iPhones have one of the best cameras in the world. To get the full potentials of these cameras, however, you need to know how to use them.
Here are some iPhone photography tips to help optimize usage of your iPhone camera:
1. Use the volume button to take pictures
iPhones are very thin and sleek. Tapping the digital shutter button can cause the camera to shake and blur the photo you are trying to take. Instead of doing that, you can just use the volume increase or decrease button when in the Camera app to snap a photo and avoid camera shake entirely.
2. Press down the viewfinder to lock focus
When taking a photograph of a person, it can be very annoying to see the picture focused on other things in the background. You can avoid this by locking the focus of the camera on the object or person you want to snap.
You can do this by tapping and holding on the subject in question until you see the yellow AE/AF Lock alert. This means that the automatic exposure metering and automatic focus metering have been locked on your subject. To remove the lock, just tap anywhere else on the frame.
3. Slide the exposure meter to brighten or darken images
If an image is too exposed or underexposed for your liking, you can fix it before snapping the picture by adjusting the yellow exposure slider next to the focus square.
Just tap once on the focus square and exposure slider, then use the icon that looks like a sun drawing to increase your exposure by sliding upward or decrease exposure by sliding downward.
4. Use Burst mode for action shots
Are you trying to take a picture of some moving animals or your friends in motion? Then the burst mode (available for the iPhone 5s and higher) is just what you need. Apple included burst mode originally for snapping clear pictures of moving subjects, but it also works well when your camera is moving.
To shoot in Burst mode, just tap and hold down the shutter button or volume button when you want to begin. While holding down the shutter button, you’ll see a counter appear at the bottom of the screen, letting you know how many shots you’ve snapped.
To stop shooting, just lift up your finger and the burst will be saved to your Camera Roll.
5. Turn on HDR Auto
Your iPhone comes with a software feature called High Dynamic Range, or HDR: It lets you snap photos that may have high contrast light sources and still capture a nice image without distorting either the light or the dark area of the picture. Your iPhone does this by snapping several pictures in quick succession at different exposures, then merging them together to create a unified image.
You can turn on the HDR by tapping the HDR icon on the top of your screen.
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6. Use the iPhone camera shortcut
You probably want to give a stranger your phone to take you a picture but you don’t want them to have access to the things on your phone. There’s a great solution for that.
Swipe sideways from the Lock screen, however, and you can quickly take that picture with no significant wait time.
You can also add your camera to your control center while in an app or on your Home screen by swiping up from the bottom of the screen to launch Control Center, then tapping on the Camera button.
7. Take shots with your earphones
You want to take a group picture with your friends and you want everyone’s face to show. Try placing your phone on a surface that catches everyone’s face. Plug your earphones in and use the volume buttons to take as many pictures as you want.
8. Clean camera lens before taking pictures
Most smartphones spend a very significant time of their lives in the hands of their owners and that means they’re covered in fingerprints.
Too often those fingerprints are found on the place where you want them the least, your lens!
A useful habit to develop is to get used to quickly cleaning your lens before taking a photo. It ensures that there will be no smudges, dust spots or blurry areas on your image.
9. Turn on the grid for better composition
The rule of thirds is a powerful method that applies to composing photographs, paintings, posters and all kinds of images.
According to the rule of thirds, each picture should be divided into nine equal parts by two vertical and two horizontal lines. The significant elements in the photo should be placed at the intersections of those lines or along the lines.
It’s much easier to imagine the lines and the sections if you have a grid to help you see them.
Go to your phone’s Settings, then scroll down to find the camera icon and make sure the Grid option is activated.
10. Make the best use of portrait mode
If you have one of the new models of iPhone such as the X series, 7 Plus or 8 Plus, you can take advantage of ‘Portrait’ Mode to blur the background of your photos.
Normally, blurring the background in an image is reserved for expensive lenses and cameras, so being able to do this with a smartphone is simply incredible.
Open the camera app, then select ‘Portrait’ at the bottom of the screen. When the camera has focused on the subject and blurred the background, you’ll see ‘Natural Light’ or ‘Depth Effect’ appear on the screen.
Then just tap the shutter button to take a stunning portrait photo, complete with a blurry background.
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