. EARN YOUR RANK 86 lessons across five Shutter Ranks: Closed Shutter — the fundamentals. Holding steady, finding light, seeing your frame. Open Shutter — composition, depth, and intent. Fast Shutter — motion, timing, and the decisive moment. Master Shutter — advanced control and deliberate creative choice. Sensei Eye — seeing photographs before you raise the camera. Complete the final lesson and earn the Shihan rank. WHAT YOU GET - 86 structured lessons with illustrated concepts - A specific shooting assignment in every lesson - Your AI feedback saved to the lesson that produced it - Progress tracking across all five ranks - Rank badges you earn, not unlock by paying - Gear Spotlight: eight iPhone 18 Pro missions - Sell It: eight lessons on photographing what you sell - Works entirely on the phone already in your pocket SELL IT Eight extra lessons on photographing what you sell — trading cards, sneakers, watches, coins, vinyl, clothing. Reach them from the Trading Cards & Marketplace button on the Dojo tab. These sit outside the rank path and do not count toward your belt. They are part of Pro AI Monthly. NO GEAR REQUIRED No DSLR. No lenses. No editing suite. Every lesson is built for the phone camera you already carry. The constraint is the point — learning to see matters more than what you shoot with. Lesson illustrations are AI-generated images created and reviewed by us for this app. PRICING Download and try the first 16 lessons free. Shooting is always free. Every lesson you can open, you can shoot. PhotoSensei Unlock — a one-time purchase that opens all 86 lessons permanently. No subscription. Pro AI Monthly — adds AI analysis of your submitted photos, up to 500 per month, plus the eight Sell It lessons and the eight Gear Spotlight missions. Cancel anytime. The lessons are yours forever with the one-time unlock. The subscription only adds the AI feedback and the two side tracks. WHO THIS IS FOR Beginners who want structure instead of scattered tutorials. Hobbyists who take a lot of photos but feel stuck. Anyone who just bought an iPhone 18 Pro and wants to understand the camera they paid for. Anyone who has ever looked at a great photograph and wanted to understand how it was made. Start with lesson one. Go shoot something. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/