Some years ago, photography was associated with professionals, and not enough photos circulated the internet. There was limited information about what photography was all about. Most people’s idea of photography was vague, and it was thought as just pointing your camera and clicking the pic.
The introduction of smartphone technology has significantly changed this perception, and suddenly, everybody has an idea or two about photography. Mobile photography has indeed revolutionized the way we take photos.
With so many pictures flooding the internet and social media platforms, people feel there’s a need to acquire some basic photography skills to keep up.
The camera on your iPhone has probably made photography more easy and convenient for you, but it is enough? The way you take your photos and the platforms where you share them will lead to the kind of reaction your images will elicit from your audience. Therefore, you need some of the following iPhone photography skills and techniques to be able to capture your audience’s attention.
- Capture good images by improving your composition
Most people get their composition all wrong because they ignore simple features that can make their photography look professional. The iPhone has a good grid overlay in the viewfinder to make it more convenient.
Regardless of your level of profession, having the grid on makes it easy for you to follow the rule of thirds when taking pictures. The rule of thirds in photography entails mentally dividing the screen of your phone with two vertical lines and two horizontal lines. You then place the elements of your photo along the lines or where they intersect in order to capture a stunning picture. Luckily for iPhone users, this grid can be activated by going to settings>photos & Camera>toggle Grid to ON.
- Good lighting and exposure
Getting good lighting for your image can be a challenge, especially, if you’re just starting out in photography and have little to no understanding about exposure. However, Apple fixed this problem by making iPhone phones have the ability to lock in better lighting by using the Exposure and Focus feature. This feature is easy to use and requires no skill set.
Point your iPhone camera at the lighting you wish to use and then Tap and Hold. This will lock the exposure to the conditions you have selected. After capturing the exposure, you can move your phone towards the image of interest taking the exposure with you, and then shoot your picture as normal.
This feature locks in both the Focus and Exposure. When you master your photography, you will find it very helpful when creating depth in your photos.
- Make better use of Panoramic camera
Sometimes, getting a good image with an elongated field of view can be too much to ask from an unskilled photographer. But this is not so if you have an iPhone.
Panoramic photography is also known as wide format photography; this is because you can capture tall vertical buildings or great horizontal frames like a swimming pool area. This is how you do it:
From your iPhone, open the camera app and then swipe to the left to select the PANO option. Tap on the shutter and pan your camera to capture the panoramic image. Tap the shutter button again once you’re done or you can wait for the timer to run out.
- Consider getting iPhone camera lens kit
Not all images can be taken from a good distance. Sometimes, the subject is further away from you. Although the iPhone camera phone has the zoom option to bring your images closer, this is not always good when editing later on. It leaves the picture with grains or noise, especially after cropping.
A good iPhone lens kit will give you quality images, making you capture every detail of small worlds with your phone. If you’re working on a budget, using your iPhone for professional pictures is an alternative you should consider.
There is a host of affordable lens adapters and advanced lens kits that have built-in sensors.
- Make good use of burst mode
Burst mode can come in handy when taking action shots or images that are in motion. Sports pictures and animals on the run can be captured without a blur. You can also use burst mode to capture changes in expressions, and you can use the images as animated gifs.
To use burst mode on your iPhone, first hold down the shutter button to start and then release the button to stop the burst mode feature. Capturing images from your iPhone should be easy and free from any troubles. Some additional benefits include using the built-in-filters and adding color effects, but all these can only be used after taking a good image.
Conclusion
Taking photos on most phones can be quite troublesome, but with the iPhone, most things are already taken care of for you. With some tweaks here and there in your settings, you can make your iPhone into a professional camera that you can use to capture all your moments.
