To take cool photos, you don’t have to buy a professional camera or use paid apps. It’s enough to apply basic knowledge of light and composition and use the chips that are already provided by Apple. As a result, creating beautiful images will be as simple as winning at Hellspin. Let’s break it down in order.
Wipe Your Camera More Frequently
You touch your smartphone hundreds of times during the day and you’re sure to touch the lenses. Especially dirty is the front camera, which leans against your cheek when talking. Greasy fingerprints ruin photos imperceptibly; blurred areas of the frame often become visible later, when viewing the pictures.
Use a Grid
The same laws apply in mobile photography as in professional photography. For example, it’s better not to “screw up” the horizon. And you should also use the rule of thirds: the object should be placed in the left or right third of the image, and the remaining two thirds should be free. So the frame will be more expressive. However, there are exceptions. The rule of thirds adds dynamics to the frame, which isn’t always needed; for example, when shooting food, the object is better, on the contrary, to leave in the center of the frame.
The rule of thirds is conveniently observed with the Grid tool. You can turn it on in the camera settings.
Lock Focus and Exposure Settings
If you tap the screen before shooting, a square with a sun icon on the side will appear in the viewfinder. The subject in it will become a priority: the camera will adjust the exposure level (roughly speaking, the degree of light) and focus on it.
If you hold your finger on the square, the settings will be fixed; you can move the camera away from the object for a second or hold your hand in front of it, the settings will not be lost. This comes in handy if, for example, you want to shoot busy traffic on a highway, but people are constantly passing between you and the cars.
If you hold your finger on the sun icon and move it up or down a little, you can change the exposure settings; make the frame a little lighter or darker. This setting is also locked.
Use Different Buttons and Modes to Capture a Shot
Tapping a button on the screen isn’t always convenient. When taking selfies, your hands can get caught in the frame, and if you’re wearing gloves or have wet fingers, the screen may not respond. To take a photo, it’s easier to press the side volume button. However, this method of taking a photo causes the smartphone to jerk slightly, which may cause the photo to blur.
Here’s another way to take a picture:
- Press the volume button on a wired headset. Your smartphone won’t twitch when you take a picture.
- Set a timer. It will also help you keep sharp, and it’s also handy for taking full-length selfies (you’ll be able to run away into the frame space in a few seconds).
- If you have an Apple Watch, use the camera app on it. So you can keep sharpness, you can run away and choose a pose and see on the screen of the watch, whether everything gets into the frame.
Take Multiple Shots at Once
When you’re photographing children playing or beautiful views outside a train window, it’s easy to miss the moment and take a shot a little earlier or a little later. To prevent this from happening, turn on Live Photos, which shoots a short 1.5-second animation each time you take a photo. You can select the best shot from the animation.
To do this, open a photo, press “Edit” in the upper right corner and find the Live Photos icon at the bottom. The app will show all the captured frames; you can choose the most successful one and make it the “title.” Now, if you, for example, send a photo to Facebook, the recipient will receive the desired still image.
You can also press the shooting button and immediately take your finger to the left; the “Series” mode will be activated. It’s no longer limited to one and a half seconds and will take frames as long as you hold down the key. This will come in handy if you want to take a detailed picture of a friend doing a somersault.
A series of shots in the gallery will be displayed as a single photo. To select the best shots, open the image, tap “Select…” and check the boxes next to the shots you like.