The iphone camera is one of the best cameras in the smartphone field. Whether physical shutter release, burst mode or separate lenses: with these 10 tips for the iphone camera succeed guaranteed better shots.
1. Use physical shutter release instead of virtual
Of course, the virtual shutter release of the iphone camera normally does a good enough job. But in situations where a perfect picture is essential, a physical shutter release is an important requirement. To take a picture, you can use the volume button "+". What many don't know: if you have the apple headphones plugged in, this can also be done using the volume button on the earpods. Corresponding bluetooth accessories for a wireless shutter release are also available. If you want photos that are as blur-free as possible, you should go for a physical shutter release.
2. Apple watch can be used as a remote trigger
If you're an apple watch owner, you can conveniently use the company's first smartwatch as a remote control. Especially when taking selfies with the main camera, it is an advantage to be able to view the subject to be captured in advance on a small screen. In addition, so that the shot is not blurred, it can even be triggered directly from the apple watch.
3. Self-timer: 3 or 10 seconds
Of course, the iphone's camera has a self-timer. Click on the icon with the clock when the camera is open and you can choose between three and ten seconds of self-timer – the cam immediately makes 10 snapshots at once. This will give you plenty of time to position the camera and get into position for a great shot.
4. Manually focus and adjust exposure
As a rule, the iphone's autofocus works very well and delivers decent results. But in some situations, manual focus is quite useful. For example, if the software does not automatically focus on the desired subject. To do this, simply tap with your finger on the desired object. Good to know: you can lock the focus. To do this, simply keep your finger on the subject until "AE/AF lock" appears on the display. Then keep your subject in focus even when you pan the camera.
Manual focus is also important for responding adequately to difficult lighting conditions. Just try it out and focus on different objects to check how the exposure changes automatically. Exposure can also be conveniently adjusted with a swipe gesture. Swipe up with your finger pressed to increase exposure and swipe down for lower exposure.
5. Tips for blur-free shots
For blur-free pictures, the volume button of the headset is useful. Image: © apple 2016
Especially in difficult lighting conditions, it is extremely important to have a steady hand when taking pictures. Those who call an iphone 6 plus or an iphone 6s plus their own can consider themselves lucky: both smartphones have an optical image stabilizer on board, which cushions this problem a bit.
Otherwise, the basic tips apply: if possible, place the iphone on a solid surface and shoot from a safe standing position. It also helps if you can rest your elbows on something for more support for a blur-free shot. Also helpful: if you use the self-timer, at least the moment of shutter release will not be a problem.
6. For the perfect picture, continuous shooting is helpful
Continuous pictures can be taken by keeping your finger on the shutter release button. Image: © TURN ON 2015
The shutter release has to be pressed many, many times until the perfect shot is taken. Burst mode lets you take as many continuous photos as you want with the touch of a button. How it works? It's easy: just press and hold the shutter button for as long as you want to take the picture. This consumes more memory, but you can part with unattractive images again. The entire session is displayed in the gallery as just one image, then you can easily keep one or more photos and remove the rest again.
7. On iphone 6s, get faster access thanks to 3D touch
If you own an iphone 6s or an iphone 6s plus, you can reach certain camera modes even faster thanks to 3D touch and its quick actions. Simply press the camera icon to quickly take a selfie or record a video.
8. Show grid for rule of thirds
You can take better photos if you use some important creative elements. For this, you should activate the grid: "settings > photos & camera" and select grid by slider. From now on, the grid will help you take pictures with your iphone camera. This is especially advantageous if you want to take into account the golden ratio and the rule of thirds – which can only be recommended. How this works in detail, we have summarized in another guidebook.
9. Photos with more contrast thanks to HDR
The iphone camera can even snap pictures in HDR. The so-called high dynamic range provides photos with an increased contrast range in a simple way. This is done by combining differently exposed shots into a single photo. HDR can be activated directly in the camera app with a click on HDR. Choices are auto, on and off. The result is usually very good, but for safety's sake you should keep the original on your iphone as well: "settings > photos & camera" and activate "keep photo" by slider.
10. Using lenses as accessories
Wide-angle, macro or fisheye – none of these are possible with the iphone camera out of the box. But with the right accessories, even shots away from the standard angle succeed. The popular olloclip lenses are worth mentioning here, but other manufacturers also offer practical additional lenses for the iphone. We have taken a closer look at some of them in a comparison for the iphone 6s.