Table Of Contents: iCloud Photo Sharing

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What Is iCloud Photo Sharing?
1. How To Set Up iCloud Photo Sharing On Your iPhone Or iPad
2. How To Use iCloud Photo Sharing On Your iPhone Or iPad
2.1 Create A Shared Album
2.2 Invite People To Your Shared Album
2.3 Add Photos To A Shared Album
2.4 Subscribe To A Shared Album
2.5 Like & Comment On Photos
2.6 Save Photos From A Shared Album
2.7 Delete Photos From A Shared Album
2.8 Remove A Subscriber From A Shared Album
2.9 Delete A Shared Album
3. How To Use iCloud Photo Sharing On A Mac Computer
4. How To Use iCloud Photo Sharing On A Windows Computer
5. Shared Album Storage Limits

What Is iCloud Photo Sharing?

iCloud Photo Sharing is a free service offered with Apple’s iCloud service. It’s a great way to share your photos and videos with family, friends, and colleagues.

iCloud Photo Sharing uses Wi-Fi. So you don’t need cables, USB, Bluetooth, or email to share your photos.

With iCloud Photo Sharing, you create a shared photo album for the images you want to share.

You can then choose who you want to share it with (up to 100 people).

Subscribers can view, like, and comment on photos in a shared album. They can also add photos and videos of their own.

iCloud Photo Sharing lets you share photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, or Windows computer. You can even share photos with people who don’t have iCloud Photo Sharing set up on their device.

Unlike Instagram or Facebook, shared iCloud albums only let people you’ve invited see photos. This offers greater privacy of your images as it keeps them out of sight of the public.

Shared photos and videos are stored in iCloud. But they don’t count against your iCloud storage limit. You’re free to share up to 5,000 photos without having to pay for more storage.

1. How To Set Up iCloud Photo Sharing On iPhone Or iPad

Before you begin sharing photos, you’ll need to set up iCloud Photo Sharing on your iPhone. You can also use these instructions to set up iCloud Photo Sharing on your iPad.

For the best experience, it’s advisable to update your iPhone or iPad to the latest iOS.

You can do this by opening the Settings app from the home screen of your iPhone. Then go to General > Software Update. If there’s an update available, follow the on-screen instructions to download and install it:

iCloud Photo Sharing is an Apple iCloud service. So you’ll need to sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID on your iPhone.

Go to Settings, then find the iCloud option and sign in with your Apple ID and password.

Once you’ve signed in to iCloud, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos. Switch on the Shared Albums option at the bottom of the screen:

2. How To Use iCloud Photo Sharing On Your iPhone Or iPad

In this section, you’ll discover how to use iCloud Photo Sharing to share your photos with others.

iCloud Photo Sharing works in exactly the same way on both iPhone and iPad. So you can use these instructions to share your photos from either device.

2.1 Create A Shared Album

The first step is to create a new shared album.

Open the Photos app on your iPhone. Tap Albums (you might need to tap it twice) at the bottom of the screen to go to the main list of albums:

In the Shared Albums section, tap See All. The Shared Albums screen will open. Here, you’ll see any albums that you’ve shared with others or that others have shared with you:

To create a new shared album, tap Edit at the top right. Then tap the [+] icon in the top left corner:

Type a name for your shared album, then tap Next:

The next step is to invite people to subscribe to your shared album.

2.2 Invite People To Your Shared Album

You can now invite people to subscribe to your shared album. (You’ll add photos to the album in the next step.)

Invite people by typing their email address or iPhone number into the To box. Or tap the [+] to the right of the To box to access your iPhone contacts list. Then tap Create:

Note that when you invite a user by email, you’ll need to use their iCloud Apple ID contact information. If you’re not sure which email address they use for their iCloud account, confirm with them first – otherwise they won’t get the invite.

Your new shared album will appear at the top of the Shared Albums screen. Tap Done at the top right:

What if you want to share albums with a non-iCloud user?

Simply create a shared album as above, but don’t invite the person as a subscriber. Then open that new shared album, and tap the People tab at the bottom. Turn on Public Website:

iCloud will create a link to your shared album on the iCloud.com website. Tap Share Link to share that link with anyone you want. When they click on the link, they’ll be able to view your shared album.

After you’ve created a new shared album, it’s a good idea to check the settings for that album. Open the album, then tap the People tab at the bottom of the screen:

Switch on any settings that you want for this shared album. Subscribers Can Post means subscribers can add their own photos to your shared album. Notifications means you get notified when subscribers like, comment, or add photos to the album:

Tab Back at the top left to return to the Shared Albums screen.

2.3 Add Photos To A Shared Album

It’s now time to add some photos to your shared album!

Tap on the shared album you just created. Then tap the [+] icon:

Select the photos you want to share. Then tap Done:

Type a comment if you wish. Then tap Post:

The photos will appear in your shared album. People subscribed to that album will be able to see the shared images:

To exit the shared album, tap Back at the top left.

2.4 Subscribe To A Shared Album

Has someone else invited you to subscribe to their shared album? If you want to see the photos, you’ll need to accept their invitation.

When you receive a notification, accept the invitation to view the shared album.

2.5 Like & Comment On Photos

iCloud Photo Sharing allows the album creator and subscribers to like and comment on photos. Any subscribers signed in to iCloud can like and comment on the shared images.

If you think a photo looks great, tap the Like (thumb) icon at the bottom right to let others know that you like it:

To comment on a photo, tap Add A Comment at the bottom of the screen. Type your comment, and tap Send:

Note that if you’ve already liked a photo, you’ll need to scroll up to see the Add A Comment option.

2.6 Save Photos From A Shared Album

If someone adds a photo to a shared album, you can save it to the Photos app on your own iPhone.

Here’s how to download photos from iCloud shared album to your device:

Select the photo you want to save, and tap the Share icon (square with up arrow). Scroll down, then tap Save Image:

The photo will now be stored on your iPhone as well as in the shared iCloud album.

If the owner of the photo deletes it from the shared album, you’ll still have the image in the Photos app on your iPhone.

Other users can save your photos to their iPhone by following the same steps.

2.7 Delete Photos From A Shared Album

If you no longer want to share a photo, you can delete it from the shared album.

Select the image you want to delete. Tap the Delete (trash) icon at the top right. Then tap Delete Photo:

When you delete a photo, it gets deleted from the shared album on all your devices and all subscribers’ devices. But it doesn’t get deleted from its original location in the Photos app on your iPhone.

2.8 Remove A Subscriber From A Shared Album

Do you want to remove a subscriber from your shared album?

Open the shared album, then tap the People tab at the bottom of the screen. Subscribers’ contact details are at the top of the screen:

Tap on the subscriber you wish to remove. At the bottom of the screen, tap Remove Subscriber, then tap Remove.

That person will no longer have access to the shared album.

2.9 Delete A Shared Album

Do you want to delete a shared album that you created?

On the Shared Albums screen, tap Edit at the top right. Tap the red circle on the album you want to delete, then tap Delete:

The album (and all the photos in it) will be deleted from all devices of all subscribers. Subscribers will no longer have access to the shared album.

3. How To Use iCloud Photo Sharing On A Mac Computer

Do you have photos or videos on your Mac computer that you wish to share with other people?

If so, you can use iCloud Photo Sharing in the Mac Photos app – just like you do on your iPhone.

On your Mac, make sure you’re signed in to iCloud with your Apple ID. Do this by clicking the Apple icon at the top left of the screen, then go to System Preferences > iCloud:

Once you’re signed in to iCloud, open the Photos app on your Mac.

To ensure iCloud Photo Sharing is switched on, click Photos at the top left of the screen, then select Preferences:

Select the iCloud tab. Then ensure the Shared Albums box is checked:

Close the iCloud dialog box.

To create a shared folder on your Mac, ensure the Photos app is open.

On the left side menu, hover your mouse over Shared Albums and click the [+] icon. Give your album a name, invite people, and add a comment if you wish. Then click Create:

You can now add photos to the shared album. Select the photo you want to add (or select multiple photos by holding down the Shift or Command key).

Click the Share icon (square with up arrow) at the top of the screen. Select Shared Albums from the dropdown menu:

Click the album that you want to add the photo to:

4. How To Use iCloud Photo Sharing On A Windows Computer

If you have a Windows computer, you can still use iCloud Photo Sharing to share your photos with others.

You can create shared albums on a Windows computer as long as you have an iCloud account/Apple ID.

To enable iCloud Photo Sharing on Windows, download and install the iCloud For Windows software on your computer. Click here to download iCloud For Windows from the Apple website.

Once you’ve installed iCloud For Windows, open it and sign in with your Apple ID. Use the same Apple ID that you use on your iPhone.

Ensure the Photos box is checked. Then click on Options beside Photos:

Check the iCloud Photo Sharing box. Click Done, then click Apply:

Now you can create a shared album and invite people to view your photos. Open File Explorer on your computer. Then open iCloud Photos from the left-hand sidebar:

Click the New Shared Album button at the top of the screen. Add the iCloud email addresses for the people you want to invite.

Name your shared album, and click Next. Select the photos you want to add, then click Done.

Your photos will be shared to the album. Other subscribers can now see your pictures.

5. Shared Album Storage Limits

You can share up to 200 albums via iCloud Photo Sharing. And each shared album can contain a maximum of 5,000 photos or videos.

The great thing about iCloud Photo Sharing is that photos and videos in shared albums don’t count against your iCloud storage limit.

So you don’t need to worry about upgrading your iCloud storage plan. And it will never cost you any money to share your photos!

The post How To Use iCloud Photo Sharing To Share Your iPhone Photos appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

Table Of Contents: Live Photo To Video

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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!

The post How To Quickly Convert Live Photo To Video On Your iPhone appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

Table Of Contents: HDR Meaning

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1. What Is HDR?
1.1 What Does HDR Mean?
1.2 What Is HDR On iPhone?
1.3 How The HDR Feature Creates Perfectly Exposed Photos

2. How To Use HDR On Your iPhone Camera

3. When Should You Use HDR For Stunning iPhone Photos?
3.1 Use HDR To Take Wonderfully Exposed Landscape Photos
3.2 Use HDR To Take Sharp Photos In Low Light

4. When Should You Avoid HDR?
4.1 Avoid HDR For Stunning Silhouettes
4.2 Avoid HDR When Photographing Moving Subjects
4.3 Avoid HDR For Beautifully Saturated Colors
4.4 Avoid HDR When You Want To Create Drama

1. What Is HDR?

You may have heard the term “HDR.” You may have seen the HDR symbol in your iPhone Camera app. But what is the HDR meaning? And how does the HDR feature work?

1.1 What Does HDR Mean?

HDR stands for high dynamic range.

And dynamic range refers to the difference between the light elements and dark elements in a scene.

A scene with both very bright and very dark parts has a high dynamic range. On the other hand, a scene without extremely light or extremely dark elements has a low dynamic range.

For instance, the scene below has very dark elements (the shadows) and very light elements (the yellow paint). Therefore, it has a high dynamic range.

1.2 What Is HDR On iPhone?

All cameras, including the iPhone, are limited.

Specifically, when shooting a scene with a lot of dark elements and a lot of light elements (high dynamic range), your iPhone often cannot portray all of the elements accurately.

Your iPhone could portray the light elements accurately. But then the dark elements would just be pure black—they’d lack detail. This is called underexposure.

(Exposure refers to how light or dark your camera makes the scene.)

Or your iPhone could portray the dark elements accurately. And this time, the light elements would be pure white. They’d have no detail at all. This is called overexposure.

The flower on the left is underexposed. The flower on the right is overexposed. Do you see how both photos lack detail?

But why can’t your iPhone simply expose for both the light elements and the dark elements?

Because your iPhone’s camera lacks the ability to portray scenes with a large difference between the lights and darks in a photo—scenes with a high dynamic range.

The iPhone camera simply cannot photograph both light and dark at the same time.

At least, this would be the case…if it weren’t for the HDR setting on iPhone.

What is the HDR setting on your iPhone?

The HDR setting allows you to capture photos of high dynamic range scenes.

More specifically, the HDR setting uses software to give iPhone cameras a boost when photographing high dynamic range scenes. That is, it uses software to produce perfectly exposed photos—photos that accurately capture both the darks and the lights.

Using the HDR setting on your iPhone, you can expose for both the darkest elements of the scene and the lightest elements of the scene.

1.3 How The HDR Feature Creates Perfectly Exposed Photos

So how does the HDR setting actually work? What is HDR in camera?

When you take an HDR photo with your iPhone, the camera is actually taking several separate images.

It does this in a quick series. Some photos are overexposed (too light), some photos are normally exposed, and some photos are underexposed (too dark).

Your iPhone then takes these photos and blends them together. The final photo keeps all the best parts—the perfectly exposed whites (from the underexposed images), the perfectly exposed blacks (from the overexposed images), and the perfectly exposed midtones (from the normal images).

Notice how the HDR photo above has a more balanced exposure and, as a result, captures more detail. The HDR feature allows you to capture a high dynamic range scene!

2. How To Use HDR On Your iPhone Camera

Now it’s time to learn how to take HDR photos on your iPhone!

But first, you need to make sure you have the proper settings.

Tap Settings on the Home Screen. Tap Camera. Make sure that Auto HDR is turned off.

(On some iPhones, Auto HDR is called Smart HDR.)

Turning off Auto HDR will ensure that you can activate the HDR setting yourself (in the Camera app).

Second, make sure that you select Keep Normal Photo. This causes your iPhone to save both the HDR and non-HDR version of your image. Therefore, if you don’t like your HDR photo, you’ll be able to go back and find the non-HDR version in your Photo Library.

Now open your Camera app.

Look at the side (or top) of the screen. You should see the HDR icon. Tap this.

On older iPhones, you’ll be given the option to select Auto HDR or to turn HDR on. If given the option, tap On. This will ensure that an HDR photo will definitely be taken when you press the shutter.

On newer iPhone models there are no additional settings. Just tap the HDR icon and the HDR feature will be activated.

Then, once you’ve found a good composition, go ahead and press the shutter button. The resulting photo will use the HDR feature—and it will display detail in both the lights and the darks of the scene.

3. When Should You Use HDR For Stunning iPhone Photos?

HDR is a great camera setting. After all, it helps you get perfectly exposed iPhone photos!

But there are some situations that allow the HDR feature to really shine. In this section, you’ll discover the best times to use HDR.

3.1 Use HDR To Take Wonderfully Exposed Landscape Photos

One of the best times to use the HDR setting is in high contrast situations.

That is, you should use HDR when you have very light and very dark elements in a scene. HDR will ultimately give you a more beautiful final image.

And landscapes are often very high contrast.

Why is this?

In landscapes, the sky tends to be significantly brighter than the ground. This is true regardless of whether the sky is cloudy or sunny.

So it’s often essential that you use the HDR setting if you want to expose for both the sky and the ground.

For the photo above, the HDR setting was essential to avoid losing detail in the sky. HDR combined the best exposure for a bright sky and a darker foreground. It properly exposed for the scene.

In summary: HDR is great for landscape shots!

3.2 Use HDR To Take Sharp Photos In Low Light

Do you want to know another great way to use the HDR setting?

Turn it on when shooting in low light.

iPhones tend to struggle when shooting in low light. They either create photos that are too grainy—or photos that are full of contrast.

However, if you have the iPhone X or older, you can use HDR to improve your low light photos.

Unfortunately, if you have the iPhone XS, the iPhone XS Max, or the iPhone XR, HDR cannot be activated in low light conditions.

What is so great about HDR in low light conditions?

Specifically, turning on HDR will reduce grain in your low light photos. This results in higher-quality photos overall.

Additionally, HDR can help expose for streetlights. In low light photos, streetlights often become white and lose detail. However, with HDR, streetlights are properly rendered.

Just remember: HDR is great for photographing low light scenes.

So next time you’re shooting in low light, try HDR.

You won’t regret it!

4. When Should You Avoid HDR?

HDR is great for dealing with high contrast situations. But HDR isn’t always the way to go. In this section, you’ll discover a few times when you’ll want to avoid the HDR setting.

4.1 Avoid HDR For Stunning Silhouettes

HDR preserves detail.

But the best silhouette photography doesn’t preserve detail. In fact, great silhouette photos get rid of all detail in the subject!

Look at the photo above. There isn’t any detail in the silhouetted people. They’re entirely dark!

Therefore, it’s best to avoid HDR when shooting silhouettes. That way, you can capture your perfect silhouette—without having to deal with too much detail.

4.2 Avoid HDR When Photographing Moving Subjects

Unfortunately, you generally cannot use HDR to take photos of moving subjects.

Why is this?

As I mentioned above, an HDR photo is actually a combination of several photos. But these photos cannot be taken all at once. They’re taken in quick succession.

And if several photos of a moving subject are combined, they just result in a blur!

Look at the person in the photo below. This is what happens when you use the HDR feature while photographing a moving subject!

Fortunately, if you have an iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or iPhone XS Max, you have the Smart HDR feature. This is designed to compensate for movement during HDR photos.

The feature isn’t perfect, however. No matter your iPhone model, try to avoid taking HDR photos of moving subjects.

4.3 Avoid HDR For Beautifully Saturated Colors

Do you want to create photos with gorgeous, saturated colors?

Then you might want to avoid HDR.

HDR is great at bringing color back into scenes that are too light or too dark. But it doesn’t always work if the scene is already colorful.

In fact, HDR can wash out the colors of a vivid scene. It can give a dull final image.

So be careful.

You don’t want those vibrant colors to disappear!

4.4 Avoid HDR When You Want To Create Drama

HDR brings detail back into the scene. But what if you want to have a contrast-heavy, dramatic image?

After all, sometimes you want to take a photo because you like the drama. Perhaps you like the look of shadows on your subject’s face. You like the shadow of a building on your subject’s body.

In these cases, you want to portray deep, dark, dramatic shadows (like in the photo above).

Therefore, you may want to avoid HDR.

Just remember: HDR is great for maintaining detail. But sometimes you want to lose detail—in order to create beautiful, dramatic images.

The post HDR Meaning: Complete Guide To Using HDR In The iPhone Camera App appeared first on iPhone Photography School.