Table Of Contents: Advanced iPhone Camera Controls

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1. Depth Of Field: How To Blur The Background In Your Photos
1.1 Use Portrait Mode To Blur The Background In Your Photos
1.2 Get Close To Your Subject To Create A Shallow Depth Of Field

2. Focus: How To Set Focus For Pin-Sharp Images
2.1 Tap To Set The Focus Point
2.2 Lock The Focus With AE/AF Lock
2.3 Use Manual Focus For More Precise Focusing

3. Exposure: How To Get Perfect Brightness Levels In Your Pictures
3.1 Adjust Exposure Manually
3.2 Use Exposure To Change The Mood Of A Photo
3.3 Switch On HDR For Better Exposure In High Contrast Scenes

4. Shutter Speed: How To Change Shutter Speed On iPhone
4.1 What Is Shutter Speed?
4.2 How To Change Shutter Speed On iPhone
4.3 Use A Slow Shutter Speed For Stunning Long Exposure Photos

5. ISO: How To Use ISO To Capture Grain-Free Shots In Low Light
5.1 What Is ISO?
5.2 How To Change The ISO iPhone Camera Setting
5.3 Balance Shutter Speed & ISO

6. White Balance: How To Capture Perfect Colors In Your Photos
6.1 What Is White Balance?
6.2 How To Change White Balance On iPhone
6.3 Use White Balance For Creative Effect

1. Depth Of Field: How To Blur The Background In Your Photos

Do you want to shoot professional-looking iPhone photos with beautiful out-of-focus backgrounds?

Creating a shallow depth of field (where only part of the scene is in focus) is a great way to make your subject stand out. And it’s perfect for blurring out a distracting background.

Shallow depth of field photos are typically associated with DSLR cameras. But did you know it’s easy to blur the background in your iPhone photos?

On a DSLR camera, you control the depth of field by adjusting the aperture (the size of the opening in the lens). However, the iPhone aperture can’t be changed.

So how do you blur the background in your iPhone photos?

Read on, and discover two easy ways to shoot stunning images with beautifully blurred backgrounds.

1.1 Use Portrait Mode To Blur The Background In Your Photos

Does your iPhone camera have Portrait mode? If so, you can use it to shoot stunning photos with dreamy, blurred backgrounds.

You’ll find Portrait mode in the built-in Camera app on the following iPhones: iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 7 Plus.

Portrait mode uses clever depth-effect software to blur the background. All you have to do is point the camera at your subject, and the iPhone will do the rest!

Portrait mode is perfect for shooting professional-looking portrait photos.

But you can also use it to blur the background behind other subjects.

Here’s how to capture beautifully blurred backgrounds with Portrait mode:

Open the built-in iPhone Camera app, then select Portrait mode at the bottom of the screen.

Ensure the subject is between two and eight feet from the camera. If you’re too close or too far away, you’ll see a message telling you to change your distance.

When the camera has focused on the subject and blurred the background, you’ll see the words Natural Light in yellow. (On iPhone 7 Plus, you’ll see Depth Effect instead.)

Now, tap the shutter button to take a beautiful photo with a soft, blurred background. It really is that easy!

If you have one of the newer iPhones (all iPhone 12 models, all iPhone 11 models, iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR), you can do even more with Portrait mode.

These iPhones allow you to adjust the strength of the background blur after taking your photo.

This offers a huge amount of creative control.

To adjust the blur strength, open your portrait photo in the Photos app, then tap Edit.

Tap the f/number icon at the top left of the screen.

You’ll now see the Depth slider beneath your photo. Drag the slider left or right to adjust the strength of the background blur.

Tap Done to save the changes.

As you can see, Portrait mode offers an easy way to create a shallow depth of field in your photos.

But what if you don’t have Portrait mode on your iPhone?

Well, there’s another simple way to blur the background in your photos. And this technique works on any iPhone model!

Here’s what you need to do:

1.2 Get Close To Your Subject To Create A Shallow Depth Of Field

Do you want to know a great trick for blurring the background in your iPhone photos?

Get closer to your subject.

The closer the lens is to the subject, the blurrier the background will appear.

It’s that simple!

This technique works on any iPhone (or indeed any camera)… even if you don’t have Portrait mode.

When shooting close-ups, it’s important that the subject (not the background) is in sharp focus. You’ll learn how to set focus in section 2 below.

Just be careful not to get too close to the subject. If you’re too close, the camera won’t be able to focus at all.

If you want to shoot extreme close-up photos with a very shallow depth of field, you’ll need an add-on macro lens. One of the best macro lenses is the Moment Macro Lens.

With a macro lens, you can capture fascinating close-up photos of nature, flowers, and insects.

2. Focus: How To Set Focus For Pin-Sharp Images

Getting your subject in sharp focus is essential for creating high-quality photos with superb detail.

This is especially important when shooting close-up photos.

Why?

Because the depth of field will be very shallow, with only a small portion of the image in focus. If the focus isn’t set correctly, your subject may end up blurred.

Luckily, the iPhone makes it easy to set the focus accurately on your subject. Here’s how to do it:

2.1 Tap To Set The Focus Point

In the built-in Camera app, simply tap the screen where you want to set focus. A yellow square indicates your focus point.

When you take the photo, the area you tapped on will be in sharp focus.

In the photo below, focus was set on the flower on the left. Notice how this flower is perfectly sharp, but the others are out of focus.

2.2 Lock The Focus With AE/AF Lock

Another useful feature is AE/AF Lock. This iPhone camera setting lets you lock the focus point on a certain area.

To activate AE/AF Lock, tap and hold the screen for a couple of seconds until you see AE/AF LOCK in yellow.

The focus point will now remain locked, even after taking a photo.

This is perfect for situations where you want to take several pictures of the same scene. You can take as many photos as you want without having to set the focus point for each new shot.

It’s also great for scenes where there’s movement, such as people walking past. If you don’t lock the focus, the camera’s autofocus might readjust the focus point onto the moving subject.

In the example above, I locked focus on the stone arch. If I hadn’t done this, the camera might have focused on the people in the background when they walked into the scene.

2.3 Use Manual Focus For More Precise Focusing

In certain situations, the tap-to-focus method might not give you enough control over your focus point.

Imagine you’re taking a close-up photo of a flower with water droplets. The depth of field will be very shallow, so only a small area of the scene will be in sharp focus.

Tapping on a single tiny water droplet to ensure it’s in focus may prove tricky.

So, how can you set the focus point more accurately?

You’ll need to use a third-party camera app that has a manual focus control.

Camera+ 2 ($7.99) is a DSLR camera app for iPhone. It has advanced iPhone camera controls, including manual focus.

When you open Camera+ 2, make sure you’re in Camera mode. If you’re not in Camera mode, just tap the Camera icon at the bottom of the screen and the viewfinder will appear.

Next, ensure you’re shooting in Manual mode. The current shooting mode is shown in yellow at the top of the screen. Tap the yellow icon and select Manual.

In Manual mode, you’ll see a row of icons above the shutter button. These are the advanced iPhone camera controls.

Tap the Focus icon (second icon from the left). The Manual Focus slider will appear above the shutter button.

Drag the Manual Focus slider left or right to adjust the focus. As you drag the slider, the focus point will gradually change from foreground to background.

When you’re happy with the focus, tap the shutter button to take your photo.

Remember, in most cases, tapping to set the focus point results in great photos.

But sometimes it’s more difficult to set the focus accurately, especially when shooting close-up macro photos. That’s when you should use the Manual Focus slider in Camera+ 2 to fine-tune the focus more precisely.

3. Exposure: How To Get Perfect Brightness Levels In Your Pictures

After you set focus, it’s important to get the exposure right.

Exposure refers to the brightness of an image.

A photo that’s too bright is over-exposed. And a photo that’s too dark is under-exposed.

Getting the correct exposure will result in beautiful photos that are neither too bright nor too dark.

So, how do you adjust exposure on the iPhone?

It’s actually very easy. Here’s how to do it:

3.1 Adjust Exposure Manually

In the built-in Camera app, start by tapping to set focus. Then simply swipe up or down to adjust exposure (brightness).

Swipe up to make the image brighter, or down to make it darker.

When the brightness levels look good, tap the shutter button to take a photo.

Now, if you have an iPhone 11 or later (running iOS 14 or later), there’s a second way to adjust exposure in the Camera app. This involves using the Exposure Compensation slider in the hidden camera menu.

To access the hidden menu, tap the arrow at the top of the screen (or swipe up on your viewfinder). Next, tap the Exposure icon (circle with a plus and minus symbol).

Then drag the exposure slider left or right to adjust the brightness.

Your chosen exposure setting will be used for any photos that you take from now on. This is very useful when you want to set a precise exposure for a series of upcoming shots.

However, when you’ve finished shooting, it’s a good idea to adjust the exposure back to zero. If you don’t, the exposure might not look right when you start shooting a different subject in different light.

If you’re using the Camera+ 2 app, it has a very similar Exposure Compensation slider. Just ensure Auto mode is selected at the top of the screen, then drag the EV slider left or right to adjust exposure.

Keep in mind that there’s no exact science to setting exposure. You just have to decide what looks best for the particular photo you’re taking.

In most cases, you should aim for an exposure where there’s sufficient detail in all parts of the scene.

If that isn’t possible (because of awkward lighting), ensure the most important part of the scene is correctly exposed.

In the photo below, I chose to expose for the landscape, rather than for the dark interior of the church. Even though there’s no detail in the shadows, the result is quite dramatic!

When shooting at night, the camera often brightens the exposure. It does this in an attempt to capture more detail. But the results aren’t always good. The brighter areas can end up over-exposed, while the darker areas can look grainy.

To capture stunning photos at night, reduce the exposure to make the image darker. The blacks will appear black, and the highlights will have more detail.

3.2 Use Exposure To Change The Mood Of A Photo

Getting creative with exposure allows you to enhance or change the mood of a photo.

For example, if you want a dark and moody image, try deliberately under-exposing. The dark tones will add a wonderful sense of drama or mystery.

You’ll also need to under-expose to create a silhouette photo. The silhouetted subject should be completely black, with no color or detail.

Likewise, you’ll need to under-expose to capture dark shadows. The lack of detail in the shadows will create a sense of mystery and intrigue.

On the other hand, slightly over-exposing will create a bright and airy image with a happy or carefree mood.

Over-exposing works especially well when a large portion of the scene is white. This helps to create a bright, fresh image that really catches the eye.

3.3 Switch On HDR For Better Exposure In High Contrast Scenes

Photographing high contrast scenes (with both bright and dark areas) can be a big problem when it comes to exposure.

This is because the camera isn’t capable of capturing detail in both the dark and bright areas at the same time.

In the photo above, the dark foreground has been exposed correctly. But the bright areas of sky are over-exposed with no color or detail at all.

The examples below show how difficult it is to capture detail in both the bright and dark areas at the same time.

If you expose to capture detail in the highlights (bright areas), the shadows (dark areas) will be under-exposed. And if you expose to capture detail in the shadows, the highlights will be over-exposed.

However, the built-in iPhone Camera app offers a great solution!

It’s called HDR.

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. When you use HDR, the camera captures several images at different exposures (from dark to bright).

These images are automatically combined into a single well-exposed photo. It will have detail in both the shadows and the highlights.

HDR is perfect for landscape photography where you have a bright sky and darker foreground.

Using HDR will ensure you get good exposure in both the foreground and the sky.

So how do you use HDR in the iPhone Camera app?

First, you need to check your HDR settings. Open the Settings app from the Home screen, then select Camera. Scroll down, and ensure the Smart HDR option is switched on (green).

If you switch on Smart HDR, you’ll never need to think about whether to use HDR or not. The camera will always decide for you.

Smart HDR does an amazing job of capturing detail in both the shadows and the highlights. And I’d recommend that you keep it switched on in most situations.

However, if you’d prefer to manually control HDR in the Camera app, you’ll need to switch the Smart HDR setting off.

With Smart HDR switched off, you’ll see an HDR icon at the top of the Camera app. You can tap the icon to turn HDR on or off. (HDR is off when a line appears through the icon).

If you’re controlling HDR manually, you’ll need to remember to switch it on when shooting high-contrast scenes, such as landscapes. Otherwise, you may end up with over-exposed highlights as shown above.

One reason you might want to switch off HDR is if you want to capture dark shadows. HDR tries to capture detail in the shadows, but switching it off allows you to capture darker, more dramatic shadows.

4. Shutter Speed: How To Change Shutter Speed On iPhone

The ability to control shutter speed is typically associated with DSLR cameras.

But did you know you can change the iPhone shutter speed?

Once you master shutter speed, you’ll be able to control how movement appears in your photos. And this will take your creativity to a whole new level!

4.1 What Is Shutter Speed?

Shutter speed refers to the amount of time the camera’s shutter is open for when taking a photo.

Shutter speed is measured in seconds (or fractions of seconds), e.g. 8s, 2s, 1/30s, 1/250s, 1/500s, etc.

A fast shutter speed means the shutter is open for a very short amount of time (a fraction of a second).

Fast shutter speeds freeze any movement in the scene. A fast shutter speed allows you to capture sharp photos of moving subjects. It also ensures you won’t get blurry photos from camera shake.

A slow shutter speed means the shutter is open for a longer amount of time (several seconds).

If anything in the scene moves during this long exposure time, that movement will be captured as a blur or streak. This kind of blur is called motion blur.

Slow shutter speeds are a great way to convey a sense of movement in a photo. The motion blur clearly shows that the subject was moving through the frame.

A slow shutter speed allows you to create beautiful long exposure photos of waterfalls and rivers. The long exposure time results in the moving water appearing silky smooth.

4.2 How To Change Shutter Speed On iPhone

The built-in iPhone Camera app doesn’t have a shutter speed option. So you’ll need a third-party app with iPhone manual camera controls.

There are several excellent iPhone camera apps that let you control shutter speed.

Camera+ 2 ($7.99) is a great option as it has a wide range of shutter speeds – from very fast to very slow. It even has a dedicated Slow Shutter shooting mode for capturing long exposure photos.

Here’s how you change shutter speed on iPhone using Camera+ 2:

Open the Camera+ 2 app. Set the shooting mode (yellow icon) at the top of the screen to Manual.

Next, tap the Shutter Speed icon just above the shutter button (circled in red below).

The Shutter Speed slider will appear at the bottom of the viewfinder. Drag the slider left or right to adjust the shutter speed.

The further left you go, the faster the shutter speed will be. Fast shutter speeds freeze the motion of moving subjects and help eliminate camera shake.

The further right you go, the slower the shutter speed becomes. Slow shutter speeds blur the motion of moving subjects.

Note that the slowest shutter speed in Manual shooting mode is 1 second. If you want to shoot long exposure photos with Camera+ 2, you’ll probably need slower shutter speeds than this.

Read on to learn how to shoot beautiful long exposure photos with your iPhone.

4.3 Use A Slow Shutter Speed For Stunning Long Exposure Photos

In this section, you’ll learn how to capture incredible long exposure photos using two different apps: Camera+ 2 ($7.99) and Slow Shutter Cam ($1.99).

Both apps produce great results, but they offer slightly different functionality.

Before you begin, make sure you have an iPhone tripod. A tripod keeps your camera perfectly still during the long exposure time.

If you hand-hold your iPhone, you won’t be able to keep it still enough. And the result will be a shaky photo that’s entirely blurred.

4.3.1 How To Shoot Long Exposure Photos Using Camera+ 2

The Camera+ 2 app has a dedicated Slow Shutter mode for shooting long exposure photos.

Set the shooting mode (yellow icon) at the top of the screen to Slow Shutter.

At the bottom of the viewfinder, you’ll see two sliders. The left slider controls shutter speed.

Drag the Shutter Speed slider to set the shutter speed value, e.g. 2 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, etc. The longer the shutter speed, the more blurred any motion will appear.

If you want to adjust exposure (brightness), use the right-hand slider with the Sun icon.

When you tap the shutter button to take your shot, ensure the camera remains perfectly still while the photo is being taken.

4.3.2 How To Shoot Long Exposure Photos Using Slow Shutter Cam

The Slow Shutter Cam app is designed specifically for shooting long exposure photos.

It makes it easy to capture long exposures of water, light trails, and low light scenes.

Open the Slow Shutter Cam app. Tap the Settings icon at the bottom left to open the capture mode options.

The app has three slow shutter capture modes: Motion Blur, Light Trail, and Low Light.

Motion Blur mode is perfect for creating long exposure water photos. But you can also use it to blur the motion of other moving subjects.

Light Trail mode lets you capture beautiful long exposure photos of moving lights. It’s great for photographing fireworks and car light trails.

Low Light mode is useful for capturing brighter exposures when shooting at night.

Each capture mode has a Shutter Speed slider. Drag the slider left for a faster shutter speed or right for a slower speed.

Dragging the Shutter Speed slider all the way to the right activates Bulb mode. This allows you to shoot with any shutter speed you want. Simply tap the shutter button to start the exposure, and tap again to finish taking the photo.

You can also experiment with the other sliders to fine-tune the image. For example, the Blur Strength slider lets you control how blurred the movement appears.

After taking a photo, you can edit it by tapping Edit at the bottom of the screen. Use the icons at the bottom of the screen to edit your image, then tap Done.

Tap Save to save your image. Or tap Clear to discard it.

Using a slow iPhone shutter speed allows you to push the limits of your mobile photography.

With a little imagination, you can take your creativity to a whole new level!

5. ISO: How To Use ISO To Capture Grain-Free Shots In Low Light

Another useful iPhone manual camera setting is ISO.

In this section, you’ll discover how to use ISO to capture sharp, grain-free iPhone photos in low light.

Note that if you have iPhone 11 or newer, you can use the new Night mode feature to capture stunning night photos.

5.1 What Is ISO?

ISO controls how sensitive the camera’s sensor is to light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the sensor is to light.

This means that ISO affects exposure (brightness). Essentially, the camera can record more light at high ISO settings.

This can come in handy when shooting in low light. However, there’s a big downside to using a high ISO.

Unfortunately, high ISO settings introduce unwanted grain into your photos (as shown below). The grain is especially visible in the darker areas of the image.

Grain reduces the quality of your photo. So you’ll want to avoid high ISO settings if possible. The photo below was shot with a much lower ISO, and the resulting image is free of grain.

5.2 How To Change The ISO iPhone Camera Setting

The built-in Camera app doesn’t let you change ISO. Instead, it automatically selects an appropriate ISO setting, depending on how much light is in the scene.

In low light, the camera will likely use a high ISO in order to capture more light. That’s why you often end up with grainy photos when shooting in dark conditions.

But there is a way to take control of the ISO iPhone settings yourself. And if you do this, you can choose a lower ISO to avoid getting grainy shots.

So how do you change ISO on iPhone? You use the Camera+ 2 app!

Open Camera+ 2, and select Manual shooting mode at the top of the screen. Then tap the Shutter Speed icon above the shutter button.

You can see the current shutter speed and ISO values on the left beneath the slider. In the example below, the shutter speed is 1/15s and the ISO is 6400.

ISO 6400 is the highest ISO value in Camera+ 2. The camera has chosen this high ISO because there was very little light in the scene.

But the high ISO results in an image with a lot of digital noise (grain)… which doesn’t look good.

To change the ISO, tap the + (plus) icon to the right of the shutter speed slider.

You’ll now see two sliders: Shutter Speed on the left, and ISO on the right. Drag the ISO slider to adjust the setting.

The higher the ISO value, the more light the camera will capture – but the grainier the photo will be. The lower the ISO, the darker the image will appear – but it will have less grain.

So your aim is to choose the lowest ISO setting that still gives you a decent exposure.

But there’s a bit more to it than this…

5.3 Balance Shutter Speed & ISO

If you reduce the ISO to a low value, your image might appear too dark.

However, you can get the camera to capture more light by telling it to use a slower shutter speed. Simply use the Shutter Speed slider on the left.

A slower shutter speed (which captures more light) balances the low ISO (which captures less light).

This allows you to use a low ISO (which results in less grain) while still getting a good exposure with enough light.

Of course, if you’re using a slow shutter speed, you might end up with blurred photos caused by camera shake. And if there’s any movement in the scene, it will appear as motion blur.

However, if you can mount your iPhone on a tripod, and your subjects are stationary, it’s fine to use a slow shutter speed. And then you can use a low ISO to avoid grain.

If your only option is to hand-hold the camera, or you have moving subjects that you want to appear sharp, you’ll need a faster shutter speed. And as a result, you’ll have to use a higher ISO setting to get a decent exposure.

Just remember, the higher the ISO, the grainier the image will be.

As with all iPhone manual camera controls, you often have to take a few shots using slightly different settings before you get a good result.

But this all adds to the fun! And you’ll learn a lot in the process.

6. White Balance: How To Capture Perfect Colors In Your Photos

In general, the iPhone does a great job of capturing colors accurately. But in certain situations, the colors might not look quite right.

And that’s when you need to adjust the white balance.

6.1 What Is White Balance?

White balance allows you to capture colors more accurately in your photos.

It ensures the white parts of the photo appear white. And in turn, the other colors in your picture will be captured correctly.

So, when are you likely to end up with strange colors in your pictures?

One situation is when you shoot indoors with the lights on. You might notice a yellow or orange color cast in your photo. This is caused by the warm-colored light emitted from light bulbs.

Color casts are especially noticeable in the white areas of a scene, such as the white jug, wall, and flowers in the photo above.

You can also get unnatural colors when you shoot outdoors in the shade or under cloud cover. In these situations, your photos can end up with a cool blue color cast. This is especially apparent when photographing snow.

So, how can you eliminate these color casts at the time of shooting?

You simply adjust the camera’s white balance!

White balance works by cooling down or warming up the colors in your photo. This neutralizes the color casts from certain types of light, resulting in more accurate colors.

Selecting the appropriate white balance setting will ensure your whites appear white!

6.2 How To Change White Balance On iPhone

The built-in Camera app doesn’t let you change the white balance. Instead, it automatically adjusts white balance in an attempt to remove any warm or cool color casts.

Most of the time, the iPhone camera’s auto white balance does a great job, especially outdoors in natural light.

But if you’re taking pictures in very warm or cool light, you might need to take manual control of the white balance.

So, how do you change the white balance on iPhone?

You guessed it! You use the Camera+ 2 app.

In Camera+ 2, set the shooting mode (yellow icon) at the top of the screen to Manual. Then tap the WB (White Balance) icon near the bottom of the screen.

When you tap the WB icon, a row of white balance presets appears at the bottom of the viewfinder. The presets are called Shade, Cloudy, Daylight, etc. Swipe across to see more white balance presets.

To eliminate a color cast, select the white balance preset that matches the type of light you’re shooting in.

So, if you’re shooting under warm-colored light bulbs, choose Incandescent. This setting cools down the colors, neutralizing the warm color cast from the light bulbs.

The resulting photo should have more natural colors where the whites look white.

In the example below, the Shade white balance preset was selected. This setting warms up the colors, eliminating the blue color cast and making the snow appear more white.

If you prefer to let the camera decide which white balance setting to use, select the Auto white balance option.

6.3 Use White Balance For Creative Effect

In most cases, you’ll want the colors in your photos to appear as accurate as possible. You’ll want the whites to appear white.

But sometimes a photo can be enhanced by deliberately warming up or cooling down the colors.

For instance, you can emphasize the coldness and bleakness of a winter landscape by cooling down the colors.

Or you can intensify the colors of a sunset by adding warm orange tones to your image.

Using white balance creatively can help you capture very different moods in your photos. So don’t be afraid to experiment with the white balance settings.

And if you don’t get the white balance quite right at the time of shooting, you can always tweak the colors when editing your photo!

The post 6 Advanced iPhone Camera Controls For Jaw-Dropping Photography appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

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iPhone Photo Apps: Which Ones Do You Need?

There are many different types of photo apps available for iPhone. But there are only three types that you’ll need on a regular basis:

• Photo editing app
• Camera app
• Photo sharing app

Photo editing apps and photoshop apps allow you to edit photos on iPhone after you’ve taken them. With just a few basic editing tools you can turn an ordinary photo into a stunning masterpiece.

While the iPhone’s built-in Camera app is fantastic, sometimes it doesn’t give you enough manual control. For example, you can’t adjust shutter speed or ISO.

If you want DSLR-like control over the iPhone camera, you can download a third-party iPhone camera app.

Once you’ve shot and edited some amazing photos, you’ll probably want to share them with others. A photo-sharing app lets you showcase your photos to family, friends, and even strangers across the globe.

Read on to discover the 10 best picture apps for shooting, editing and sharing incredible iPhone photos.

1. Best Photo Editing App: Snapseed

Powerful photo editing app with a huge range of tools

• Wide range of professional editing tools, yet very easy to use
• Exposure, color, and sharpness adjustments
• Crop, rotate, straighten, and perspective correction
• Selective adjustments, brushes, and healing tool
• Black & white and vintage filters
• Portrait enhancement, vignette, and lens blur
• Double exposure, frames, and text
• Price: FREE

Snapseed is one of the best photo apps for iPhone. And it’s certainly the best photo editing app for beginners and advanced users alike.

Free photo apps are often sub-standard. But the free Snapseed app offers a high-quality photo editing experience.

If you only download one photography app, make it Snapseed!

This powerful photo editor takes care of almost all your image editing needs. It’s great for everyday photo editing, including exposure, color, cropping, and sharpening.

But it also has tools for advanced photo editing. These include brushes and selective editing which allow you to edit only certain parts of an image. And the healing tool lets you remove unwanted objects from your photos.

Snapseed has a collection of preset “Looks” and filters. These provide a quick way to change the look and feel of your photos. You can convert photos to black and white with filters. Or enhance the colors and apply grungy or vintage looks.

The portrait tools are fantastic for smoothing skin and brightening eyes. It even has a head pose tool which adjusts the angle of your subject’s head in portrait photos.

If you’re editing a batch of similar photos, the “Last Edits” option will save you time by applying the same edits to each photo.

Snapseed is an amazing photo app for all iPhone photographers. Once you start using Snapseed, it’s likely to become your go-to photo editing app.

Snapseed is available as a FREE download from the App Store.

Click here to learn how to use Snapseed to make your ordinary iPhone photos look spectacular.

2. Best Filter App: VSCO

Stylish editing app with beautiful film-like filters

• Subtle one-tap filter presets that mimic the look of classic film
• Adjustable filter strength
• 130+ filters available via an annual subscription
• Editing tools for cropping, exposure, color, and sharpness
• Built-in camera app and photo sharing platform
• Price: FREE (with a subscription fee for additional filters and tools)

VSCO (pronounced “Visco”) is one of the best photo filter apps for iPhone.

VSCO filters allow you to change the look and feel of a photo with a single tap. They offer a quick and easy way to enhance your iPhone photos.

Many filter apps have garish colored filters that can ruin your pictures. But VSCO is different. VSCO filters are beautiful and understated, emulating the look of classic film.

And you can easily adjust the filter strength, allowing you to tone down the effect to create just the look you want.

The filters are conveniently organized into different categories, such as Warm, Cool, Vibrant, and Black & White. You’ll also find filters suited to particular photography genres, such as Portrait, Nature, and Urban.

In addition to the filters, the app has a good set of editing tools for fine-tuning color and exposure.

VSCO also includes a built-in camera app with manual controls. And it even has its own photo-sharing platform.

However, it’s the filters that really draw photographers to the VSCO app. So if you’re looking for an amazing filter app to enhance your images, VSCO is a fantastic choice.

VSCO is FREE to download from the App Store. It comes with a basic collection of 10 filters to get you started. And you can get access to the full set of over 130 filters by subscribing to VSCO X membership ($19.99 a year).

Learn how to use VSCO with our step-by-step tutorials:
VSCO Tutorial: How To Shoot & Edit Incredible iPhone Photos
How To Use VSCO Filters To Create Beautiful iPhone Photos

3. Best Retouch App: TouchRetouch

Remove unwanted objects from your photos in seconds

• An app dedicated to removing unwanted elements from your photos
• Remove blemishes, power lines, and other distracting objects
• One-touch fixes make objects vanish immediately
• Handy line removal tool
• Clone tool for duplicating or removing objects
• Price: $1.99

TouchRetouch is an app dedicated to removing unwanted objects from your iPhone photos. It only takes a few seconds to remove distracting objects that are spoiling your image.

It’s easy to get rid of elements such as litter, street signs, or a person. Use your finger to paint over the object or select it with the lasso. Then watch it disappear.

The app works by analyzing the pixels around your selection. It then replaces the selected object with pixels from the surrounding area.

This app is great for removing imperfections in portrait photos. You can make pimples and skin blemishes vanish with a single tap.

The line removal tool is perfect for erasing power lines and telephone posts. You don’t even have to be precise. Mark a section of the line, and the app will remove the entire line.

TouchRetouch is available for $1.99 on the App Store.

Learn how to remove objects from your iPhone photos in our TouchRetouch tutorial.

4. Best Intermediate Photo Editing App: Afterlight 2

Full-featured photo editor with advanced tools and creative options

• Exposure, color, and sharpening adjustments
• Advanced tools such as curves, selective color, gradients, and blend modes
• Dust and light leak overlays
• Double-exposure tool for seamless blending of images
• Add text and artwork using layers
• Free filter packs by well-known mobile photographers
• Price: FREE (with a subscription fee for full access to all features)

If you want to move beyond basic image editing, Afterlight 2 is a great place to start.

It offers a wide range of editing tools, as well as artistic options. Despite its comprehensive set of tools, it’s very easy to use.

For basic edits, this app has the usual color, exposure, sharpness, and crop tools. But it also offers advanced editing features like curves and selective color.

You can use filters and overlays to enhance the mood or add an artistic flair. Afterlight 2 comes with a basic set of filters, but you can download more filter collections for free.

The double-exposure tool lets you create unique combinations of photos. And you can add graphics to your images with the text and artwork tools.

Afterlight 2 is FREE to download from the App Store. But if you want full access to all editing tools, you’ll need to pay a subscription fee ($2.99 a month or $17.99 a year).

5. Best Professional Photo Editing App: Adobe Lightroom CC

Professional photo editor app with advanced editing tools

• Powerful editing tools within a simple user interface
• One-tap filter presets for quick edits
• Advanced editing tools including curves and color mix tools
• Selective editing, healing tool, and perspective correction
• Get consistent looks by copying your favorite edits to entire albums of photos
• Adobe Creative Cloud syncs edits between iPhone, iPad, computer and web
• Price: Free (with a subscription fee for premium features)

Adobe Lightroom CC offers a powerful set of tools for editing your iPhone photos.

You can edit a photo in seconds with sliders and one-tap filters. But it’s the advanced photo editing tools that make this app stand out.

The curves, color mix, and split tone tools offer incredible control over color and exposure.

You can also apply edits selectively to certain parts of an image. And the healing tool makes it easy to remove unwanted objects from your photos.

Adobe Lightroom CC is free to download from the App Store. But you’ll need to pay to upgrade to the premium features.

This unlocks the selective, healing and perspective tools within the app. It also lets you access your photos across all your devices via Adobe Creative Cloud.

If you use Lightroom to edit photos on your computer, this may become your favorite photo app for iPhone.

6. Best Creative Editing App: Enlight

Photo editor app with creative and artistic tools

• Selective control over exposure, color, and details
• Filters, two-tone gradients, light leaks, and vignettes
• Black & white, paint, and sketch effects
• Double-exposure, tilt-shift, and photo montages
• Drawing tools, text, borders, and frames
• Crop, rotate, straighten, and perspective correction
• Clone tool for removing unwanted objects
• Masking tool for seamless blending of effects
• Price: $3.99

Enlight is an all-in-one photo editing app with a great range of creative and artistic tools.

Whether you want to perform a simple edit or create an artistic masterpiece, you can do it all with Enlight.

Artistic tools let you turn a photo into a sketch or drawing. You can personalize your photos using brushes, design elements, text, borders, and frames. And you can arrange your photos into a collage.

The mixer tool lets you create double-exposure images. And you can use the tilt-shift tool to create fake-miniature photos.

The mask tool is one of the most useful features in Enlight. It lets you apply any effect to only certain parts of your image. It’s great for blending different effects into your photos. Or use it to create a black and white image with a flash of color.

In addition to the creative tools, you’ll find the usual basic editing tools, as well as preset filters.

But it also has curves and split tone options for advanced fine-tuning. And the target tool lets you make selective adjustments to your photos.

If you’re looking for an all-round photo editing app with a focus on creativity, Enlight is for you!

Download Enlight for $3.99 from the App Store.

Learn how to use Enlight with our step-by-step video demonstrations.

7. Best Texture App: Mextures

Add textures, grain, and light leaks for unique creative edits

• Grit, grain, grunge, and vintage film textures
• Analog light leaks and beautiful gradients
• Layer several effects for unique blends
• Fine-tune images with editing tools and filters
• Use preset formulas to apply quick edits
• Create your own formulas and save them for later use
• Price: $2.99 (with in-app purchases for additional effects)

Mextures is an incredible app for adding beautiful textures to your iPhone photos. It also includes other effects such as film grain, light leaks, and gradients.

You can stack an unlimited number of effects to create a completely unique edit. Each layer is adjustable, so you can alter the opacity and blending mode to achieve the look you want.

If you’re new to Mextures, you can start by using the wide range of preset “formulas.” You can save and share your own formulas, and even import formulas from other Mextures users.

Mextures also has a set of standard editing tools and filters. You can use these to fine-tune the exposure and color of the final image.

If you want to create beautifully unique edits, Mextures is the app for you.

Mextures is $2.99 on the App Store. Extra presets are available as in-app purchases.

Learn how to enhance your photos with textures in our step-by-step Mextures tutorial.

8. Best Camera App With Manual Controls: Camera+ 2

Camera app with manual controls and a range of shooting modes

• Camera app with shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and manual focus controls
• Slow Shutter mode for shooting long exposure photos
• Portrait mode for blurring the background
• Macro mode for capturing close-up photos
• Option to shoot in RAW format
• Built-in photo editor
• Price: $2.99

Camera+ 2 is a powerful camera app with an integrated photo editing suite. It offers manual iPhone camera controls, including shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and focus.

It also has a range of shooting modes for different situations. Macro mode is perfect for capturing close-up macro photos of insects and flowers.

Slow Shutter mode helps you take stunning long exposure photos.

Portrait mode blurs the background of your photos, allowing you to shoot professional portrait photos with your iPhone. This is similar to the Portrait mode in the built-in iPhone Camera app.

(Note that you can only use Portrait mode in Camera+ 2 on iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max).

Another great feature of Camera+ 2 is the ability to separate the focus and exposure points. This makes it easy to focus on one part of the image, but expose for a different part.

The handy editing suite offers tools to improve exposure, color, and clarity. Or you can use the one-tap filters to quickly change the look and feel of your photo. The layers feature lets you stack several different filters for a unique look.

Camera+ 2 is available for $2.99 on the App Store.

Learn how to shoot and edit stunning iPhone photos in our Camera+ app tutorial.

9. Best Professional Camera App: ProCamera

Powerful camera app with DSLR-like controls

• Full-featured camera app with a clean and simple user interface
• Easy to adjust shutter speed and ISO
• Advanced white balance setting
• On-screen histogram to help with exposure
• HDR and LowLight modes for tricky light conditions
• Option to shoot in RAW, TIFF, and HEIF formats
• Price: $5.99 (with in-app purchases for HDR & Low Light modes)

ProCamera gives you incredible control over your camera settings. If you’re looking for a DSLR-like experience with your iPhone camera, ProCamera is the app for you.

The clean and simple interface makes it easy to adjust settings like ISO and shutter speed. And the on-screen histogram helps you get the perfect exposure in your shots.

The advanced white balance setting lets you fine-tune the color tint and temperature.

ProCamera has some handy settings for shooting in awkward light conditions. The anti-shake setting ensures you never get a blurry shot.

The LowLight modes help you take better photos in dark conditions. And HDR mode is perfect for creating better exposures in high-contrast scenes.

HDR and LowLight+ modes are only available as extra in-app purchases. But you can try them out before you buy to see if you like them.

As well as JPEG capture mode, you can also shoot in RAW, TIFF, and HEIF formats.

ProCamera is $5.99 on the App Store. Extra shooting modes are available as in-app purchases.

Click here for an in-depth tutorial on how to shoot photos with the ProCamera app.

10. Best Photo Sharing App: Instagram

Photo sharing app with editing tools and filters

• Largest photo sharing platform with over 800 million users
• Share your photos and build an Instagram following
• Discover inspiring images from photographers all over the world
• Edit your photos right before sharing them
• Good selection of color and black & white filters
• Editing tools for exposure, color, sharpness, and more
• Direct messaging facility for private conversations

Instagram is the best photo app for iPhone photographers who want to share their pictures. It’s the ultimate blend of photography and community.

Within seconds you can share your images with millions of people. And by posting high-quality photos, you’ll soon build a following of people who like your work.

Instagram is perfect for discovering inspiring photos from a huge range of genres. And it’s easy to connect with like-minded people through comments or private messages.

Hashtags let you search for certain types of photo, such as landscapes or silhouettes. You can even find photos taken in a particular location.

The Instagram app also has a good selection of editing tools. So you can enhance your photos right before you share them.

There’s a range of filters for changing the look and feel of your image. And editing tools let you improve exposure, color, and sharpness.

You can also crop, rotate, straighten, and correct perspective. And you can add a vignette or tilt-shift effect.

Instagram is FREE to download from the App Store.

Check out these tutorials to get the most out of using Instagram:
11 Instagram Tricks For Beginner iPhone Photographers
Instagram Photo Editing: Create Stunning iPhone Images To Share
How To Become Instagram Famous In 3 Easy Steps

The post 10 Best Photo Apps For Incredible iPhone Photography (2021 Edition) appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

Table Of Contents: iPhone 11 Camera

Click any title link below to go straight to that section of the article:

1. Select A Photo Or Video Shooting Mode In The iPhone Camera App
2. Switch Between The Wide, Ultra Wide & Telephoto Lenses
3. Use Night Mode To Capture Incredible Color & Detail In Low Light
4. Use Burst Mode For Spectacular Action Shots
5. Shoot Photos & Videos At The Same Time
6. Use Portrait Mode For Beautifully Blurred Backgrounds In Your Photos
7. Set The Focus Point For Perfectly Sharp Images
8. Adjust Image Brightness With The Exposure Slider
9. Switch On HDR For Improved Highlight & Shadow Detail
10. Capture Better Texture & Detail With Deep Fusion
11. Shoot Fascinating Moving Images With Live Photos
12. Open The Hidden iPhone 11 Camera Controls

1. Select A Photo Or Video Shooting Mode In The iPhone Camera App

The iPhone 11 Camera app has six shooting modes for different types of photography and videography:

Time-Lapse, Slo-Mo, Video, Photo, Portrait, and Pano.

Select a shooting mode by swiping left or right across the screen. (If you’re holding the iPhone horizontally, swipe up or down.)

The selected shooting mode will appear in yellow.

But what exactly does each shooting mode do?

Photo mode captures an ordinary still image.

Portrait mode blurs the background in your iPhone photos.

Portrait mode is perfect for shooting professional-looking portrait photos. But you can use it to create beautiful background blur behind any kind of subject.

You’ll learn how to use Portrait mode later in this article.

Pano mode lets you capture super-wide panoramic photos. It’s great for capturing more of the scene in wide landscapes and cityscapes.

In Pano mode, press the shutter button, then move your iPhone across the scene in the direction of the arrow. When you’re done, press the shutter button to complete the shot.

Video mode lets you shoot high-quality video footage.

To start recording video, tap the red Record button. Tap it again to stop recording.

Slo-Mo mode captures mesmerizing slow-motion videos.

It’s perfect for fast-moving subjects, such as someone running or jumping. And it’s amazing for capturing water splashes.

Tap the red Record button to start recording a So-Mo. Then tap it again to stop recording.

Time-Lapse mode does the opposite of Slo-Mo. It creates a sped-up time-lapse video.

Again, tap the red Record button to start recording your time-lapse. Tap it again to stop.

Time-lapse is fantastic for speeding up slow-moving scenes, such as clouds, a sunset, or burning candles.

2. Switch Between The Wide, Ultra Wide & Telephoto Lenses

The iPhone 11 has two rear-facing lenses: a Wide lens and an Ultra Wide lens.

The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max have three lenses: a Wide lens, an Ultra Wide lens, and a Telephoto lens.

So, what are each of these iPhone 11 lenses for? And how do you switch between them?

The Wide lens is the standard iPhone lens that gives you a moderately wide angle of view.

The Ultra Wide lens gives you a much wider field of view. It allows you to capture far more of the scene (as shown below).

The Ultra Wide lens is perfect for capturing wide landscapes and cityscapes. It’s also great for architecture photography and interior shots where you want to get more into the frame.

The Telephoto lens allows you to zoom in to get a closer view.

This lens is perfect for situations where you can’t physically get closer to your subject.

Switching between iPhone camera lenses is easy. You simply use the Zoom icons at the bottom of the viewfinder.

Tap the 0.5x icon to switch to the Ultra Wide lens.

Tap the 1x icon to switch to the standard Wide lens.

On the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max, tap the 2x icon to switch to the Telephoto lens. (Remember the iPhone 11 doesn’t have a Telephoto lens).

When you’re shooting with the 1x Wide lens or 2x Telephoto lens, a wider view of the scene is displayed outside of the frame. This gives you an idea of what you can capture if you zoom out.

If you hold down on any of the Zoom icons (0.5x, 1x, or 2x), the Zoom wheel appears.

Dragging the wheel left or right lets you transition between different zoom levels.

However, you should avoid using any zoom setting other than 0.5x, 1x and 2x.

Why?

Because any other zoom setting uses “digital zoom” which results in a poorer quality image.

0.5x, 1x, and 2x use the full optical quality of the lenses on your iPhone. So stick to these zoom settings for the highest quality images.

3. Use Night Mode To Capture Incredible Color & Detail In Low Light

Do you want to take stunning night photos with your iPhone?

It’s easy with the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro Camera app!

These iPhones come with a brand Night mode iPhone camera feature.

Night mode allows you to capture low light photos with incredible color and detail.

And the great thing about Night mode is that it switches on automatically in dark conditions.

Just ensure you’re shooting with the 1x Wide lens or 2x Telephoto lens. (Night mode doesn’t work with the 0.5x Ultra Wide lens.)

There also needs to be some kind of light in the scene, such as a candle, a lamp, or street lights.

When the iPhone detects you’re shooting in low light, the Night mode (moon) icon appears at the top left of the screen.

If the light is fairly low but not too dark, the Night mode icon will be white.

The white icon means Night mode isn’t yet switched on… but you have the option to switch it on to improve your shot if you wish.

To switch on Night mode, tap the white Night mode icon so it turns yellow.

If the scene has very limited light, Night mode automatically switches on. The Night mode icon appears yellow when active.

The number on the Night mode icon indicates how long it will take to capture the photo, e.g., 1 second, 3 seconds, etc.

The slider at the bottom of the screen lets you adjust the exposure time.

You can choose the Auto exposure time, or drag the slider to the right to increase the exposure time to Max.

To switch off Night mode, drag the slider left to the Off position.

When you’re ready to take your shot, press the shutter button. The yellow slider will count down the seconds to the end of the exposure.

Hold your iPhone still until the shot is complete. The steadier the camera, the sharper your photo will be.

Night mode is one of the best iPhone camera settings on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.

It will dramatically improve your low light photography. Try it for yourself and see the amazing results!

4. Use Burst Mode For Spectacular Action Shots

Do you struggle to take good pictures of moving subjects?

Pressing the shutter button at the perfect moment is challenging. But with burst mode in the iPhone Camera app, you can capture amazing action shots.

Burst mode takes multiple photos every second, capturing the subject as they move through the scene.

You can then choose the best shots from the burst and discard the rest.

So, how do you activate burst mode?

Well, if you’ve used burst mode on an older iPhone, you’ll remember that you had to hold down the shutter button.

But on iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro camera, this no longer works. (You’ll learn what holding down the shutter button does in the next section).

To activate burst mode in the iPhone 11 Camera app, drag the shutter button to the left.

The camera will keep taking pictures until you release your finger.

The number inside the shutter button shows how many photos have been taken during the burst.

When you’ve finished shooting, open the burst thumbnail in the Photos app. (Burst photos are indicated by a thumbnail with three stacked images).

Tap Select at the bottom of the screen. Then scroll through the images and select the ones you want to keep.

Tap Done. Then tap Keep Only Favorites.

The selected photos will be saved to your photo library, and the rest will be deleted.

Burst mode is a fantastic camera feature for capturing moving subjects.

The new technique of dragging the shutter button to the left might feel strange to start with. But once you get used to it, you’ll never miss an amazing action shot again!

5. Shoot Photos & Videos At The Same Time

You’ve just discovered that holding down the shutter button no longer activates burst mode.

That’s because the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro have a brand new feature called QuickTake.

By holding down the shutter button, you can instantly start shooting a video… without having to leave the Photo shooting mode.

Imagine you’re taking pictures, and suddenly there’s a moment that you’d like to capture as video.

On older iPhones, you’d have to switch to Video mode and press the shutter button to start recording. But now, you can stay in Photo mode.

Just hold down the shutter button to start recording video.

The shutter button will turn red. And you’ll see the video timer at the top of the screen.

When you release your finger, the video recording stops. And you can now continue taking photos.

Or, if you want to keep recording video without having to hold the button, slide the shutter button to the right and release it.

When video recording is locked, a white shutter button appears at the bottom right.

You can tap this white shutter button to take a still photo while you’re recording video.

This is an amazing feature as it allows you to shoot video and photos at the same time!

(However, keep in mind that the photos will be captured at a slightly lower resolution than normal.)

To stop recording video, tap the red record button.

You can now continue shooting still images in the normal way.

6. Use Portrait Mode For Beautifully Blurred Backgrounds In Your Photos

Do you want to blur the background in your iPhone photos?

Just switch to Portrait mode in the iPhone Camera app!

Portrait mode keeps your foreground subject in sharp focus while the background is beautifully blurred.

It’s great for shooting stunning portrait photos of people. But it also works for pets, flowers, and many other foreground objects.

When framing your shot, ensure the subject is between two and eight feet from the camera. If you’re too close or too far away, you’ll see an on-screen prompt telling you to change your distance.

On the iPhone 11 Pro, you can switch between the 2x Telephoto lens and the 1x Wide lens. Just tap 1x or 2x at the bottom left.

When Portrait mode is ready, the words Natural Light appear in yellow.

You can now tap the shutter button to take your shot.

Once you’ve taken a photo with Portrait mode, you can adjust the strength of the background blur. You can also use Portrait Lighting to apply studio light effects to your image.

(Note that you can adjust these settings while shooting, but it’s easier to do it after you’ve taken the picture).

To make adjustments to your image, open it in the Photos app, then tap Edit.

To adjust the strength of the background blur, tap the f-number icon at the top left.

Then drag the Depth slider at the bottom of the screen. A low f-number makes the background more blurred. And a high f-number makes it less blurred.

To adjust the lighting effect, tap the Portrait Lighting (hexagon) icon at the top left. The Portrait Lighting icons will appear beneath the photo.

Swipe across the Portrait Lighting icons beneath the photo. Then select the effect you want, e.g. Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light, etc.

Use the slider at the bottom of the screen to adjust the intensity of the light effect.

If you’d rather your photo didn’t have a blurred background, you can remove the blur effect.

To remove the blur, tap Portrait at the top of the screen. To switch the blur back on, tap Portrait again.

When you’ve finished making adjustments to your Portrait mode photo, tap Done to save the changes.

7. Set The Focus Point For Perfectly Sharp Images

In most cases, the iPhone’s autofocus does a great job of capturing sharply-focused images.

But sometimes, you might want more control over which part of the scene is in focus.

For example, in the photo below, I wanted the camera to focus on the flower on the left.

So how do you set the focus point manually in the iPhone 11 Camera app?

You simply tap the screen where you want to set focus.

A yellow box indicates the focus point.

Now, just tap the shutter button to take your picture.

If you want to take several photos with the focus set at the same point, you can lock the focus.

To lock focus, tap and hold the screen where you want to set focus. When you see AE/AF Lock at the top of the screen, release your finger.

With focus locked, you can take as many photos as you want without the focus point changing.

To deactivate AE/AF Lock, tap anywhere on the screen.

Setting the focus point gives you more control over which parts of your image appear clear and sharp.

It’s a simple iPhone camera trick that will really improve your iPhone photography!

8. Adjust Image Brightness With The Exposure Slider

Do your pictures sometimes look too dark or too bright?

This is an easy problem to fix in the iPhone 11 camera!

You simply adjust the exposure (image brightness) before you take a photo.

First, tap to set focus. Then swipe up to make the image brighter. Or swipe down to make it darker.

Be careful though. If you make the image too bright or too dark, you’ll lose color and detail.

In most cases, you’ll want to aim for a balanced exposure without any very bright or dark areas.

However, if you want to create a dramatic silhouette photo, you’ll need to reduce exposure further than normal.

For a silhouette, you want the subject to appear very dark or completely black.

The exposure slider is one of the most powerful iPhone camera settings. But most people don’t even know it exists!

If you take control of exposure, your iPhone photography will instantly improve!

9. Switch On HDR For Improved Highlight & Shadow Detail

Shooting high-contrast scenes can be tricky. Most cameras struggle to capture detail in very dark and very bright areas at the same time.

Fortunately, the iPhone 11 Camera app has an HDR feature which solves this problem.

HDR allows you to capture incredible detail in both the shadows and the highlights.

HDR works by taking multiple shots at different exposures whenever you press the shutter.

The iPhone’s software merges the images to create a single photo with great color and detail throughout.

So, how do you take an HDR photo on iPhone 11?

Well, that depends on how your HDR options are set up.

Open the Settings app and select Camera. At the bottom of the screen is the Smart HDR option.

If Smart HDR is switched on, your iPhone will automatically shoot HDR photos whenever it needs to.

I recommend keeping Smart HDR switched on. That way, you don’t have to think about whether or not to use HDR when you’re shooting.

If you would prefer to control whether your camera shoots an HDR photo or not, you’ll need to switch off Smart HDR in the Settings app.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll see an HDR icon at the top of the Camera app.

You can tap the HDR icon to toggle between HDR On and HDR Off.

When there’s a line through the HDR icon, HDR is switched off.

In the screenshot above, notice how some areas of the sky have become too bright when HDR was switched off.

Having HDR switched on helps to avoid these exposure problems when shooting high-contrast scenes.

With HDR on, your image will have good color and detail in both the shadows and the highlights.

10. Capture Better Texture & Detail With Deep Fusion

Deep Fusion is a new iPhone 11 camera feature for capturing better photos in medium to low light.

In this kind of light, photos can lack detail and look dull or grainy. But Deep Fusion uses clever camera software to capture more texture and detail with less noise (grain).

Deep Fusion works by capturing multiple images when you press the shutter. The best parts of these images are automatically blended to produce a single photo with better texture and detail.

Deep Fusion photos will have more detail in textured areas, such as hair, fabric, leaves, trees, etc.

So, how do you shoot a Deep Fusion photo?

Well, you can’t actually control the Deep Fusion feature. In fact, you won’t even know when Deep Fusion is being used!

The camera will automatically decide when to switch on Deep Fusion. So you’ll never have to think about whether or not to use it. You can just enjoy the great photos that it produces!

Even though you can’t switch Deep Fusion on or off, it’s useful to know when the camera is likely to use it.

Remember that Night mode automatically switches on in low to very low light. And Smart HDR automatically activates in high-contrast scenes with bright light.

Deep Fusion turns on in medium to low light. So it works somewhere in between Smart HDR and Night mode.

The lens that you shoot with also affects whether Deep Fusion switches on.

With the 2x Telephoto lens, Deep Fusion is active most of the time (because this lens lets in less light). The 1x Wide lens uses Deep Fusion in medium to low light. And the 0.5x Ultra Wide lens never uses Deep Fusion.

Deep Fusion won’t be activated if you shoot in burst mode. This is because the camera can’t capture multiple images when you shoot burst photos in quick succession.

It also won’t work if you’ve switched on the Photos Capture Outside The Frame option in Settings. This setting allows you to capture extra content outside of the frame, which you can later use to recompose your photo in editing.

11. Shoot Fascinating Moving Images With Live Photos

The iPhone Live Photos feature lets you shoot a 3-second moving image with sound.

It’s perfect for those moments when a still image isn’t enough, but a video would be too much.

A Live Photo brings your image to life with a few seconds of movement and sound.

To shoot a Live Photo, ensure the Live Photo icon is switched on at the top right of the screen. (If the icon has a line through it, it’s switched off).

A Live Photo captures the 1.5 seconds before and 1.5 seconds after you press the shutter. So ensure you keep the camera still for a few moments before and after tapping the shutter button.

To view your Live Photo, open it in the Photos app. Then hold your finger on the image to play the Live Photo.

If you swipe up on your Live Photo, you’ll see four Effects. (Swipe across the effects to see them all).

Live is the default Live Photo that plays as a 3-second video clip.

Loop turns your Live Photo into a continuous video loop.

Bounce continuously plays your Live Photo forward and then in reverse.

Long Exposure creates a still photo with a slow shutter effect.

The Long Exposure effect blurs any movement in the scene. This is an easy way to create beautiful long exposure photos of water.

12. Open The Hidden iPhone 11 Camera Controls

Did you know there are some hidden controls in the iPhone 11 Camera app?

To access these controls, tap the up arrow at the top of the screen. Or simply swipe up on the viewfinder.

A row of icons will appear above the shutter button.

From left to right, these icons are: Flash, Night mode (only visible when shooting in low light), Live Photos, Aspect Ratio, Timer, Filters, and HDR.

Of course, you can also access Night mode, Live Photos, and HDR from the icons at the top of the screen.

It’s best to keep the Flash setting switched off… unless you specifically want to illuminate the scene with light from the flash.

When shooting photos, you can capture the image in one of three aspect ratios: Square, 4:3 (standard rectangle), or 16:9 (wide).

Square and 16:9 will crop part of the image. So it’s best to shoot in the full 4:3 aspect ratio. You can always crop the image to a different aspect ratio with an editing app.

The Timer icon lets you set a 3-second or 10-second delay between pressing the shutter and capturing the photo.

Use the iPhone camera timer when shooting self-portraits or group shots where you want to appear in the photo.

If you’re shooting long exposure photos on a tripod, set the timer to avoid any camera shake from pressing the shutter.

The Filters icon lets you access a range of preset filters for changing the look of your image.

There are filters with warm colors and cool colors, as well as black and white filters.

Note that these filters can also be applied or removed when editing pictures in the Photos app. It’s often easier to capture the photo without a filter and then experiment with them in post-processing.

To shoot without any filter applied, ensure the Original filter is selected.

When you’ve finished using the camera controls at the bottom of the screen, you can hide them again.

Tap the down arrow at the top of the screen. Or swipe down on the viewfinder.

The post How To Take Stunning Photos With Your iPhone 11 Camera appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

Table Of Contents: iPhone 11 vs iPhone 11 Pro Camera

Click any title link below to go straight to that section of the article:

1. The New iPhone 11 Camera Features: Overview
2. Dual-Lens vs Triple-Lens Camera
3. Night Mode For Incredible Low-Light Photography With iPhone
4. Advanced Smart HDR For Better Shadow & Highlight Detail
5. Deep Fusion For Enhanced Texture & Detail In Medium To Low Light
6. Enhanced Portrait Mode & Portrait Lighting
7. Redesigned Camera App
8. Quickly Shoot A Video While You’re Taking Photos
9. Capture Fun Slo-Mo Selfies
10. Improved Photo Editing Tools For More Precise Control
11. New Video Editing Tools
12. iPhone 11 Prices
13. iPhone 11 vs iPhone 11 Pro vs iPhone 11 Pro Max: Pick The Best iPhone Camera For You
14. Is It Worth Upgrading From Your Current iPhone?

1. The new iPhone 11 Camera Features: Overview

There are three new iPhone 11 models:

iPhone 11: 6.1 inch display. Dual-lens camera with Utra Wide and Wide lenses.

iPhone 11 Pro: 5.8 inch display. Triple-lens camera with Ultra Wide, Wide, and Telephoto lenses.

iPhone 11 Pro Max: 6.5 inch display. Triple-lens camera with Ultra Wide, Wide, and Telephoto lenses.

All three iPhone 11 models have the following camera features:

• 12-megapixel rear-facing and front-facing cameras
• Night mode for capturing better low-light photos
• Improved Smart HDR for better exposure, color, and detail in high-contrast scenes
• Deep Fusion for enhanced texture and detail in medium to low light
• Portrait mode with Depth Control for creating beautifully blurred backgrounds
• Portrait Lighting with six adjustable studio lighting effects
• Live Photos, Pano Mode, Time Lapse, Slo-Mo, and Burst Mode
• 4k video recording with optical image stabilization
• Improved photo editing tools
• New Video editing tools in the Photos app

2. Dual-Lens vs Triple-Lens Camera

The new iPhone 11 lenses are big news!

So what exactly do these new lens systems mean for you and your photography?

And is the dual or triple-lens system best for your needs?

2.1 Dual-Lens Camera (iPhone 11)

Let’s start with the dual-lens camera of the iPhone 11.

Note that this dual-lens is different from the dual-lens of the iPhone XS and other earlier models. These older iPhones had a Wide lens and a Telephoto lens.

But the iPhone 11 dual-lens consists of a Wide lens and an Ultra Wide lens.

The Wide lens is essentially the standard iPhone lens (albeit with a few improvements).

But the Ultra Wide lens is a brand new lens that gives you a much wider field of view. It allows you to zoom out to capture much more of the scene.

Never before has the iPhone been able to take such wide-angle shots without an add-on lens.

The Ultra Wide lens is perfect for landscape photography, travel photography, cityscapes, and architecture.

It’s also great for group shots, interiors, and any tight spaces.

2.2 Triple-Lens Camera (iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max)

Now, let’s look at the triple-lens camera of the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

Note that the cameras on the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are exactly the same. The only difference between these two phones is the size of the screen (the Pro Max is bigger).

The triple-lens consists of the same Wide and Ultra Wide lenses that you’ll find on the iPhone 11. But you also get a Telephoto lens.

The Telephoto lens lets you zoom in to capture a closer view of your subject.

2.3 Do You Need The Dual-Lens Or Triple-Lens?

Do you mainly shoot wide-angle photos? If so, the iPhone 11 dual-lens (Wide and Ultra Wide) might be all you need.

But for ultimate flexibility and creativity, you can’t beat the triple-lens of the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.

Of course, the iPhone 11 Pro models are more expensive. But the additional Telephoto lens is definitely worth it.

You’ll be able to zoom in on distant subjects. And the Telephoto lens is also perfect for portrait photography.

With a wide-angle lens, facial features can look unnatural and distorted. So if you like taking photos of people, the Telephoto lens will ensure you get the best results.

Here’s the bottom line:

If you’re serious about iPhone photography, then you’re going to want the iPhone 11 Pro or Pro Max!

3. Night Mode For Incredible Low-Light Photography With iPhone

Another game-changer is the brand new iPhone Night mode camera feature.

And the great news is that it’s available on all three iPhone 11 models.

Night photography and low-light photography can be challenging. The lack of light can lead to exposure problems and excessive grain. It can also result in blurry images caused by camera shake.

But iPhone 11 Night mode uses intelligent software to create beautifully detailed images in low light.

When you tap the shutter button, the camera takes multiple photos. The iPhone’s optical image stabilization steadies the lens, helping to eliminate blur.

The camera software then combines the best parts of the multiple images captured.

It automatically fine-tunes color and contrast. And it eliminates grain for a sharper image.

The result should be a sharp, grain-free photo with great color and detail.

Night mode comes on automatically in low light. So you don’t even need to think about it when taking photos!

(Note that Night mode doesn’t work with the 0.5x Ultra Wide lens.)

Whichever iPhone 11 model you decide to get, you’ll be able to take stunning low-light photos with Night mode.

4. Advanced Smart HDR For Better Shadow & Highlight Detail

HDR (High Dynamic Range) combines multiple exposures to capture better color and detail in high-contrast scenes.

A high-contrast scene has both bright and dark areas, such as a landscape with a bright sky and dark foreground. With HDR, your camera can capture more detail in both the shadows and the highlights.

HDR has been available in the iPhone Camera app for several years. But the iPhone 11 cameras use advanced technology to create better HDR photos than ever before.

So how does this new Smart HDR technology differ from older iPhones?

The key difference is that it recognizes faces in your photos. And it treats them differently to the rest of the shot.

The iPhone 11 camera software brings lighting and detail to your subject’s face. At the same time, it maintains rich color in the background.

So the people in your photos should be well-lit with natural-looking skin tones. And the background color and detail should look great too.

5. Deep Fusion For Enhanced Texture & Detail In Medium To Low Light

Deep Fusion is a brand new iPhone camera feature that lets you capture substantially more detail in medium to low light.

Like Night mode and Smart HDR, Deep Fusion captures multiple images when you press the shutter.

The camera’s intelligent software blends the best parts of each image to produce a single photo. This photo will have dramatically better texture and detail, as well as reduced noise (grain).

With Deep Fusion, you’ll see more detail in hair, skin, fabrics, and other textured objects. When shooting out in nature, it will work great to highlight textures in leaves, grass, trees, and rocks.

Unlike Night mode and Smart HDR, you don’t have the option to switch Deep Fusion on or off in the Camera app. In fact, you won’t even know when Deep Fusion is being used.

The Camera will decide when to use it, so you’ll never actually have to think about Deep Fusion. You can just shoot photos as normal and then enjoy the results!

Deep Fusion is available on all three iPhone 11 models (as long as the iPhone is updated to iOS 13.2 or later).

6. Enhanced Portrait Mode & Portrait Lighting

iPhone Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting have been around for a few years. But Apple has added a few improvements to the iPhone 11 models.

Portrait mode allows you to blur the background in your iPhone photos.

This is perfect for portrait photos of people.

But with the iPhone 11 models, you can now take better portraits of animals too.

In fact, you can use it to blur the background in any kind of photo.

The Portrait Lighting feature has also been improved.

When you take a photo using Portrait mode, you can add a Portrait Lighting effect. There are a number of options that create different studio lighting effects.

On the iPhone 11 models, there’s a new Portrait Lighting effect called High‑Key Light Mono. This allows you to create a stunning black and white studio-style portrait with a white background.

But here’s the big update to Portrait Lighting on iPhone 11:

You can now adjust the intensity of the Portrait Lighting effect.

This gives you more control over the look and feel of your photo. And you can tone down the effect for more natural results.

Portrait mode is available on all three iPhone 11 models. However, you’re going to get better results on iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.

Why?

Because these iPhones have the 2x Telephoto lens. And a telephoto lens lets you capture more flattering close-up portraits.

So if you like to use Portrait mode, you’ll definitely want the iPhone 11 Pro or Pro Max.

7. Redesigned Camera App

All iPhone 11 models come with a new, redesigned iPhone 11 Camera app.

You can easily switch between lenses using the zoom options (0.5x, 1x, 2x).

The camera interface lets you see what’s happening outside the frame. So you can see what you’d be getting if you zoomed out to a wider lens.

The Camera app also has some “hidden” controls that you access by tapping the arrow at the top of the screen.

8. Quickly Shoot A Video While You’re Taking Photos

On all iPhone 11 models, you can quickly switch to shooting video when you’re taking photos.

You simply tap and hold the shutter button to take a video. If you want to continue recording, swipe right.

You can even take photos while the video is recording.

On older iPhones, tapping and holding the shutter button activated burst mode. So has burst mode disappeared on the iPhone 11?

No, it hasn’t! To activate the iPhone 11 burst mode, you swipe left while holding down the shutter button.

9. Capture Fun Slo-Mo Selfies

Do you enjoy shooting slow-motion videos with Slo-Mo mode?

Well, now you can use Slo-Mo with the front-facing camera on all three iPhone 11 models.

This allows you to have fun with capturing slow-motion self-portraits… which Apple calls “slofies!”

10. Improved Photo Editing Tools For More Precise Control

As well as a redesigned Camera app, the Photos app offers some great new editing tools.

When you’re editing photos in the Photos app, you now have more control over your edits.

New tools let you control any adjustment or filter. So you can fine‑tune your edits with more precision than before.

These new editing tools are available on all iPhone 11 models.

11. New Video Editing Tools

Do you shoot videos with your iPhone?

If so, you’ll be pleased to know that the built-in Photos app now has a set of video editor tools.

Almost every photo editing tool and effect can now be used on videos.

So you can adjust the color and exposure of your videos. And you can rotate and crop them too.

12. iPhone 11 Prices

The iPhone 11 costs $699 for the 64GB model, $749 for 128GB, and $849 for 256GB.

It has a 6.1-inch display. And it’s available in purple, yellow, green, black, white, and red.

The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max have a textured, matte finish. They’re available in Midnight Green, Space Gray, Silver, and Gold.

The iPhone 11 Pro has the smallest screen at 5.8 inches. It’s priced at $999 for the 64GB model, $1149 for 256GB, and $1349 for 512GB.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has the largest display at 6.5 inches. It costs $1099 for the 64GB model, $1249 for 256GB, and $1449 for 512GB.

For more information about the new iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max, visit the Apple website.

13. iPhone 11 vs iPhone 11 Pro vs iPhone 11 Pro Max: Pick The Best iPhone Camera For You

You’ve discovered the amazing new camera features of the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

But which iPhone is best for you and your photography?

12.1 iPhone 11 (Dual-Lens Camera)

The iPhone 11 has a dual-lens camera with a Wide lens and an Ultra Wide lens.

If you mostly shoot wide-angle photos, the iPhone 11 might be all you need. It’s great for landscape photography, cityscapes, architecture, and group shots.

However, it doesn’t have the Telephoto lens. So you won’t be able to zoom in to capture a closer view of the scene.

12.2 iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max (Triple-Lens Camera)

The cameras on the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are identical.

The only difference between these two iPhones is the size of the screen (the Pro Max is bigger).

You get the same Wide lens and Ultra Wide lens as the iPhone 11. But you also get a 2x Telephoto lens which lets you zoom in on your subject.

This triple-lens camera system offers ultimate flexibility and creativity when shooting.

If you’re serious about iPhone photography (and you can afford the extra cost) it’s definitely worth buying one of the Pro models.

All you need to do is decide whether you want the smaller or larger screen!

14. Is It Worth Upgrading From Your Current iPhone?

All of the new iPhone 11 models have superb cameras. But is it worth upgrading from your current iPhone?

It really depends on which iPhone you currently own. 

Do you have the iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 7, or earlier? If so, you’ll be blown away by all of the latest iPhones.

Do you have the iPhone XR? This iPhone only has a single Wide lens. So you’ll notice a huge difference by upgrading to any of the new iPhones.

If you have the iPhone XS or XS Max, you already have the Wide and Telephoto lenses. If you don’t think you’ll use the Ultra Wide lens, you might not want to upgrade right now.

But if you like the idea of shooting extreme wide-angle photos, you’ll want to upgrade to one of the iPhone 11 Pro models.

If you just go for the iPhone 11, then you’ll lose your telephoto lens.

But it’s not just about the number of lenses. There are all of the other new iPhone camera features that might sway you into upgrading.

For example, do you shoot a lot of night or low-light photography? Then Night mode will be of huge benefit to you.

Do you shoot a lot of Portrait mode photos? If so, you might like the idea of the new Portrait Lighting options.

Deep Fusion will dramatically improve your medium to low light photography. And the improved Smart HDR means you can capture amazing detail in high-contrast scenes.

There’s also the added benefit of improved battery life in these new iPhones.

The battery in the iPhone 11 Pro Max lasts up to 5 hours longer than the iPhone XS Max.

The iPhone 11 Pro battery lasts up to 4 hours longer than the iPhone XS.

And the iPhone 11 battery lasts up to 1 hour longer than the iPhone XR.

If you’re not sure whether to upgrade to iPhone 11, ask yourself this:

“Is my current iPhone camera holding me back from getting the shots I want?”

If so, it’s probably time to upgrade to one of the amazing iPhone 11 cameras!

The post Compare The New Features Of iPhone 11 vs iPhone 11 Pro Camera appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

Table Of Contents: How To Use iPhone Camera Settings

Click any title link below to go straight to that section of the article:

1. Set The Focus For Tack-Sharp Photos
2. Adjust Exposure To Achieve Perfect Brightness Levels
3. Switch Between iPhone Lenses To Zoom In & Out
4. Use Night Mode For Unbelievable Low Light Photos
5. Blur The Background In Your Photos With Portrait Mode
6. Use Portrait Lighting To Add Studio Light Effects To Your Photos
7. Activate Burst Mode For Jaw-Dropping Action Shots
8. Shoot Live Photos To Preserve Those Special Moments
9. Set The Timer For Hands-Free Shooting
10. Switch On The Grid In iPhone Camera Settings For Better Compositions

1. Set The Focus For Tack-Sharp Photos

The first step to shooting stunning iPhone photos is to ensure your subject is in sharp focus.

If the subject isn’t in focus, you won’t be able to capture its intricate detail.

A photo with an out-of-focus subject will look like an amateur snapshot. And it won’t have the impact you’d hoped for.

Fortunately, the iPhone Camera app makes it super-easy to set focus.

But unless you know what you’re looking for, you might not even realize the camera has a focus setting.

It’s one of those hidden iPhone camera features that most people don’t know about.

So, how do you set focus on the iPhone camera?

Simply frame your shot, then tap the screen where you want to set focus. A yellow box will appear to indicate the focus point.

When you take the photo, the area that you set focus on will appear crisp and sharp.

Setting the focus point is especially important when shooting close-up photos.

Why? Because when the camera is close to the subject, the depth of field in the photo will be shallow.

A shallow depth of field means only a small portion of the image is in focus. Anything in front of or behind the focus point will appear blurred.

Setting focus is one of the best iPhone camera tricks you can learn.

And it’s one of the easiest iPhone camera settings to use.

It only takes a second to set focus. But it will make a huge difference to the quality of your photos.

2. Adjust Exposure To Achieve Perfect Brightness Levels

Exposure refers to the brightness of an image.

If you don’t get the exposure right, your photo will either be too bright (over-exposed) or too dark (under-exposed).

If the photo is under-exposed, it will lack detail in the shadows (dark areas). And the highlights (bright areas) may appear dull.

If the photo is over-exposed, the highlights (bright areas) may appear completely white with no detail at all. And the shadows will be overly bright.

Some exposure problems can be fixed in editing (such as brightening up shadows). But you’ll never be able to bring back detail in the over-exposed whites.

So it’s important to get the exposure right in the camera.

Adjusting exposure is easy. But, like the focus feature, exposure is one of those hidden iPhone camera settings. And most people don’t even realize it exists.

So, how do you adjust exposure in the Camera app?

First, you need to tap to set focus on your subject.

Then, simply swipe up or down on the screen to adjust exposure.

Swipe up to make the image brighter. Or swipe down to make it darker.

In general, you should aim to capture as much color and detail as possible. Try to avoid over-exposed highlights and under-exposed shadows.

However, in some cases, you might want to deliberately under or over-expose your photo.

For instance, to capture a silhouette photo, you’ll need to under-expose so that your subject appears completely black.

Before you take a photo, always check whether the brightness levels look good.

If the image looks too bright or too dark, adjust the exposure before you press the shutter button.

3. Switch Between iPhone Lenses To Zoom In & Out

Do you have one of the dual-lens or triple-lens iPhones?

If so, you can zoom in and out on your scene by switching between iPhone camera lenses.

The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max have three lenses: Ultra Wide, Wide, and Telephoto.

The iPhone 11 has two lenses: Ultra Wide and Wide.

Older dual-lens iPhones (iPhone XS, XS Max, X, 8 Plus, and 7 Plus) have the Wide and Telephoto lenses.

If you have a single-lens iPhone, you’ll just have the standard Wide lens.

So, how do you switch between lenses on the dual and triple-lens iPhones?

In the iPhone Camera app, you’ll see some numbers at the bottom of the viewfinder. These are the Zoom options that let you switch between lenses.

0.5x is the Ultra Wide lens. 1x is the Wide lens. And 2x is the Telephoto lens.

To use the Ultra Wide lens, tap 0.5x.

To switch to the Wide lens, tap 1x.

For the Telephoto lens, tap 2x.

You know how to switch between lenses. But which one should you choose for your scene?

The 1x Wide lens has a moderately wide field of view. This makes it suitable for most shooting situations.

The 0.5x Ultra Wide lens has an extremely wide angle of view. This allows you to capture super-wide photos that include much more of the scene. It’s great for shooting wide landscapes, cityscapes, and architecture.

The 2x Telephoto lens allows you to capture a closer view of distant objects. Use it to zoom in when you can’t physically get closer to your subject.

As you can see, the same scene can look very different when captured with the Wide, Ultra Wide, and Telephoto lenses.

Having the option to zoom in and out allows you to be more creative and versatile when shooting.

4. Use Night Mode For Unbelievable Low Light Photos

Do you struggle to take good photos when you shoot at night? Do your low light photos look dull and grainy?

Well, if you have the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Pro Max, night photography will never be a problem again!

The iPhone 11 Camera app has an incredible new feature called Night mode.

Night mode uses intelligent camera software to capture more color and detail in your night photos.

So, how do you use Night mode on iPhone 11?

First, ensure you’re shooting with either the 1x Wide lens or 2x Telephoto lens. (Night mode doesn’t work with the 0.5x Ultra Wide lens.)

Night mode will come on automatically whenever you shoot in low light.

If the light is fairly low (but not very dark), the Night mode (moon) icon will be white.

The white icon means that Night mode is available to use, but it’s not yet active. To activate it, tap the Night mode icon so it appears yellow.

If the scene is very dark, Night mode will activate automatically (the icon will appear yellow).

When Night mode is active, you’ll see a number on the yellow Night mode icon. This number indicates the exposure time, e.g., 1 second, 3 seconds, 7 seconds, etc. This is the time it will take to capture the image.

The Auto exposure time is the time recommended by the camera.

However, you can increase the exposure time if you wish. Simply drag the Exposure Time slider right to the Max setting.

If you would prefer not to use Night mode, drag the slider left to the Off setting.

When you’ve selected the Night mode exposure time, tap the shutter button to take your shot.

Hold your iPhone really still until the exposure is complete. If you move the camera, your photo might not be sharp.

The above photo was taken using Night mode. It was taken at night with only a couple of street lamps illuminating the scene.

For comparison, below is the same building taken without Night mode.

As you can see, Night mode allows you to capture a brighter image with vibrant colors and sharp detail.

So, if you have one of the iPhone 11 models, don’t be afraid to shoot at night. You’ll be amazed at the results!

Note that if you’re shooting in medium to low light, and Night mode isn’t activated, your camera may use Deep Fusion instead. Deep Fusion is an automatic camera feature (you can’t control it) that captures more texture and detail in medium to low light scenes.

5. Blur The Background In Your Photos With Portrait Mode

Have you ever wondered how to blur the background in your portrait photos?

With the iPhone camera, it’s easy. You just need to shoot in Portrait mode.

Portrait mode is available in the built-in Camera app on the following iPhones:

iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 7 Plus.

Portrait mode uses depth-effect software to blur the background in your photos.

This means you can easily create professional-looking portrait photos with your iPhone.

So, how do you use Portrait mode?

First, swipe across the shooting modes at the bottom of the screen and select Portrait.

Ensure your subject is between two and eight feet away. If they’re too close or too far away, the depth-effect won’t work.

When Portrait mode is ready, you’ll see the words Natural Light in yellow.

Now, press the shutter button to take a stunning portrait with a gorgeous blurred background!

But what if you change your mind and decide the photo would look better without the blurred background?

The iPhone makes it easy to remove the depth effect after taking a photo.

To remove the blurred background, open your portrait photo in the Photos app, then tap Edit.

Tap the yellow Portrait icon at the top of the screen to remove the blur. You can re-apply the blurred background at any time by tapping the Portrait icon again.

Tap Done to save the changes.

If you have the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, XR, XS, or XS Max, you can go even further with the Portrait mode options.

On these iPhones, you can control the strength of the background blur… after you’ve taken the shot.

First, you need to open your portrait photo in the Photos app, and tap Edit.

Next, tap the f/number icon at the top left.

The Depth slider will appear beneath your photo. Drag the slider left or right to make the background blur stronger or weaker.

Tap Done to save the changes.

Portrait mode allows you to take photos with beautiful, blurred backgrounds.

But there’s even more to Portrait mode than this!

Read on to find out how to make your portrait photos even more stunning…

6. Use Portrait Lighting To Add Studio Light Effects To Your Photos

Do you want to add professional studio light effects to your portrait photos?

You can do just that with the iPhone’s Portrait Lighting feature.

You can apply different lighting effects when shooting in Portrait mode. But it’s easier to experiment with the effects after you’ve taken the photo.

So, once you’ve taken a photo with Portrait mode, open it in the Photos app, and tap Edit.

Ensure the Portrait Lighting (hexagon) icon is selected at the top left. The Portrait Lighting icons will be displayed beneath your photo.

Swipe across the Portrait Lighting icons to see the different effects, e.g. Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light, etc.

Use the slider at the bottom of the screen to adjust the strength of your chosen light effect.

Tap Done to save your edits.

Portrait Lighting offers a powerful way to quickly enhance your portrait photos. And it can really make your subject stand out!

7. Activate Burst Mode For Jaw-Dropping Action Shots

Do you struggle to take good photos of moving subjects?

Do you end up pressing the shutter button too early or too late, missing the perfect moment?

It doesn’t have to be this way!

Your iPhone camera has a little-known feature called burst mode.

And once you know how to use it, you’ll be able to take perfect action shots every time!

Burst mode takes around ten photos per second. This gives you the best chance of getting at least one photo of your subject in the perfect position or pose.

So, how do you activate burst mode on your iPhone?

It’s actually really simple.

On iPhone 11, 11 Pro, or 11 Pro Max, slide the shutter button to the left. The camera will keep taking pictures until you release your finger.

On iPhone XS and older, simply hold down the shutter button (don’t slide it left).

Once you’ve shot a burst, you can choose the best images to keep and discard the rest.

To select the best photos, open the Photos app. Find your burst and tap to open it.

Tap Select at the bottom of the screen. Scroll through the photos and tap on the ones you want to keep. Then tap Done, and choose to Keep Only Favorites.

Burst mode will instantly improve your iPhone action photography. You should use it whenever there’s any movement or unpredictability in the scene.

It’s great for photographing children and animals. And it’s perfect for street photography or capturing people walking, running, jumping, or cycling.

8. Shoot Live Photos To Preserve Those Special Moments

The iPhone Live Photo feature brings your pictures to life by creating a 3-second moving image.

Rather than freezing a moment in time with a still photo, use Live Photos to capture movement and sound.

Press Play on the video below to see how this Live Photo captures the movement and sound of the beach.

Live Photos are perfect for preserving those special little moments that you couldn’t capture in an ordinary still photo.

Use it when photographing moving subjects, children, water, fun moments, or any scene that has interesting sounds.

To shoot a Live Photo, ensure the Live Photos icon at the top of the screen is set to on. (If the icon has a line through it, it’s off.)

Then simply press the shutter button to capture your Live Photo.

Remember that the camera automatically captures 1.5 seconds of video before and after you take the shot. So keep the camera still for a few seconds before and after pressing the shutter.

To play back your Live Photo, open it in the Photos app, then hold your finger down on the screen.

In the Photos app, you can apply different effects to your Live Photo, such as Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure.

To access these effects, open your Live Photo then swipe up.

Swipe across the effects beneath your photo, and tap the one you want to use.

Loop turns your Live Photo into a continuous video loop. Bounce makes your Live Photo play forwards and then in reverse.

Long Exposure creates a slow shutter effect, blurring any movement that was captured. This is perfect for creating a silky smooth effect on rivers and waterfalls.

If you’d prefer to convert your Live Photo to a still image, tap Edit at the top of the Live Photo.

Tap the Live icon at the bottom of the screen. Then tap the yellow Live icon at the top of the screen.

The Live Photos animation and sound are now turned off. But you can convert it back to a Live Photo at any time by tapping Live at the top of the screen.

9. Set The Timer For Hands-Free Shooting

The self-timer in the Camera app lets you set a delay between pressing the shutter button and the photo being taken.

This means you can shoot hands-free… and appear in the photo yourself.

First, set your phone on an iPhone tripod (or any solid surface) and compose your shot.

In the iPhone 11 Camera app, tap the up-arrow to display more iPhone camera settings at the bottom of the screen. Then select the Timer icon.

On iPhone XS and older, you’ll find the Timer icon at the top of the screen (as shown below).

Select either a 3-second or 10-second delay.

When you press the shutter button, the camera will start counting down the seconds.

Now you can get into position in front of the camera.

When the shutter fires, the camera will take a burst of 10 shots.

You can then choose the best photos from the sequence and delete the rest (just like you do when selecting your favorite burst mode photos).

Using the timer means you never have to take a boring photo again.

You can always add interest to your photo by appearing in the scene yourself!

10. Switch On The Grid In iPhone Camera Settings For Better Compositions

Did you know you can display gridlines in the iPhone Camera app?

These gridlines will help you create stunning compositions that really catch the viewer’s eye.

You can use the camera gridlines to:

• Keep the horizon level in landscape photos
• Ensure lines are straight or level in architecture photos
• Divide the frame into three sections for a classic rule of thirds composition
• Compose a perfectly symmetrical photo

To turn on the grid, open the Settings app, then select Camera. Ensure the Grid option is switched on.

Close the iPhone camera settings, then open the Camera app. You’ll see two horizontal and two vertical lines in the viewfinder.

Use these lines to help you position the main elements in the scene for a pleasing composition.

Position your main subject on one of the vertical gridlines (or where two lines meet) to create an off-center “rule of thirds” composition.

Or align the horizon along the top or bottom gridline. This will ensure the horizon is perfectly level.

And your composition will be more pleasing than if you’d placed the horizon across the middle of the frame.

So, switch on the camera grid. And start using it to compose jaw-dropping iPhone photos!

The post 10 iPhone Camera Settings Every Photographer Should Use appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

Table Of Contents: iPhone Portrait Mode

Click any title link below to go straight to that section of the article:

1. What Is Portrait Mode?
2. How To Use iPhone Portrait Mode
3. Use Depth Control To Change The Amount Of Blur
4. Use Portrait Lighting To Enhance The Light In Your Photos
5. How To Remove The Background Blur From Portrait Photos
6. Choose The Best Background For Incredible Blur

1. What Is Portrait Mode?

Portrait mode is a shooting mode in the iPhone’s built-in Camera app. It uses clever software to blur the background in your photos.

Portrait mode allows you to take jaw-dropping, professional-looking portrait photos.

The subject’s face will be perfectly sharp, while the background appears beautifully blurred.

A blurred background is great for emphasizing your portrait subject. It really makes your subject stand out.

It’s especially useful when there’s a busy, messy, or distracting background. The blur brings the viewer’s attention back to the main subject.

Note that Portrait mode isn’t available on all iPhones. So, which iPhones have Portrait mode?

You’ll find Portrait mode on iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, XR, XS, XS Max, X, 8 Plus, and 7 Plus.

2. How To Use iPhone Portrait Mode

How do you use iPhone Portrait mode?

It’s simple!

Open the Camera app. Then swipe across the shooting modes at the bottom of the screen and select Portrait.

When using Portrait mode, there are a couple of things you need to consider:

First of all, Portrait mode doesn’t work well in low light. If there’s not enough light, a message will appear telling you more light is required.

Second, your subject has to be between two and eight feet from the camera. If your subject is too close or too far away, you’ll be prompted to move closer or further away.

When you’re at the correct distance from your subject, you’ll see the words Natural Light in yellow. (On iPhone 7 Plus, you’ll see Depth Effect instead.)

This means your iPhone has successfully identified the subject and the background.

The camera automatically focuses on the face of your subject and blurs out the background.

Once you’ve composed your shot, simply press the shutter button.

The result will be a beautiful portrait photo with a dreamy blurred background.

But there’s a lot more to Portrait mode than this!

Once you’ve taken your photo, you can change the amount of background blur, add studio lighting effects, or even remove the blur completely.

Read on to learn how to edit your Portrait mode photos to make them even more incredible!

3. Use Depth Control To Change The Amount Of Blur

Do you have the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, XR, XS, or XS Max?

If so, you’ll have an amazing iPhone camera feature called Depth Control.

Depth Control allows you to change the strength of the background blur… after you’ve taken a picture!

How do you use Depth Control?

Open your portrait photo in the Photos app and tap Edit.

Next, tap the f/number icon at the top left of the screen.

Beneath your photo, you’ll see the Depth slider. Drag the slider left or right to make the background blur stronger or weaker.

The lower the f/number, the blurrier the background will be. In the examples above, f/1.4 creates a very blurry background, while f/16 shows more detail in the leaves.

When you’re happy with the blur strength, tap Done to save the changes.

You can change the blur strength at any time by opening the Edit options again.

Depth Control is an incredibly powerful Portrait mode tool.

It gives you ultimate flexibility, allowing you to choose just the right amount of background blur to suit your photo.

4. Use Portrait Lighting To Enhance The Light In Your Photos

Portrait Lighting (not available on the iPhone 7 Plus) allows you to add different studio lighting effects to your photos.

For example, you can brighten your subject’s face or add shadows to define features. You can even make the background completely black or white.

You can select a Portrait Lighting option at the time of shooting. But it’s better to do it after taking a photo.

Why? Because you’ll have more time to experiment with the different options.

So, how do you apply a Portrait Lighting effect to your photo?

Open your Portrait mode photo in the Photos app, then tap Edit.

Ensure the Portrait Lighting icon (hexagon) is selected at the top left of the screen. You’ll see the Portrait Lighting options (cube icons) beneath your photo.

Swipe across the Portrait Lighting icons beneath the image to apply them to your photo.

The default Portrait Lighting option is Natural Light. This setting doesn’t modify the lighting in any way.

Studio Light brightens the subject’s face (as if they were illuminated by studio lights). Contour Light adds shadows for more defined facial features.

Stage Light makes the background completely black (as if the subject was standing under a spotlight on a stage). Stage Light Mono is the same as Stage Light, but it turns your photo black and white.

High-Key Light Mono creates a black and white portrait against a white background. (This effect is only available on photos shot with iPhone 11, 11 Pro, or 11 Pro Max).

When you’ve chosen a Portrait Lighting option, you can adjust the light intensity using the slider.

Tap Done when you’re happy with the Portrait Lighting effect.

You can change the Portrait Lighting at any time by opening the Edit options again.

To sum up:

For a subtle lighting effect, choose Studio Light or Contour Light.

To add drama to your Portrait mode iPhone photos, try Stage Light, Stage Light Mono, or High-Key Light Mono.

If you prefer not to add any lighting effect, choose Natural Light.

Once you see how Portrait Lighting makes your portraits stand out, you won’t regret using it!

5. How To Remove The Background Blur From Portrait Photos

Most of the time, Portrait mode does a great job of keeping your subject sharp and blurring out the background.

But sometimes your Portrait mode photos might not turn out perfect.

For example, the camera might blur part of the subject or keep part of the background in focus. This can be particularly noticeable around the subject’s hair.

If you decide your photo would look better without the blur effect, you can easily remove it… after taking the photo.

Open your image in the Photos app and tap Edit.

To remove the background blur, tap the yellow Portrait option at the top of the screen. You can turn the blur effect back on at any time by tapping Portrait again.

6. Choose The Best Background For Incredible Blur

Of course, it’s essential to have a main subject in your portrait photos.

But the background is equally important… even though it gets blurred out.

Here are some useful tips for choosing a great background for your portrait photos:

First of all, the background needs to have some detail. If your subject is stood in front of a plain wall, there won’t be any detail to blur.

You should also make sure the colors of the background enhance your subject.

Another thing to consider is how far the background is from your subject.

Portrait mode works best when your subject is far away from the background. If the subject is standing close to the background, the blur effect won’t be as strong.

So, for a blurrier background, ensure there’s a large distance between the subject and the background.

Taking the time to find the right background will make all the difference to your Portrait mode iPhone photos.

Remember, the background is just as important as the subject… even though it’s blurred!

The post How To Use iPhone Portrait Mode To Shoot Stunning Portrait Photos appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

1. Built-In iPhone Camera App

Best For: Shooting photos and videos in most situations

• Camera app comes as standard on all iPhones
• Easy to capture high-quality photos and videos
• Blur the background with Portrait mode
• Capture stunning low light photos with Night mode
• Create moving images with Live Photos
• Shoot incredible action photos with burst mode
• Shoot HDR photos with perfect exposure
• Price: FREE

The built-in iPhone Camera app is perfect for most shooting situations. It has a lot of great features and it’s very easy to use.

In fact, it might be the only camera app you need!

With this app, you can shoot high-quality photos, videos, time-lapse videos, and slow-motion footage.

The Portrait mode lets you blur the background for professional-looking portrait photos. And you can add studio light effects with the Portrait Lighting feature.

If you have the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, XS, XS Max, or XR, then Portrait mode gets even better!

On these iPhones, you can control the strength of the background blur.

If you have an older phone with Portrait mode, don’t worry. You can always use a third-party app (covered later in this article) to adjust the background blur.

If you have one the iPhone 11 models, you’ll have the amazing new Night mode feature. This allows you to capture incredible color and detail when shooting in low light and at night.

The iPhone 11 cameras also use the Deep Fusion feature to capture better texture and detail in medium to low light.

The built-in Camera app also has a Pano mode for capturing ultra-wide panoramic photos. And the Live Photo option lets you create exciting moving images that bring your pictures to life.

You can set the iPhone camera focus manually to ensure your subject is always sharp. And you can easily adjust exposure to control image brightness.

You can also take HDR photos. HDR combines several exposures to create a single well-exposed image. It’s perfect for capturing more color and detail in high-contrast scenes, such as landscapes.

Sliding the shutter button to the left (or holding it down on older iPhones) activates burst mode. This is essential for capturing action shots of moving subjects.

If you have a dual or triple-lens iPhone camera, you can zoom in and out using the Wide, Ultra Wide, and Telephoto Lenses. (Different iPhone models have different combinations of these lenses).

As you can see, the built-in Camera app is an incredible camera. It has an impressive range of iPhone camera settings. And it’s the best camera app for iPhone photography in most shooting situations.

However, the Camera app doesn’t have DSLR-like manual controls. For example, you can’t adjust shutter speed, ISO, or white balance. If you want manual control of these settings, you’ll need a third-party camera app.

The best camera apps with manual settings are VSCO, Camera+ 2 and ProCamera.

Let’s explore the camera features of each one of these apps…

2. VSCO App

Best For: Manual control of focus, shutter speed, ISO, and white balance

• Control shutter speed and ISO settings
• Use white balance to fine-tune color
• Set separate focus and exposure points
• Adjust focus and exposure manually
• Capture photos in JPEG or RAW format
• Built-in photo editor with elegant film-inspired filters
• Price: FREE (with extra editing tools and filters available with annual subscription)

VSCO (pronounced “Visco”) is well known for its photo editing tools and filters. In fact, it’s one of the best filter apps for iPhone.

But VSCO is also the best free camera app for iPhone (aside from the built-in iPhone Camera app).

This app allows you to control shutter speed, ISO, white balance, exposure, and manual focus.

The settings are easy to access from the bottom of the screen. And adjustments are made using a simple slider.

One of the most interesting settings in VSCO is the Shutter Speed slider.

Why? Because it controls how movement is portrayed in your photos.

Fast shutter speeds freeze motion. And slow shutter speeds blur any movement in the scene. Use a slow shutter speed to create beautiful long exposure photos like the one below.

Another useful setting is white balance. This lets you control how warm (orange) or cool (blue) the colors appear in your photo.

The ISO setting controls the camera’s sensitivity to light. A high ISO setting can be useful for creating brighter exposures in low light. Although you need to be careful you don’t end up with grainy photos which is a common side-effect of high ISO settings.

Like the built-in Camera app, you tap to set focus and exposure. But you can also separate the focus and exposure points. This makes it easy to set focus on one part of the image while exposing for a different area.

For ultimate control over focus, you can use the manual focus slider to fine-tune which area of the image appears sharp.

You can easily display gridlines on the screen, which helps you compose better photos. The grid is especially useful when using the rule of thirds.

There’s also a tiltmeter which tells you when you’re holding your iPhone perfectly level. This is handy for getting the horizon straight in your photos.

Finally, VSCO has the option to shoot in RAW format as well as standard JPEG.

RAW files are better quality than JPEG images. And they allow for more control when editing. For example, it’s easier to recover lost highlight or shadow detail. And you have more control over the final color balance in your image.

Click here for our in-depth tutorial on using the VSCO app to shoot and edit beautiful iPhone photos.

3. Camera+ 2 App

Best For: Long exposures and controlling background blur in portraits

• Slow Shutter mode for capturing stunning long exposures
• Portrait mode with adjustable background blur strength
• Action mode for photographing moving subjects
• Macro mode for close-up photography
• Manual control of shutter speed, ISO, and white balance
• Set focus and exposure separately
• Shoot in JPEG or RAW format
• Built-in photo editor with Portrait mode depth-effect editing
• Price: $2.99

Camera+ 2 ($2.99) is a powerful camera app with a built-in photo editing suite.

It offers the same manual camera controls as VSCO. These include shutter speed, ISO, white balance, exposure, and focus.

But it also has additional shooting features, such as Slow Shutter mode, Portrait mode, Macro mode, and Action mode.

Slow Shutter mode lets you shoot long exposure photos of up to 30 seconds. Use this mode to capture beautiful waterfall and river shots where the water appears silky smooth.

If you have an iPhone with two lenses (wide angle and telephoto), you’ll have access to Portrait mode in Camera+ 2.

Just like Portrait mode in the built-in Camera app, it allows you to shoot photos with beautifully blurred backgrounds.

It doesn’t have the Portrait Lighting feature that you get in the built-in Camera app. But it does have some other features that give you amazing control over your portrait photos.

One feature is the ability to control the strength of the background blur.

Now, you can also control blur strength if you use Portrait mode in the built-in Camera app – but only if you have one of the latest iPhones (XR, XS, or XS Max). If you have an older iPhone with Portrait mode, you can use Camera+ 2 to adjust the blur.

In Camera+ 2, you can also edit the foreground and background of your Portrait photo separately. For example, you could change the color or brightness of the background without affecting the foreground subject.

If you’re photographing close-up subjects, such as flowers or leaves, switch to Macro mode. This mode helps you achieve better focus and sharpness in your close-up shots.

Action mode is perfect for photographing moving subjects. It uses focus tracking to ensure your subject remains in focus – even as they’re moving around the frame. It also has a built-in burst mode, allowing you to capture many photos in rapid succession.

As you can see, Camera+ 2 offers a huge amount of control. And the shooting modes provide an easy way to take photos of different kinds of subject.

Camera+ 2 is the faster and more powerful rebuild of the popular Camera+ app. Click here to learn how to shoot and edit amazing iPhone photos with Camera+.

4. ProCamera App

Best For: Shooting high-quality photos and videos with DSLR-like control

• Photo, Video, Low Light, and HDR modes
• Portrait mode with adjustable blur strength
• Manual control of shutter speed, ISO, and white balance
• Histogram for checking exposure levels
• Set focus and exposure separately
• Capture photos in JPEG, RAW, TIFF, or HEIF format
• Built-in photo editor with Portrait mode depth-control
• Price: $5.99 (with in-app purchases)

ProCamera ($5.99) offers DSLR-like control when shooting photos and videos.

All camera settings are easily accessible from the top or bottom of the screen. And adjustments are made using a simple slider.

The ProCamera app includes manual controls, such as shutter speed, ISO, white balance, and exposure compensation.

The white balance tool is more advanced than VSCO and Camera+ 2. In addition to the warm and cool color options, you can add a green or purple tint to your photo.

You can shoot in Automatic mode, Full Manual mode, or a semi-automatic mode called Shutter & ISO Priority mode.

It has a histogram for checking exposure levels, a tiltmeter for getting the camera level, and an anti-shake setting for sharper shots.

Shooting modes include Photo, Video, Low Light, and HDR. If you have a dual-lens iPhone, you’ll also have Portrait mode.

Like Camera+ 2, Portrait mode has a depth-control feature. So you can easily adjust the strength of the background blur after taking your photo.

There’s a Low Light mode for taking pictures at night or in low light conditions. If you want even better quality low light photos, you can buy the Low Light+ mode for $3.99.

HDR mode is also available to buy for $2.99. This mode helps you capture more balanced exposures with plenty of color and detail.

Like VSCO and Camera+ 2, you can shoot in RAW or JPEG format. But ProCamera also has the option to shoot in TIF format and the new HEIF format.

ProCamera also includes a set of photo editing tools for fine-tuning color and exposure.

While it’s great to have these tools within the app, the options are limited. It’s better to use a dedicated photoshop app, such as Snapseed, to edit your photos.

ProCamera has a lot of advanced features. But it’s very intuitive to use. And if you’re familiar with using a DSLR camera, you should feel right at home with this app.

Click here to read our in-depth tutorial on shooting stunning photos with ProCamera.

Best Camera App For iPhone: Which One Should You Choose?

You’ve discovered the features of the four best camera apps for iPhone. But which camera app is best for you?

Built-In iPhone Camera App

In most shooting situations, the built-in Camera app is the best camera app for iPhone photography.

It’s very easy to use. And it’s full of fantastic features. These include Live Photos, HDR, Burst mode, Night mode, Pano, Time-Lapse, Slo-Mo, Video, and Portrait mode.

But sometimes you might want more control over shutter speed, ISO, and white balance.

Maybe you want to capture long exposure photos. Perhaps you want to tweak the color balance before you take a shot.

Or maybe you want to adjust the background blur when using Portrait mode… but you don’t have that option because you don’t have one of the latest iPhones.

In such cases, you’ll need to use a third-party camera app. But which one is best for your needs?

VSCO

The free VSCO app is a great choice if you want to control shutter speed, ISO, and white balance.

The app is easy to navigate, and its excellent built-in photo editor is an added bonus.

However, VSCO does lack some features that other apps offer. For example, it doesn’t have Portrait mode with depth-control.

Camera+ 2

If you want more camera features and shooting options, Camera+ 2 ($2.99) is an excellent choice. In addition to shutter speed, ISO, and white balance, Camera+ 2 has a great set of shooting modes.

Portrait mode lets you control the amount of background blur in your photos. And you can even edit the foreground and background separately.

Slow Shutter mode helps you capture stunning long exposures. Action mode is perfect for capturing moving subjects. And Macro mode is great for close-up photography.

ProCamera

Finally, if you’re looking for a DSLR-like experience with your iPhone camera, you’ll love ProCamera ($5.99).

You can shoot videos as well as photos with this app. And it’s easy to adjust shutter speed and ISO. The advanced white balance tool offers ultimate control over the colors in your photos.

ProCamera has a Portrait mode with depth-control for adjusting background blur. And you can buy additional HDR and Low Light modes for shooting in tricky light conditions.

The post Discover The Best Camera App For Your iPhone Photography appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

Table Of Contents: iPhone Live Photos

Click any title link below to go straight to that section of the article:

1. How To Capture A Live Photo On iPhone
2. How To Play A Live Photo
3. How To Edit A Live Photo
4. How To Add Live Photo Effects
5. How To Share Live Photos
6. How To Upload Live Photos To Facebook & Instagram
7. When To Use iPhone Live Photos For The Best Results

1. How To Capture A Live Photo On iPhone

It easy to shoot a Live Photo with your iPhone!

Simply open the built-in iPhone Camera app, and select Photo mode at the bottom of the screen.

The Live Photos icon (three circles) is at the top right of the screen. If it doesn’t have a line through it, Live Photos is switched on. If the icon has a line through it, tap it to turn on Live Photos.

A Live Photo captures 3 seconds of movement and sound. 1.5 seconds of the Live Photo is captured before you press the shutter button, and 1.5 seconds is captured after.

Therefore, ensure you compose your shot and hold it there for a couple of seconds before you press the shutter. If you don’t do this, the first part of your Live Photo will be of you moving the camera to frame the shot.

Likewise, your iPhone will record for 1.5 seconds after you’ve pressed the shutter. So make sure you keep your phone still for a couple of seconds after taking the shot.

Also, be aware that Live Photos capture audio as well as video. So you’ll hear any sound in your Live Photo when you play it back.

Below is a 3-second Live Photo of people on the beach. Hit the Play button to view it:

If you’re taking an action shot of a person, you might need to tell your subject to move when you take the photo.

Do this at least a couple of seconds before you press the shutter so that you don’t capture your voice in the Live Photo.

When you no longer want to shoot Live Photos, tap the Live Photos icon at the top of the Camera app to switch it off.

Live Photos take up a lot of storage space on your iPhone. So if you leave it on for every shot, you may find that your phone quickly becomes full.

2. How To Play A Live Photo

After taking a Live Photo, it appears in the Photos app alongside your ordinary still images. You’ll also find it in a separate album titled Live Photos.

Unfortunately, in thumbnail view, there’s no way of knowing whether an image is a Live Photo.

In the screenshot below, there are several Live Photos amongst these images. But it’s impossible to tell which ones they are when viewing them like this.

So how do you know which of your images are Live Photos?

Tap on the image thumbnail so it opens in full screen. If it’s a Live Photo, you’ll see the word LIVE at the top of the photo.

To view the Live Photo animation, hold your finger down on the photo. As soon as you remove it, the video will stop playing.

3. How To Edit A Live Photo

Editing Live Photos in the Photos app is similar to editing still images. But for Live Photos, there are some extra editing tools.

When you open a Live Photo, tap Edit at the top right of the screen.

The editing tools appear at the bottom of the screen.

The Adjust icon lets you adjust color, exposure, and sharpness using a range of tools.

Swipe across the adjustment tools beneath the photo and select the one you want to use. Then drag the slider to make the adjustment.

To apply a color or black and white filter, tap the Filters icon.

Swipe through the list of filters, then tap a filter to apply it to your image. Use the slider to adjust the filter strength.

To crop or rotate your Live Photo, tap the Crop icon.

To straighten your image, tap the Straighten icon, then drag the slider left or right.

To crop your photo, drag the corner crop handles.

You can also rotate or flip the photo using the icons at the top left. You can adjust the vertical or horizontal perspective using the icons near the bottom right.

You can make further edits to the Live Photo by tapping the Live icon.

If the sound you recorded with the Live Photo is distracting, tap the Sound (speaker) icon to mute the audio.

The Sound icon will turn grey to indicate that the sound is switched off.

You can change the key photo (the one you see in your photo library) using the slider at the bottom of the screen. Move the slider until you find the image you want.

Tap Make Key Photo to confirm your choice.

A white dot will appear over your chosen photo. A grey dot appears over the original key photo in case you ever want to go back to it.

If you want to convert your Live Photo to a still image, tap the yellow Live icon at the top of the screen.

The icon will turn white to show that it’s no longer a Live Photo. You can switch it back to a Live Photo at any time by tapping the Live icon again.

When you’ve finished editing your Live Photo, tap Done to save the changes.

If you want to remove the editing you applied, you can revert back to the original Live Photo at any time.

In the Photos app, find the Live Photo you want to revert, and tap Edit.

Then tap Revert > Revert to Original.

4. How To Add Live Photo Effects

There are three special effects that you can apply to your Live Photos: Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure.

To apply a Live Photo effect, go to the Photos app and open a Live Photo. Next, swipe up to reveal the Effects section:

Tap the effect you want to use (Loop, Bounce, or Long Exposure). The effect will apply to your Live Photo immediately.

You can change your mind at any time by tapping on a different effect. Or select Live to return to the original Live version with no effect applied.

Below you’ll discover what the three effects look like. But first, here’s our starting point – a basic Live Photo video with no effect applied:

4.1 Loop

The Loop effect turns your Live Photo into a continuous video loop. Once the video ends, it starts playing from the beginning again, until you stop it.

This works best where the subject is doing something in roughly the same area of the scene. For example, someone skipping, juggling, or dancing.

It can also work well if your subject enters and exits the scene during the original 3-second Live Photo. For example, someone getting out of a vehicle and leaving the scene. The end result could look like hundreds of people leaving the vehicle!

Below we’ve turned the waterfall Live Photo into a loop:

4.2 Bounce

Bounce is a fun effect that makes your Live Photo play as normal, and then in reverse. It repeats this until you stop the video.

The Bounce effect makes the waterfall below look rather unnatural. But it’s definitely interesting!

4.3 Long Exposure

The Long Exposure option creates a photo with a long exposure (slow shutter) effect.

Long exposure is most suited to scenes that include movement as it blurs the motion. Flowing water, firework,s or a moving car’s lights look great with a long exposure effect.

If you think you’ll want to create a long exposure from your Live Photo, it’s best to use an iPhone tripod. This ensures that the stationary parts of the scene remain sharp in the final image.

The waterfall Live Photo below has had the Long Exposure effect applied. Notice the soft blur of the moving water, while the stationary objects such as the rocks appear sharp:

5. How To Share Live Photos

Once you’ve shot some great Live Photos on iPhone, you might want to share these moments with family and friends.

You can share Live Photos to another iPhone or iPad as long as it’s running iOS 9 or later. You can use iMessage, AirDrop, or iCloud Photo Sharing.

To share a Live Photo, open it in the Photos app, then tap the Share icon.

Next, select the sharing option that you want to use, e.g. Messages, Airdrop, etc.

Note that you can’t email a Live Photo. If you email it, the attachment will send as a still JPEG image.

6. How To Upload Live Photos To Facebook & Instagram

As well as sharing your Live Photos to other iPhones and iPads, you might want to share them on social media.

Facebook and Tumblr already allow you to share Live Pictures. More social media platforms are likely to support Live Photos at some point too.

If you want to share a Live Photo on Facebook, you can’t use the Facebook sharing option in the Photos app. Instead, you need to upload the photo from within your Facebook app.

From there, you can choose whether you want to share it as a Live Photo or a still image. Use the Live icon at the top of the photo to switch it on or off:

Instagram doesn’t yet support the use of Live Photos. But you can use a third-party app such as Lively (free to download from App Store) to convert a Live Photo to video. You can then upload the video to Instagram.

Here’s how to save a Live Photo as video:

Open the Live Photo in the Lively app, then select Movie at the top of the screen. Tap Export Movie, then tap the Save icon. This saves the Live Photo as an ordinary video file in your photo library:

You can then open the Instagram app and upload the video from your library.

Before posting to Instagram, you can use the filters and editing tools to enhance your Live Photo.

7. When To Use iPhone Live Photos For The Best Results

A Live Photo offers so much more than an ordinary still image.

The iPhone Live Photo feature is perfect for capturing any scene with moving subjects or interesting sounds.

A Live Photo will capture all those extra little details that you can’t convey in a still image.

Crashing waves, a river or waterfall, trees swaying in the wind, or a busy street scene all make great Live Pictures.

It’s also fantastic for scenes where the sound would add an extra sensory element to the image. For example, birdsong or the sound of water when you’re shooting out in nature.

Live Photos also works well when photographing people – especially children. It allows you to capture those fun “out-take” moments before and after you take the photo.

Without Live Photos, you wouldn’t be able to preserve these special little moments.

The post How To Use Live Photos To Create Amazing Moving Images On iPhone appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

Table Of Contents: Live Photo To Video

Click any title link below to go straight to that section of the article:

Section 1: Why Convert A Live Photo To Video?

Section 2: How To Make Live Photo A Video In Lively
2.1 Edit A Live Photo In Lively
2.2 How To Save Live Photo As Video In Lively
2.3 What’s the Difference Between Videos and GIFs?

Section 3: Convert Live Photos To Loop And Bounce Videos

Section 4: How To Share Your Live Photo Content
4.1 Share Live Photo Content Via AirDrop
4.2 Share Live Photo Content In A Text Message Or iMessage
4.3 Share Live Photo Content Via Email
4.4 Share Live Photo Content Via iCloud Photo Sharing
4.5 Share Live Photo Content on Facebook
4.6 Share Live Photo Content On Instagram

Section 1: Why Convert A Live Photo To Video?

When you take a Live Photo, you may want to share it with family and friends. However, Live Photos don’t always share as high-quality videos. The animated footage sometimes gets converted to a still image.

This is why you often need to save a Live Photo as a video file before sharing.

Section 2: How To Make Live Photo A Video In Lively

The Lively app offers a simple way to save your Live Photos as videos. You can download Lively for free in the App Store.

While the app is free to download, a “Lively” watermark appears in the lower right corner of saved GIFs. A one-time purchase of $2.99 is required to remove the watermark from all GIFs.

Note that the watermark is not applied to video files.

2.1 Edit A Live Photo In Lively

To create a Live Photo video, tap on one of your Live Photos in the Lively app. Then select Movie at the top of the screen. Now you’ll see the three-second Live Photo playing as a video on repeat.

You can make a few minor adjustments to the video before you save it. Near the bottom is the video’s progress reel. You can change the length of the video by dragging the start or end bars.

You can also save Live Photo as a video with or without sound. Tapping on the video turns the sound on and off. Additionally, the Sound icon is displayed in the bottom left corner of the video. Make sure you have your desired sound setting before you export your video.

2.2 How To Save Live Photo As Video In Lively

Once you’ve finished editing your video, tap Export Movie at the bottom of the screen.

You’ll see several options for saving and sharing. You can share your video via iMessage, email, Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. However, you’ll need to connect your iPhone to these accounts before you can share photos with them.

Along the bottom are the options to Save, Copy, and Share.

To save your new video, simply tap the Save icon in the bottom left. The video will now be saved in your Photos app.

To watch the video, simply select it in the Photos app and tap the play button.

2.3 What’s The Difference Between Videos and GIFs?

You may have noticed that Lively also has the option to save a Live Photo as a GIF. What is a GIF? A GIF is a short animation that plays on a continuous loop.

GIFs have lower resolution than regular videos, and they show jerky and unsteady footage. Also, GIFs don’t save with sound. Plus, you can’t always share GIFs on social media platforms.

Therefore, I recommend saving your Live Photos as video files. That way, you’ll have more sharing options. Plus, your Live Photo videos will be higher quality.

Section 3: Convert Live Photos To Loop And Bounce Videos

If you don’t want to use Lively to convert your Live Photos to videos, don’t worry. There’s another way to do this.

You just have to use Loop and Bounce effects. These are built right into the Photos app!

What are Loop and Bounce effects?

Since iOS 11, the Live Photos feature has offered two new video effects. Loop makes a Live Photo play over and over. Bounce makes a Live Photo play forward and backward. The Loop and Bounce effects each create a continuous video.

To create a Loop or Bounce effect, select a Live Photo in the Photos app.

Swipe up, and you’ll see the Loop and Bounce options. Tap on the effect you want. It will immediately be applied to your Live Photo.

When you convert a Live Photo to a Loop or Bounce video, it’s automatically saved in the Animated album.

However, there’s one significant drawback: Loop and Bounce videos don’t have sound.

Yet there’s no need to worry about choosing an effect you don’t like. You can always change the effect afterward.

How do you do this?

First, select the Loop or Bounce video. Then swipe up to access the Effects menu. Choose a new effect, or tap Live to remove the effect entirely. That’s all!

If you’re looking to quickly create fun videos with your Live Photos, look no further than the Loop and Bounce effects.

Section 4: How To Share Your Live Photo Content

Once you’ve created a Live Photo, a Live Photo video in Lively, or a Loop/Bounce video, you can share it with others.

Go to your Photos app and find your content. Open it. Then tap the Share icon in the bottom left corner.

The sharing menu will open as shown below.

This gives you many options, which I’ll explain below.

4.1 Share Live Photo Content Via AirDrop

One way to share your Live Photo content with others is through AirDrop. Note that you can’t use AirDrop to send media to Android users or PC users. AirDrop only transfers media between iPhone, iPad, and Mac users.

What can you share via AirDrop?

You can share a Live Photo video. To do this, tap AirDrop, then tap the device you want to send the video to.

If the user doesn’t receive the video, make sure they are set up to receive files through AirDrop. To check this, have them tap Settings. Have them select General, then AirDrop.

Make sure they choose to receive AirDrop files from contacts (or everyone).

You cannot share a Loop or Bounce video via AirDrop to a Mac computer. If you share a Loop or Bounce video via AirDrop to a Mac computer, it’s transferred as a normal video file. This means that the recipient will not be able to view it continuously—the video will stop after three seconds.

If you share a Loop video, viewers will see this:

If you share a Bounce video, viewers will see this:

However, you can share the original Loop or Bounce video via AirDrop to another iPhone user.

Finally, you cannot share a Live Photo via AirDrop to a Mac computer. It will be transferred as a still image. However, you can share a Live Photo via AirDrop to another iPhone or iPad user. Follow the same process for sharing a Live Photo video.

4.2 Share Live Photo Content In A Text Message Or iMessage

You can also share Live Photo content through a text message or iMessage.

What can you share?

First, you can share a Live Photo video in a text message or iMessage.

You can also send a Loop or Bounce video via iMessage to an iPhone or iPad user. However, you cannot send a Loop or Bounce video via text message to a non-iPhone user.

Finally, you can send a Live Photo via iMessage to an iPhone or iPad user. But you cannot send a Live Photo via text message to a non-iPhone or iPad user.

How do you send Live Photo content in a text message or iMessage?

Tap on the Message icon, and add a recipient. Then tap the blue arrow to send the message.

4.3 Share Live Photo Content Via Email

You can share Live Photo content via email. What does this mean?

First, you can share a Live Photo video via email.

To share a video via email, tap your email icon. Add a recipient and compose a message. Then send the email!

Note: If an email icon isn’t present, scroll to the right. Tap the More icon and select the email icon. Then tap Done.

(The same process works for other apps, including Facebook and Instagram.)

You cannot send a Live Photo by email. If you send a Live Photo as an email attachment, it gets sent as an ordinary photo. The recipient will only see a still image, and they won’t be able to view the moving version of your Live Photo.

What about sending a Loop or Bounce video in an email? It will be sent as a low-quality GIF. The resolution will not be as good as it is on your iPhone. Therefore, it’s best to avoid this option.

4.4 Share Live Photo Content Via iCloud Photo Sharing

Do you have any albums shared through iCloud Photo Sharing? If so, you can share Live Photo content through these albums.

What content can you share?

First, you can share a Live Photo video with shared albums. You can also share Loop and Bounce videos with shared albums. The same is true for original Live Photos.

In the sharing menu, select Add To Shared Album.

Write a comment if you wish. Then tap Shared Album to select the album you want to add the video to. Tap Post to share the video to the album.

4.5 Share Live Photo Content On Facebook

What Live Photo content can you share on Facebook?

First, you can share a Live Photo video on Facebook. You can also share Loop and Bounce videos on Facebook.

What about sharing Live Photos directly to Facebook?

Facebook allows you to share Live Photos, but they only appear animated when viewed on an iPhone or iPad. If you’re using Facebook on any other device (e.g., computers, Android phones), the Live Photo will appear as a still image.

Do you want every user to see the animation on Facebook? Then you’ll need to convert your Live Photo to video.

To share your content on Facebook, open the sharing menu. Look for the Facebook icon in the sharing options. If you don’t see it, scroll right and select More, then select  Facebook.

Write a caption if you wish, then tap Next. Select where you want to share the video to, then tap Share.

4.6 Share Live Photo Content On Instagram

You can share Live Photos, Live Photo videos, and Loop/Bounce videos on Instagram.

However, you can only share them as Stories or via a direct message.

Stories are photos and videos that appear at the top of your followers’ Instagram feeds. They vanish after 24 hours. Direct messages are private messages sent to specific Instagram users.

Why can you only share Live Photo content as stories or direct messages?

Live Photos are converted to still images when posted to your Instagram feed. And Live Photo videos, as well as Loop/Bounce videos, cannot be posted to your Instagram feed. Videos shared to your Instagram feed must be at least three seconds long. Unfortunately, Live Photo videos and Loop/Bounce videos are slightly shorter.

What if you want to share your content as a Story or a direct message?

Note: Your Live Photo content must have been taken fewer than 24 hours ago to share as an Instagram Story.

To share Live Photo content on Instagram:

Open the Instagram app and tap Your Story.

A camera will spring into view. Tap the image thumbnail at the bottom right to open your photo library.

Select the Live Photo that you want to share.

Then press on the image. Keep pressing until you see the word “Boomerang” flash up on the screen. (This ensures your Live Photo appears as a moving image.)

To share your Live Photo content as a Story, tap Your Story at the bottom of the screen. Once you’ve done this, users will be able to view the Live Photo content at the top of their Instagram feed.

To send your Live Photo content to users as a direct message, tap Send To. Choose the users you want to share your Live Photo content with, and you’re done!

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