If you’re just starting out with mobile photography, you should master these twelve techniques before anything else. Even if you’re an an accomplished iPhone photographer, you may well find that some of these tips and tricks have passed you by.
So, let’s get started with everything you need to know for taking amazing photos with your iPhone!
1. Clean The Lens
Your iPhone spends a lot of time in your pocket, a bag or in your hand, and as a result it will get dirty. Dirt, dust, grease and fingerprints on your lens will have a big effect on the quality of your photos.
There’s no point trying to take great photos if the glass of the lens is dirty. It will block light from entering the camera’s sensor and will leave smudges, blurs or dust spots on your images. A clean lens will ensure you get sharp, clear images with your iPhone.
You should clean the lens each time you take it out to take a photo. Use a soft lens cloth when doing this as any abrasive cleaners will scratch the glass over the lens and this will result in poorer image quality.
2. Set The Focus
The most important thing to look out for when taking a photo is to make sure that your subject is in sharp focus. To set the focus on the iPhone camera you simply tap the screen where your subject is in the frame. A small yellow square will appear to confirm the focus point.
If your subject is moving around, make sure you tap the screen just before you take the shot to ensure that they are in focus.
Once you’re happy that you have gotten a sharp photo of your subject, you can draw more attention to them if you wish by using one of the many apps available to blur the background as part of your editing process.
3. Adjust Exposure Manually
When you tap on the subject to focus on them, the camera will also use the focus point to set the exposure in the shot. Exposure simply refers to how bright or dark the image is.
Allowing the camera to set exposure on the focus point isn’t always ideal. For example, if the subject is in a dark area of the frame, this could lead to the overall image being over-exposed (too bright) or vice versa.
In iOS 8, Apple introduced a new manual exposure tool. When you set the focus by tapping the screen, a small sun icon appears on the side of the focus square. When you see the sun icon, simply swipe up or down on the screen to adjust the exposure slider.
Swiping up will brighten the overall image, and swiping down will darken it. When you’re happy with the exposure/brightness of the image, release your finger from the screen. This manual exposure slider allows for much greater control over the look of the final image.
As it turns out, the most important iPhone camera features are completely hidden from regular iPhone users. That's why we created this free video revealing 7 hidden iPhone camera features that every photographer should use. Click here to watch this video.
4. Hand-held or tripod mounted?
The simple act of setting up your camera on a tripod will slow you down, and this can be enough to make you concentrate a little harder on what it is you're photographing and what you hope to achieve. At the same time, locking your camera down for every shot you take can reduce your spontaneity, so don't be afraid to mix it up from time to time. If you religiously use a tripod, set out without it and see what happens, and if you normally travel without one, take it with you to see how slowing yourself down affects the results you get.
5. Keep Your Camera Steady
Keeping your camera still is particularly important when taking photos in low light or at night. When you take a photo in these conditions, the iPhone camera will need to use a slow shutter speed to allow more light to hit the sensor. The problem with this is that any movement of the camera will result in a blurred image.
