18 Tips for Taking the Best Photos With Your iPhone

The iPhone is able to taking high-quality pictures and selfies proper out of the field. So you may often snap good pictures with no need to configure any settings. However there are a number of superior options and picture-taking methods that may show you how to seize really nice photographs.

Take into account that some choices can be found solely on sure mannequin iPhones. Apple usually enhances the digicam’s {hardware} with every new technology of iPhone, and also you get extra if you happen to purchase a extra premium mannequin. (Try our story evaluating the 4 iPhone 14 fashions.)

The next information will present you all of the options accessible within the Digital camera app in your iPhone and show you how to reap the benefits of your cellphone’s photo-taking prowess. For extra normal photo-taking suggestions, take a look at our story on how one can take higher pictures from any smartphone.

1. Replace Your iPhone

When was the final time you up to date your cellphone? Earlier than getting began, you need to replace your iPhone to the most recent model of iOS to make sure you have all the most recent and biggest choices out there. (And to repair any bugs that may pop up).

Go to Settings > Common > Software program Replace. You’ll be informed that the OS is updated or prompted to obtain and set up the most recent replace.

2. Navigate Picture Mode

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

Now, open the Digital camera app to take a look at the completely different digicam modes. You may be in Picture mode by default. You’ll be able to simply zoom in or out by tapping one of many preset optical zoom settings on the display. To make use of the digital zoom, transfer your fingers aside or pinch them collectively and you may transfer in smaller increments.

If these default settings aren’t sufficient for you, press and maintain one of many preset zoom icons to entry the wheel zoom instrument. Right here, you may manually zoom by dragging your finger between the completely different presets.

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

To modify between the rear and entrance digicam, simply faucet the Rotation icon within the decrease proper. Relying in your mannequin iPhone, you might be able to zoom out and in barely by tapping a double-arrow circle on the display or shifting your fingers aside or collectively.

3. Customise Composition

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

Underneath Settings > Digital camera, you may also activate the swap subsequent to Grid if you wish to see a grid of squares seem on the digicam display to higher align sure topics and scenes. Allow Mirror Entrance Digital camera to take a selfie because the digicam sees it and never reversed.

Sure wide-angle lenses will distort the image you are taking, however Lens Correction will repair any distortion that seems in a photograph shot with the extremely vast or entrance cameras.

iPhone 11, 12, 13, and 14 fashions help you view content material exterior the body to indicate what could be captured with a unique lens. This selection could be managed from the View Exterior the Body possibility within the Digital camera settings.

4. Set Your Flash Choices

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

Whereas in Picture mode, you may flip the flash on or off by tapping the lightning icon within the prime toolbar. Some fashions help you set the flash to computerized so it can activate if there is not sufficient pure mild out there. Some older telephones set these controls on the underside toolbar as an alternative.

To show these choices, faucet the up arrow on the prime or swipe up on the display. Faucet the primary icon on the toolbar to set the flash to auto, on, or off. If the flash is ready to computerized, and the flash icon modifications to yellow, meaning the flash will activate whenever you take an image.

5. Take Fast Movies With QuickTake

Seize video in Picture mode with out having to modify to Video mode because of the QuickTake function. Press and maintain the shutter button to immediately begin taking video. To unencumber your finger with out stopping the video, slide the shutter button to the suitable after which launch it.

6. Shoot Quicker

As seen on the iPhone X
(Credit score: Jason Cohen)

To take burst pictures, drag the shutter button to the left, or use the Quantity Up button, if you happen to flip the choice on through Settings > Digital camera > Use Quantity up for Burst. Or go to Settings > Digital camera and allow Prioritize Quicker Capturing to robotically seize extra pictures whenever you hold tapping the Shutter button.

7. Play With Portrait Mode

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

Utilizing the underside toolbar, scroll to Portrait mode so you may shoot studio-quality portraits by taking a extremely detailed picture of your topic within the foreground whereas conserving the background softer and out of focus. As you line up your shot, the app will provide tips and strategies that will help you higher body the topic.

You’ll be able to regulate the zoom, flash, and (if out there in your mannequin iPhone) the depth of area from the F cease icon. Transferring the slider on the dimensions on the backside determines how blurry you’d just like the background to look.

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

Faucet the lighting impact icon on the display to flick through the results and select a particular one, comparable to Pure Gentle, Studio Gentle, Contour Gentle, Stage Gentle, Stage Gentle Mono, or Excessive-Key Gentle Mono. If you happen to take an image and do not just like the impact, you may also change it after the very fact.

Select an image out of your digicam library. The photograph will show the phrase Portrait on the prime to point that you just shot it in Portrait mode. Faucet Edit. Faucet the lighting impact icon within the prime left to flick through the results once more and select one thing completely different. You can too faucet the depth icon to vary the main focus of the background.

8. Seize Panoramic Pics With Pano Mode

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

From the underside toolbar, swap to Pano mode to seize a panoramic image by slowly shifting your cellphone alongside a large scene. If you’re able to take the panoramic image, faucet the Shutter button after which slowly transfer your cellphone as proven on the display till you seize the complete image.

Ensure you maintain the cellphone regular and degree by conserving the arrow as straight as potential on the horizontal line. Every part is then compiled into one prolonged photograph. View your photograph in panorama mode to expertise the complete scale of it.

9. Go for Gradual-Mo Mode

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

If you happen to choose Gradual-Mo mode, it may be used on the back and front cameras to decelerate the motion. These with an iPhone 8 or newer can swap between 120 and 240 frames per second by tapping the quantity within the upper-right nook of the display.

Faucet the Rotation icon within the decrease proper to modify between the entrance and rear cameras. Faucet the Shutter button to start out and cease the video, or transfer the button to the suitable to lock it in place. You can too zoom out and in whereas recording.

10. Take a Time-Lapse Video

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

Set the cellphone to Time-Lapse mode, and you may shoot movies that pace up the motion whenever you play them again. Seize storm clouds rolling in, your progress as you get your hair minimize, or a drive on a winding highway, for instance. You’ll probably need to hold the cellphone regular and supported, so a tripod could also be finest for longer captures.

Faucet the arrow on the prime to show the Publicity scale, if you happen to want to regulate it. Faucet the Rotation icon within the decrease proper to modify between the entrance and rear cameras. Faucet the Shutter button to start out the method, then faucet it once more to cease it.

11. Grasp Night time Mode

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

Launched with the iPhone 11, Night time mode helps you to take high-quality pictures in low-light circumstances. You do not even need to do something to activate Night time mode; if the cellphone detects low mild, a moon-shaped icon will seem on the display indicating that Night time mode is on.

To take photos utilizing Night time mode in low-light conditions, your iPhone extends the shutter for a number of seconds longer than regular. This ensures that the lens brings in the correct amount of sunshine to get a greater picture. The quantity subsequent to the icon signifies how lengthy you should maintain the cellphone in place earlier than the digicam takes the image.

Faucet that icon, and the Night time mode scale seems on the backside, permitting you to manually set the publicity. Swipe the vertical line on the dimensions to regulate the publicity time, usually wherever from one to a few seconds. Nevertheless, you may get publicity instances as excessive as 30 seconds in case your iPhone is on a tripod.

12. Go Small With Macro Management

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

The iPhone 13 Professional, iPhone 13 Professional Max, iPhone 14 Professional, and iPhone 14 Professional Max provide a macro management in Picture mode via which you’ll be able to seize pictures of small and up-close objects. When macro management is on the market, a yellow flower icon seems on the left. Faucet that icon on and off to see what the distinction could be with macro management lively or inactive.

If you happen to don’t see the macro icon on the display when making an attempt to snap a small object up shut, go to Settings > Digital camera and activate the swap subsequent to Macro Management.

13. Change Up Your Dwell Pictures

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

Dwell Pictures add movement to your otherwise-still photographs by recording what occurs 1.5 seconds earlier than and after you are taking a photograph. To allow it, faucet the bullseye icon on the prime of the display earlier than you are taking the shot.

After snapping a photograph, you may decide how that movement shall be used. In your digicam roll, discover the Dwell photograph you need to regulate and faucet the Dwell icon within the higher left to pick out a desired impact. Loop permits the video to loop endlessly, Bounce takes a web page from Instagram’s Boomerang to bounce backwards and forwards, whereas Lengthy Publicity provides SLR-like results to pictures.

To edit a Dwell Picture, open the picture in your digicam roll and faucet Edit. Select the Dwell icon and use the slider to decide on a begin and finish level. If you discover your required body, faucet Make Key Picture and that may turn out to be your default nonetheless picture.

Edits are nondestructive, so you may return and provides a photograph a very completely different look if you find yourself not liking your first take. Simply faucet into the photograph in query and choose Revert. Dwell Pictures do eat into your cellphone storage, nonetheless. To show it off, faucet the Dwell Pictures icon once more.

14. Management HDR (If You Can)

As seen on the iPhone X
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

In case you have an iPhone 8 or greater, Apple makes use of Excessive Dynamic Vary (HDR) to enhance your pictures; iPhone 12, 13, and 14 fashions additionally use HDR to seize video. Sure iPhone fashions present an HDR icon within the upper-right nook of the display whenever you go to take an image. With it enabled, your cellphone takes a number of pictures at a time and blends them collectively to convey out the most effective options.

On iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone 11 fashions, iPhone SE (2nd gen), and iPhone 12 fashions, you may faucet the HDR button to show it on or off. For the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, you should open Settings > Digital camera, then flip off Auto HDR. With the iPhone 13 sequence and better, HDR is robotically added to your pictures so you may now not manually flip it on and off.

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

In Picture, Portrait, Slo-Mo, or Time-Lapse mode, the underside toolbar will help you management particular settings. To show it, faucet the up arrow on the prime or swipe up on the display. Relying on what mode you’re in, the toolbar will show as many as six icons, together with ones for Flash, Dwell Picture, Publicity, Night time Mode, and a Self Timer to snap a photograph in 3 or 10 seconds.

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

Faucet the Type icon after which swipe from one display to a different to modify amongst completely different photographic types, comparable to wealthy heat, vibrant, heat, and funky. To regulate a particular filter, faucet the Tone or Heat graph under and swipe the slider to the left or proper.

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

Faucet the facet ratio icon and you may swap amongst completely different ratios, comparable to 4:3, sq., and 16:19.

16. Change Picture Codecs

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

You’ll be able to change the format your photos use by default. Go to Settings > Digital camera > Codecs and select whether or not your photographs will use Excessive Effectivity (the HEIF/HEVC format) or Most Appropriate (the JPG format). HEIF/HEVC is a smaller and extra environment friendly format however might not be as suitable as JPG if you happen to want to switch your pictures to non-Apple working techniques and units.

In sure circumstances, although, pictures in HEIF/HEVC shall be transformed to JPG relying on the way you ship or share them. If you should protect house in your iPhone, strive the setting for HEIF/HEVC; in any other case keep on with JPG for larger compatibility.

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

With the iPhone 12 Professional and later, you may seize pictures in RAW format, which provide greater high quality and larger flexibility for enhancing however take up more room than pictures saved as JPGs. Underneath the Picture Seize, activate the swap subsequent to Apple ProRAW if you happen to want to seize pictures in RAW format. You’ll be able to then choose to avoid wasting them as 12- or 24-megapixel information, noting that the 24MP information take up more room.

17. Protect Your Default Digital camera Settings

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

By default, your digicam’s settings will reset every time you allow the Digital camera app. To make them everlasting, go to Settings > Digital camera > Protect Settings. Activate choices for entries like Digital camera Mode, Artistic Controls, Publicity, Night time Mode, Portrait Zoom, Motion Mode, or Dwell Picture. Your digicam will now retain the final settings you select for these options.

18. Swap Photographic Kinds

As seen on the iPhone 14 Professional
(Credit score: Lance Whitney)

If you happen to desire your colours a sure means, head to Settings > Digital camera and faucet the Photographic Kinds hyperlink. Swipe via every type and select the default tone and heat for the colours in your pictures. No matter which one you choose because the default, you may all the time swap to a unique type for particular person pictures.