There are great tutorials out there to will show you how to get the most out of your iPhone’s camera app. They delve into every single aspect of the camera, explaining in great detail how to optimize the settings for every possible scenario and how to effectively use the various effects to capture the smallest of details.
What you don’t find is tips that will just show you how to take a simple photograph, especially when you’re not the most natural takers of photographs.
Then these simple, yet effective camera app tips will show you how to capture the best possible photo you can. Perhaps not good enough to hang in a gallery, but good enough to proudly show to family and friends.
Bad photographs are taken by bad photographers. Let’s fix that.
No More Blur
Possibly the simplest way to take a decent photograph is to keep your iPhone as still as possible. But keeping still is harder than it looks!
You can lean against a wall to take the shot, or lay the phone down on something solid and attempt to press the shutter button without knocking the phone over.
Here’s the trick. The life-saver is using Apple headphones as a remote shutter release. This means you don’t even have to touch the device to take a photograph. No more jittery images, no more knocking the device over. Once plugged in, just press the volume button on the headphones and you’ll take a fantastic, non-blurry shot.
Avoid the Zoom
The first thing you probably did when opening your iPhone’s camera app is test the zoom functionality. It’s fun to play around with. It’s also pretty good, but far from perfect if you want to take the best possible photo.
When you zoom in, you lose quality, resulting in slightly grainy, pixelated images that never look as good as they did when you were lining them up. As powerful as the iPhone is, it doesn’t have a high enough resolution to make zoom a reliable option.
New technology is all about making life easier, but in this case, you will just have to do manually zoom yourself by walking closer to the subject.
Turn that Flash Off
If you’re on a night out with friends, the chances are you’re going to be taking a bunch of spontaneous shots that you can quickly share on social media. After all, that’s what having a mobile phone is all about.
Then, and only then, should you use the flash.
For every other possible scenario, if you want to capture as much detail as you can, you should turn the iPhone’s flash off. Using the flash will reduce the quality of the photograph. The lower the light, the worse the shot will look. By making use of as much natural light as you can, you’ll greatly improve your photo.
Got some great snaps? We’ve recently launched Envato Video, a mobile app that lets anyone create and share professional videos directly from their iPhone quickly and easily. All you need is those great photos you just took – check it out!
Use the Rule of Thirds
iOS comes with a little-known tool that when turned on, overlays a grid over the camera app to make it easier to frame the perfect shot.
You can’t turn on the grid tool directly via the camera app; instead you have to go to Settings > Photos & Camera > Grid to activate it. Once turned on, you may never turn it off again.
At first, you’ll probably look at the grid as just an annoyance, but once you understand that the grid has been created using the ‘rule of thirds’ you will realize how effective a tool it can be when planning a shot.
The Rule of Thirds states that a photograph is more interesting when key compositional elements are placed along the grid lines or on the intersections, thus creating more tension, energy and interest in the composition. And it works – try it out!
Look at It from Another Angle
Even professional photographers take bad photographs at times. Just don’t be hasty and delete the images you think are terrible.
The iPhone and iPad have small screens and may not show the full detail of what you have captured. Open those images on a larger screen then make the call. You may actually find that you’re a better photographer than you thought.
If you’re planning on sending a seasonal greeting this Christmas, with the recently released Envato Video iOS app you can create professional video presentations to share with friends, family, clients or customers. Just choose your template, add your images and text, choose some audio, then you’re ready to share on social media or email – all for free!
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