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A big part of this push is a new program called "Today at Apple," which schedules free classes, concerts, and other programming that people can sign up for online with their Apple ID.
"I’ll know we’ve done a really, really great job if the next generation, if Gen Z says, 'Meet me at Apple. Did you see what’s going on at Apple today?'" Angela Ahrendts told CBS last month when Apple launched the program.
Apple stores have had classes and other programming for a while, but the new push expands these sessions to all Apple retail locations.
Some of the classes focus on video editing, or music production, or accessibility features, but the one that caught my eye was a "Photo Walk" in which an Apple employee with the title of "Creative" guides people through a scenic walk and provides tips and tricks for getting the best photos out of an iPhone. Every Apple store will hold a photo walk this weekend.
I was curious, so I signed up for one. Here's what happened:
I signed up for a photo walk at Apple's flagship store in New York on 5th Avenue.
You can sign up for classes here.
The store I went to used to be the iconic glass cube ...
... but for now, the store is in a temporary building while the cube is being renovated.
We met for our walk at 9:30 am. An Apple employee at the front told me to go up to the second floor of the store.
Here we are — and to the right is Shelley, the Apple employee that led my walk. The theme of the walk was "developing your style." Apple will also hold photo walks on other topics, like architectural photography and portraits. On Thursday, there were only two people who ultimately showed up for the walk — me and a freelance photographer.
I took my trusty iPhone 6 on the walk, but our instructor had an iPhone 7 Plus, which has a better camera. Apple said that it's possible to take the class without an iPhone because some stores may have loaner iPhones, and that nobody will get kicked out for having an Android phone, although they won't get the Apple-specific tips.
Apple provided some tools, including Olloclip lenses, and a tripod, for the walk.
First, we had to sign a waiver.
Then, we started in on some iPhone camera basics, like how to turn on a grid in the camera app to help compose your photos.
It's a great trick! You can find it in Settings > Photos & Camera. You'll have to scroll down a little bit.
Then, our guides changed out of their Apple retail t-shirts, and we were off on the walk. Here's the map of where we went and how many photos I took at each location.
However, many Apple stores are in malls, or less scenic locations than New York's 5th avenue. Those stores will still have photo walks, but they'll focus on different lessons.
First, we practiced taking photos using a reflection. Then, we had a quick tutorial on Portrait Mode, which is a new feature on the latest iPhone that enables you to take cool photographs with a blurry background. My iPhone 6 does not have Portrait Mode.
This is another of the Apple guides leading my walk.
Then we walked down past Trump Tower to a church. Here's where I learned a trick about taking a vertical panorama, especially to get all the perspective on something that's really tall.
It turns out one of our photo locations, a church, was across the street from the Microsoft Store.
Employees from this Microsoft store went caroling at the 5th Avenue Apple Store in 2015, which was eventually turned into an ad.
Our next stop was Central Park.
We were also lucky enough to see a proposal in the park!
After that excitement, we went back to the store and air conditioning. The walk took about an hour. There were only two of us on the walk, but we got a quick tutorial on some of Apple's built-in photo editing features, and then we shared our photos.
I really liked this photo that one of the Apple employees on the walk captured.
I shared a cropped photo of the proposal, and added one of the built-in Apple filters, but there's still something this shot is lacking to my eye.
Overall, I thought the photo walk was a fine experience, especially because it was free. I probably wouldn't go on this walk again, but I could see signing up for a different class, especially one centered around architectural photography. On the other hand, I got to take this selfie with a horse.
