iPhone Camera Tips for Dummies

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I love to take pictures, especially with my iPhone. It’s easy, convenient, always with me, and actually takes pretty good pictures. So good, that sometimes, I start to believe I’m really good at photography. That I have real talent. Because I can take pictures like this:

or this

or this

and especially this

But for every beautifully awesome photo I produce, I also snap something more along these lines…

And that’s when I realize that my good iPhone photos come from three things.

1. Taking a lot of pictures until I get it right (angles, lighting, compositions, etc.).

2. Knowing how to use my iPhone camera to the best of its ability.

3. Using the right apps.

I think the first thing simply takes practice. Look at the photos you love and do your best to emulate them. Practice again.

The second thing is something I can help you with. And I especially want you to take note if you’ll be attending BlogHer and I might possibly ask you to take my picture. And perhaps, it will help you take better iPhone pictures as well.

Here are some basic iPhone camera missteps I see over and over again and ways to correct it. For example, not properly metering the light.

Sounds fancy and complicated, right? It can be for other cameras. But for the iPhone camera, it’s easy.

THE WRONG WAY: Subject is back lit and you point and shoot.

Nice shot of the glass on my front door but I was really hoping to see a picture of Evan’s face.

THE RIGHT WAY: Use your finger to adjust the light in the frame.

In this case, I used my finger and pressed on the darker part of the photo before taking the shot. Sometimes, you’ll even have to point the camera up and down to find the right light balance and tell the iPhone camera to adjust. See the difference?

THE WRONG WAY: Not filling the frame with the subject.

Sometimes you are going for a certain composition. But if you’re trying to take a picture of a person, take a picture of the person.

THE RIGHT WAY: Fill the frame with faces.

When I ask people to take my picture with someone, we end up looking like statues in a room. I want a picture of US not some stiff landscape shot of a room. Get up close and personal. It makes the photo so much more interesting.

WRONG WAY: Not focusing on the subject.

When someone uses my phone to take a picture, I ask three times if they know how to focus. They assure me they do and guess what? They don’t. While the iPhone camera has some autofocus qualities, sometimes a little help is needed.

THE RIGHT WAY: Use your finger to focus in on your subject.

While some of the photo above is in focus, it’s not the part I want. Take a moment to frame the photo and then place your finger on the subject on your photo screen and your camera will be sure to focus properly. There’s my baby!

THE WRONG WAY: Using your flash when you don’t need it.

I have my camera flash set to off at all times and only turn it on if I find I absolutely have to have it. It changes the color and feeling of the photo.

THE RIGHT WAY: Use natural light and light metering to get a better looking photo.

Now you know how to make the most out of your iPhone camera features. Go forth and photograph!