1. Use a different button
Just in case you didn't know, you can actually use your + volume button on the side of your phone to take a picture, a bit like pressing the shutter button on a normal camera. It is a TON easier than trying to fashion your hand into a claw to press the button on the screen, especially during selfies.
NOTE: This includes the + volume button on your earphones, if you have those, which means you can be even further from the camera.
2. Have a shortcut
Again, ICYMI, don't faff about logging in to your phone to get to the camera. On the lock screen, there's a teeny tiny camera icon in the bottom right. Just swipe that up and it'll open your camera.
3. The timer is your friend
If you don't want the faff of trying to hold your phone for a selfie AND take the picture (how many people have dropped their phone this way?), use the timer. Just click the little clock icon in the top right and set the desired time. Then all you need to do is hold your phone, perfect your pose and wait for it to take.
4. Use Burst Mode
If you want to take a series of photos in quick succession (ideal if you're on a fairground ride, moving quickly in a car, at a fast-paced event, etc), just hold down on the shutter and it'll rapidly take one photo after another until you let go.
5. Use the focus
To make sure your pics are actually properly sharp and focused, just tap whatever part of the screen is your main subject. Also handy if you want to take some up-close pics close to the lens, with a blurry background.
6. Fiddle with the exposure
When you tap on the image to focus, a little sunshine appears next to the square. You can slide this up and down to change the brightness of the picture.
7. Try Auto HDR
Do it, do it now! HDR just stands for high dynamic range and it basically gives you a better quality image by *JARGON* mixing the best parts of three different exposures. Just click the little HDR at the top of the camera screen. Sometimes it can result in over-saturated fake-looking colours though, so use with care. It's ideal for shots with lots of different light levels (sun and shade in the summer, a sunset, etc).
NOTE: HDR pics automatically save in addition to a normal version AND they're larger files. So, it might be worth turning off 'Keep Normal Photo' in your settings to save storage space.
8. Use a grid
Go to Settings and scroll down to Photos & Camera and turn on 'Grid'. That way, you can line up your shot properly. But there's also a snazzier reason… In photography, there's a theory that pictures look better (read: artier) when your subject is a third of the way in from either the right or the left.
9. Try a time-lapse
If Burst Mode is a little too fast-paced for your needs, try Time-Lapse mode as it takes a picture every few seconds instead. Just press the red 'record' button to start and again to stop it. It works best if the phone is still though, so if you don't have a sturdy hand, try and rest it on something or make a little makeshift tripod.
10. Get fancy with Panorama mode
If you're clever, you can create a picture where there's multiples of the same person in one shot. While one person slowly pans around, all you need is for the other person/people to run in the opposite direction out of shot and back in again.
11. Avoid zooming
The zoom isn't really that great on iPhones, because it basically works by cropping the image and blowing it up, which reduces the quality. Really, you're better off just taking the picture as closely as possible with no zoom and then zooming and cropping the image afterwards.
12. Use your favourites wisely
You'll now notice a little heart appears at the bottom of pictures when you view them in your camera reel. Any photo you've tapped here will be added to a 'Favourites' folder - handy.
13. Get familiar with the photo editing options
There are actually a TON of different ways you can subtly edit your pictures, over and above simply picking a fancy filter. With black and white images, you can alter the intensity, grain, tone and neutral areas and all sorts and you can even make saturation changes to colour pics if the Magic Wand tool doesn't satisfy your needs.
By Claire Hodgson
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