Top iPhone Photography Tips

Y’all one of the most asked questions is “WHAT TYPE OF CAMERA DO YOU USE FOR YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND BLOG POSTS”. Honestly, I only use my iPhone for all my photo’s.

These are the Top iPhone Photography Tips I wish I’d known when I first started sharing my photo’s on social media.

When I first started photographing my home, I didn’t have a clue about my iPhone camera’s capability and seriously considered buying a real camera several times.

Please know that I DO NOT CLAIM to be an expert.  These are tips gathered from different online sources, blogs and from the iPhone manual. 

I feel certain that most of these tips will apply to any smart phone, however my experience is with the iPhone.  So with that being said, here are the top tips that I’ve personally implemented when using the iPhone camera and sharing on social media.  

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Take Lots of Photo’s

Always take several photo’s of your subject!  Professional photographer’s take 100’s of shots to capture one that’s perfect.  This may sound so simple but a lot of posts are one shot and done. Also, don’t take the photos or videos from within the social media app.  You will not have the editing control that you do with the iPhone camera. 

Best Tip – Stabilize the camera

How do you stabilize your iPhone camera? You can do this best with a tri-pod and a remote shutter. Even a slight movement can reduce the quality of your photo.

This was the first tri-pod I purchased and I’m still using it now. It’s inexpensive, light-weight and includes the remote shutter.

I later purchased a Ring Light which also is a tri-pod and has a shutter remote. Although, I love using it for video’s, it is bulky and not as user friendly as my original tri-pod.

Easiest Tip for iPhone Photography

This is probably the most overlooked tip and it’s so simple. Clean your lens before shooting. You are using your phone continuously and the lens will get dirty. Cleansing the lens each time before you take a photo will greatly enhance the quality and clarity.

Learn how to use all the iPhone features

First, let your iphone camera know what the subject of the photo is. Focus and Exposure are automatically built into your phones camera.  However, as smart as your camera is, it doesn’t know what your subject is.  You have to touch your finger to the subject on the screen to show where you want the camera to focus.  Then, if needed, you can adjust the exposure by moving your finger up or down.

Top iPhone Photography Tips from the Manual

Here is the same basic photo with two different subjects.

Just a simple touch of the finger changed the focus on this photo.

AE/AF Lock on iphone Camera

When you touch the area that you want the camera to focus on, a square box appears with a sliding sun beside it. You can slide the sun up or down to adjust the exposure.

If you only touch the area of focus quickly, the AE/AF is set for the one photo. However, when you plan to take several shots, lock the AE/AF by holding your finger there until the lock appears at the top. This is my recommended method for most photo’s.

iPhone Photography Tip about Windows

This is particularly important information when taking interior shots.  If the light is coming into the room through a window, the exposure will be set based on the light in the window automatically.  This leaves the rest of the room in the dark.  Therefore, you will want to touch your finger to a dark area, which will set the subject inside the room. I rarely adjust the exposure because I use Light Room to edit the photo afterwards. If you do increase the exposure, be careful to not over expose the shot.  Increasing the exposure when you edit the photo is a much safer option.  

Here are some un-edited views as examples.

The first photo was taken without any attempt focus therefore, the camera automatically focused on the brightest spot, the window. Then second photo was focused by locking the AE/AF on the darker area of the room, the lamp. However, the exposure wasn’t adjusted in either of these examples.

The photo can now be enhanced even more through Light Room editing.

This photo was taken with the iphone camera and then using the Light Room app on the phone to edit.

NOTE: Light Room is the editing app that I’m most familiar with, but there are many popular editing apps to choose from.

In addition, the new models of iPhone, such as iPhone 11 & 11 Pro, iPhone 12, etc. take excellent night mode photo’s. A tri-pod is particularly important for night mode photography because the phone needs to be stable for a longer period of time. For more information, see this article.

If you are enjoying these photo’s, take a look at these Winter Décor Views on this recent blog post.

Suggested Iphone Accessories

Don’t Zoom – Don’t Flash

Ok that’s two iPhone camera tips! 

Don’t Zoom

When you Zoom, it reduces the photo resolution. Therefore, get as close as you can, photograph the subject and then CROP during the editing process. Cropping will also reduce the resolution, but not as drastically as the zoom will. 

You can purchase zoom lens attachments for your iPhone camera, however most of my photography is home décor which doesn’t require distance shots.   Once again, the newer iPhone 11 pro and 12 cameras are much more sophisticated and have more zoom capabilities without losing resolution

Don’t Flash

Using natural light is best for all photography.  The flash will almost always overexpose the subject.  Therefore, just don’t do it.    

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Photograph Objects at the correct height

Another common mistake most people make when photographing a room is holding the camera to high. This is a great tip for any camera and is not exclusive to the iPhone camera.

This is another good reason for a tri-pod because you can adjust the camera up or down. No more getting down on your knees or lying on the floor. 

When photographing furniture, it’s best to have the camera level with the subject!

If you are photographing the entire room as the subject, a good rule of thumb is position the camera 25 – 35 Inches from the floor. Where the seating is low such as sofa’s and living areas, 25″ is good. However, dining tables or kitchen counter views may look better at 35″.

This is another time when multiple shots, at different levels, will come in handy.

Here are a few examples of correct and incorrect camera heights.

Notice how the shape and dimensions of the cabinet are distorted in the first photo! However, you are able to get a clear idea of the shape and size of the cabinet in the second, more appropriate view.

Even the chair is more appealing in the 2nd photo, which was taken at the correct height!

Please feel free to message me here or on Instagram if you have questions.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

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