9 Simple iPhone Photo Tips to Uplevel Your iPhone Photography
1. Clean Your Camera Lens
Always make sure your lens is clean before shooting. This seems like a given but it’s a game changer. Nothing is more frustrating then taking a photo you love that ends up all foggy from finger smudges.
2. Adjust Your Exposure and Focus
iPhones auto settings make it a lot easier, but sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands. Two settings that are easy to adjust yourself are exposure (how much light the camera lets in) and focus.
The iPhone will guess what the subject of your photo is and focus on it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always guess right. To focus on something else, tap the screen where you want to focus to override your phone’s guess.
You can do the same thing for the exposure settings. Once you’ve tapped where you want to focus, swipe up or down on the little sun dial to darken and pull up to lighten. I did a step by step video to show you how to do this HERE.
The iPhone camera will default back to its automatic settings when it detects changes in the frame — usually either when you move or something in front of the camera moves. To lock your current focus and exposure settings, tap the screen and hold your finger down for a few seconds. When AE/AF LOCK appears in a yellow box at the top of your screen, your settings are saved. I'll link a video HERE.
3. Shoot in LIVE MODE
Shoot in LIVE mode and change the key photo to the best frame! This is a game changer especially with kiddos! it gives you so much more flexibility and I can not tell you how many "eye closed" photos I have saved simply by changing the key photo. I'll link some videos for reference.
PRO TIP: Live Photos do take up more space on your phone so once you change the key photo you can SAVE IT AS A STILL IMAGE and delete the Live Photo OR you can TURN YOUR LIVE PHOTOS INTO A VIDEO. There are endless options but just be aware of the space issue and use it selectively!
4. Set Your White Balance
If your whites look blue, it means your white balance is too cool. Increase your yellows or warmth. This works both ways! If your whites are too yellow increase your blues or turn down the warmth.
5. Shoot next to a Natural Light Source
When shooting inside shoot next to a natural light source (ex: window light) and turn off all all artificial lighting. Yellow house lights are not your friend. If you’re shooting outside during a harsh part of the day, always look for open shade. I did a video HERE explaining what open shade is exactly. I personally always avoid using the flash on my phone because it’s harsh and just very unflattering.
6. Shooting in Portrait Mode
Portrait Mode will make your portraits so much more striking. This setting adds blur to the background so that the photo’s subject will stand out even more. You can also adjust the amount of blur you want behind your subject after you’ve taken the photo. I show you how to do this HERE in this video.
7. Shift Your Perspective
When we start taking photos, it’s only natural that we take them from about the same position we see the world from. Unfortunately, this doesn’t make for the most exciting photos.
To step up your game, try taking photos from outside your regular sitting or standing position. You can do this by shooting your subject from high or low angles I created a video with a great example HERE.
Low-angle shots are a great way to put an interesting spin on iPhone product photography. They work well whenever you have a single subject that’s too big to fit in the frame when you get up close. I'll post an example below of some flowers in my yard that were both taken at the exact same time of day, just a different perspective. It makes all the difference.
8. Turn on Grids and follow the Rule of Thirds
One simple iPhone photography trick is called the rule of thirds. This rule divides the field of your image into a three-by-three grid. Placing your photo’s main subjects along these lines creates more visually compelling images. You can activate the grid lines by going to the Camera section of your iPhone’s settings and toggling the Grid switch to on.
9. Editing your Photos
Editing is meant to enhance the beauty of an image and it can be a great way to put your own personal touch on an image.
My go to app on my phone for editing is the Tezza app! They have a free version and a pro version. My absolute favorite filter is the “mood” filter then I usually up my contrast and sharpening and to right about 10. I did a video you can watch HERE to see my full editing process using this app.
Learning to edit takes practice. It takes time to learn how to make your images look realistic. VSCO is a great place to start because they have free, beautiful filters. The editing actions and sliders are also very simple to use.
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