5 Tips to Take Better iPhone Photos
Unless you are a professional photographer, chances are a majority of the photos you post were taken with your iPhone, or other smartphone. But, these photos can be really impressive - with these simple tips to take better iphone photos:
One: Wipe the lens!
This is my biggest hack, and probably biggest pet peeve when it comes to smartphone photos. You can get such a better, clearer picture, if you take two seconds to wipe the lens off before you snap the pic. For me, it’s become such a habit, that I am always using the end of my shirt or my sleeve to wipe my phone, even when I’m snapping a quick photo for my reference.
Two: Ensure the lighting is in front of the picture, not behind it.
Having the light - whether natural or not - placed in front of the image will give you a much clearer, crisper, easier to identify image. When the light is behind the subject, that item or person is often dark, blurry, and difficult to make out. If you aren’t sure about the positioning of the lighting. Take a couple pics from a few different angles - the best position should be pretty clear.
Three: Focus!
Just like a real camera, on your camera app, you can focus in on the subject at hand. By simply tapping on the item before taking the picture, you are able to ensure that thing is in focus. You can play around with focus and the blurriness of the background based on the angle you hold the phone and the proximity of the feature item to the things in the background. Pro tip: If you hold down a spot on the view finder it will lock that area in focus!
Four: Use the Rule of Thirds grid.
The Rule of Thirds is a photography rule, meant to make the photo as eye catching as possible. Basically, you should be able to section your photo into thirds both horizontally and vertically using the items you capture. So for instance, if it is an image of a person’s full body, better to have the person off to a side, rather than right in the middle - it’s more visually appealing. Also, if you keep the grid feature as a constant on your phone, it can also help ensure you have horizon lines level.
Five: Avoid Using Flash
Better to wait and take your photos in the natural light of day than to take them using flash. The flash tends to really washout photos and not have them look their best. I have my flash turned off completely, that way I decide when to turn it on, not the camera’s manual mode.
Sidenote: the same goes for iPhone’s ‘live photo’ mode. To me, since it is trying to capture a little video around the photo, it doesn’t grab the best pic.
