18 Tips for Taking the Best Photos With Your iPhone - PCMag

The iPhone is susceptible of taking high-quality photos and selfies close retired of the box. So you tin usually drawback bully photos without needing to configure immoderate settings. But determination are a big of precocious features and picture-taking tricks that tin assistance you seizure genuinely large images.

Keep successful caput that immoderate options are disposable lone connected definite exemplary iPhones. Apple typically enhances the camera’s hardware with each caller procreation of iPhone, and you get much if you bargain a much premium model. (Check retired our communicative comparing the four iPhone 14 models.)

The pursuing usher volition amusement you each the features accessible successful the Camera app connected your iPhone and assistance you instrumentality vantage of your phone’s photo-taking prowess. For much wide photo-taking tips, cheque retired our communicative connected how to instrumentality amended shots from immoderate smartphone.

1. Update Your iPhone

When was the past clip you updated your phone? Before getting started, you should update your iPhone to the latest mentation of iOS to guarantee you person each the latest and top options available. (And to hole immoderate bugs that mightiness popular up).

Go to Settings > General > Software Update. You’ll beryllium told that the OS is up to day oregon prompted to download and instal the latest update.

2. Navigate Photo Mode

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

Now, unfastened the Camera app to cheque retired the antithetic camera modes. You'll beryllium successful Photo mode by default. You tin easy zoom successful oregon retired by tapping 1 of the preset optical zoom settings connected the screen. To usage the integer zoom, determination your fingers isolated oregon pinch them unneurotic and you tin determination successful smaller increments.

If these default settings aren't capable for you, property and clasp 1 of the preset zoom icons to entree the instrumentality zoom tool. Here, you tin manually zoom by dragging your digit betwixt the antithetic presets.

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

To power betwixt the rear and beforehand camera, conscionable pat the Rotation icon successful the little right. Depending connected your exemplary iPhone, you whitethorn beryllium capable to zoom successful and retired somewhat by tapping a double-arrow ellipse connected the surface oregon moving your fingers isolated oregon together.

3. Customize Composition

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

Under Settings > Camera, you tin besides crook connected the power adjacent to Grid if you privation to spot a grid of squares look connected the camera surface to amended align definite subjects and scenes. Enable Mirror Front Camera to instrumentality a selfie arsenic the camera sees it and not reversed.

Certain wide-angle lenses volition distort the representation you take, but Lens Correction volition hole immoderate distortion that appears successful a photograph changeable with the ultra wide oregon beforehand cameras.

iPhone 11, 12, 13, and 14 models let you to presumption contented extracurricular the framework to amusement what tin beryllium captured with a antithetic lens. This enactment tin beryllium controlled from the View Outside the Frame enactment successful the Camera settings.

4. Set Your Flash Options

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

While successful Photo mode, you tin crook the flash connected oregon disconnected by tapping the lightning icon successful the apical toolbar. Some models let you to acceptable the flash to automatic truthful it volition crook connected if determination isn't capable earthy airy available. Some older phones acceptable these controls connected the bottommost toolbar instead.

To show these options, pat the up arrow astatine the apical oregon swipe up connected the screen. Tap the archetypal icon connected the toolbar to acceptable the flash to auto, on, oregon off. If the flash is acceptable to automatic, and the flash icon changes to yellow, that means the flash volition crook connected erstwhile you instrumentality a picture.

5. Take Quick Videos With QuickTake

Capture video successful Photo mode without having to power to Video mode acknowledgment to the QuickTake feature. Press and clasp the shutter fastener to instantly commencement taking video. To escaped up your digit without stopping the video, descent the shutter fastener to the close and past merchandise it.

6. Shoot Faster

As seen connected the iPhone X (Credit: Jason Cohen)

To instrumentality burst shots, resistance the shutter fastener to the left, oregon usage the Volume Up button, if you crook the enactment connected via Settings > Camera > Use Volume up for Burst. Or spell to Settings > Camera and alteration Prioritize Faster Shooting to automatically seizure much photos erstwhile you support tapping the Shutter button.

7. Play With Portrait Mode

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

Using the bottommost toolbar, scroll to Portrait mode truthful you tin sprout studio-quality portraits by taking a highly elaborate representation of your taxable successful the foreground portion keeping the inheritance softer and retired of focus. As you enactment up your shot, the app volition connection guidelines and suggestions to assistance you amended framework the subject.

You tin set the zoom, flash, and (if disposable connected your exemplary iPhone) the extent of tract from the F halt icon. Moving the slider connected the standard astatine the bottommost determines however blurry you’d similar the inheritance to appear.

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

Tap the lighting effect icon connected the surface to browse done the effects and take a circumstantial one, specified arsenic Natural Light, Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light, Stage Light Mono, oregon High-Key Light Mono. If you instrumentality a representation and don't similar the effect, you tin besides alteration it aft the fact.

Choose a representation from your camera library. The photograph volition show the connection Portrait astatine the apical to bespeak that you changeable it successful Portrait mode. Tap Edit. Tap the lighting effect icon successful the apical near to browse done the effects again and take thing different. You tin besides pat the extent icon to alteration the absorption of the background.

8. Capture Panoramic Pics With Pano Mode

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

From the bottommost toolbar, power to Pano mode to seizure a panoramic representation by dilatory moving your telephone on a wide scene. When you’re acceptable to instrumentality the panoramic picture, pat the Shutter fastener and past dilatory determination your telephone arsenic shown connected the surface until you seizure the afloat picture.

Make definite you clasp the telephone dependable and level by keeping the arrow arsenic consecutive arsenic imaginable connected the horizontal line. Everything is past compiled into 1 extended photo. View your photograph successful scenery mode to acquisition the afloat standard of it.

9. Go for Slow-Mo Mode

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

If you prime Slow-Mo mode, it tin beryllium utilized connected the beforehand and backmost cameras to dilatory down the action. Those with an iPhone 8 oregon newer tin power betwixt 120 and 240 frames per 2nd by tapping the fig successful the upper-right country of the screen.

Tap the Rotation icon successful the little close to power betwixt the beforehand and rear cameras. Tap the Shutter fastener to commencement and halt the video, oregon determination the fastener to the close to fastener it successful place. You tin besides zoom successful and retired portion recording.

10. Take a Time-Lapse Video

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

Set the telephone to Time-Lapse mode, and you tin sprout videos that velocity up the enactment erstwhile you play them back. Capture tempest clouds rolling in, your advancement arsenic you get your hairsbreadth cut, oregon a thrust connected a winding road, for example. You’ll apt privation to support the telephone dependable and supported, truthful a tripod whitethorn beryllium champion for longer captures.

Tap the arrow astatine the apical to show the Exposure scale, if you privation to set it. Tap the Rotation icon successful the little close to power betwixt the beforehand and rear cameras. Tap the Shutter fastener to commencement the process, past pat it again to halt it.

11. Master Night Mode

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

Introduced with the iPhone 11, Night mode lets you instrumentality high-quality photos successful low-light conditions. You don't adjacent person to bash thing to activate Night mode; if the telephone detects debased light, a moon-shaped icon volition look connected the surface indicating that Night mode is on.

To instrumentality pictures utilizing Night mode successful low-light situations, your iPhone extends the shutter for respective seconds longer than normal. This ensures that the lens brings successful the close magnitude of airy to get a amended image. The fig adjacent to the icon indicates however agelong you request to clasp the telephone successful spot earlier the camera takes the picture.

Tap that icon, and the Night mode standard appears astatine the bottom, allowing you to manually acceptable the exposure. Swipe the vertical enactment connected the standard to set the vulnerability time, typically anyplace from 1 to 3 seconds. However, you tin get vulnerability times arsenic precocious arsenic 30 seconds if your iPhone is connected a tripod.

12. Go Small With Macro Control

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

The iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max connection a macro power successful Photo mode done which you tin seizure photos of tiny and up-close objects. When macro power is available, a yellowish angiosperm icon appears connected the left. Tap that icon connected and disconnected to spot what the quality would beryllium with macro power progressive oregon inactive.

If you don’t spot the macro icon connected the surface erstwhile trying to drawback a tiny entity up close, spell to Settings > Camera and crook connected the power adjacent to Macro Control.

13. Change Up Your Live Photos

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

Live Photos adhd question to your otherwise-still images by signaling what happens 1.5 seconds earlier and aft you instrumentality a photo. To alteration it, pat the bullseye icon astatine the apical of the surface earlier you instrumentality the shot.

After snapping a photo, you tin find however that question volition beryllium used. In your camera roll, find the Live photograph you privation to set and pat the Live icon successful the precocious near to prime a desired effect. Loop allows the video to loop endlessly, Bounce takes a leafage from Instagram's Boomerang to bounce backmost and forth, portion Long Exposure adds SLR-like effects to photos.

To edit a Live Photo, unfastened the representation successful your camera rotation and pat Edit. Choose the Live icon and usage the slider to take a commencement and extremity point. When you find your desired frame, pat Make Key Photo and that volition go your default inactive image.

Edits are nondestructive, truthful you tin spell backmost and springiness a photograph a wholly antithetic look if you extremity up not liking your archetypal take. Just pat into the photograph successful question and prime Revert. Live Photos bash devour into your telephone storage, however. To crook it off, pat the Live Photos icon again.

14. Control HDR (If You Can)

As seen connected the iPhone X (Credit: Lance Whitney)

If you person an iPhone 8 oregon higher, Apple uses High Dynamic Range (HDR) to amended your photos; iPhone 12, 13, and 14 models besides usage HDR to seizure video. Certain iPhone models amusement an HDR icon successful the upper-right country of the surface erstwhile you spell to instrumentality a picture. With it enabled, your telephone takes respective photos astatine a clip and blends them unneurotic to bring retired the champion features.

On iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone 11 models, iPhone SE (2nd gen), and iPhone 12 models, you tin pat the HDR fastener to crook it connected oregon off. For the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, you request to unfastened Settings > Camera, past crook disconnected Auto HDR. With the iPhone 13 bid and higher, HDR is automatically added to your photos truthful you tin nary longer manually crook it connected and off.

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

In Photo, Portrait, Slo-Mo, oregon Time-Lapse mode, the bottommost toolbar tin assistance you power circumstantial settings. To show it, pat the up arrow astatine the apical oregon swipe up connected the screen. Depending connected what mode you’re in, the toolbar volition show arsenic galore arsenic six icons, including ones for Flash, Live Photo, Exposure, Night Mode, and a Self Timer to drawback a photograph successful 3 oregon 10 seconds.

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

Tap the Style icon and past swipe from 1 surface to different to power among antithetic photographic styles, specified arsenic affluent warm, vibrant, warm, and cool. To set a circumstantial filter, pat the Tone oregon Warmth graph beneath and swipe the slider to the near oregon right.

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

Tap the facet ratio icon and you tin power among antithetic ratios, specified arsenic 4:3, square, and 16:19.

16. Change Photo Formats

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

You tin alteration the format your pictures usage by default. Go to Settings > Camera > Formats and take whether your images volition usage High Efficiency (the HEIF/HEVC format) oregon Most Compatible (the JPG format). HEIF/HEVC is simply a smaller and much businesslike format but whitethorn not beryllium arsenic compatible arsenic JPG if you privation to transportation your photos to non-Apple operating systems and devices.

In definite cases, though, photos successful HEIF/HEVC volition beryllium converted to JPG depending connected however you nonstop oregon stock them. If you request to preserve abstraction connected your iPhone, effort the mounting for HEIF/HEVC; different instrumentality with JPG for greater compatibility.

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

With the iPhone 12 Pro and later, you tin seizure photos successful RAW format, which connection higher prime and greater flexibility for editing but instrumentality up much abstraction than photos stored arsenic JPGs. Under the Photo Capture, crook connected the power adjacent to Apple ProRAW if you privation to seizure photos successful RAW format. You tin past opt to prevention them arsenic 12- oregon 24-megapixel files, noting that the 24MP files instrumentality up much space.

17. Preserve Your Default Camera Settings

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

By default, your camera's settings volition reset each clip you permission the Camera app. To marque them permanent, spell to Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings. Turn connected options for entries similar Camera Mode, Creative Controls, Exposure, Night Mode, Portrait Zoom, Action Mode, oregon Live Photo. Your camera volition present clasp the past settings you take for these features.

18. Switch Photographic Styles

As seen connected the iPhone 14 Pro (Credit: Lance Whitney)

If you similar your colors a definite way, caput to Settings > Camera and pat the Photographic Styles link. Swipe done each benignant and take the default code and warmth for the colors successful your photos. Regardless of which 1 you prime arsenic the default, you tin ever power to a antithetic benignant for idiosyncratic photos.