Transform Your iPhone Photos: 13 Beginner Tips for Stunning and Professional Results

 How to get the best result from the camera that’s always in your pocket.

Introduction

The iPhone camera is getting a lot of attention right now. Although they’ve always been good, they’re now outstanding.

Additionally, even some professional photographers have started using the iPhone as their primary camera. Crazy times! More and more folks now realise they can get the same results minus all the heavy gear.

This era of photography has got a lot of folks excited, including me. But, conversely, some think it’s ridiculous and not real photography. Whichever side of the fence you’re on, the trusty iPhone is now a serious tool aimed at creating detailed, high-resolution images.

If you want to get in on the action, this article outlines 13 simple iPhone photography tips to get you started.

Settings & Formats

First up, head into settings and then find the camera settings. I won’t tell you how to set everything up here, as this will depend on your personal preferences, but here are a few tips.

Look at everything and switch on everything you think you need. Apple ProRAW is an excellent option to switch on. This provides the highest-quality images, although you’ll need editing software such as Adobe Lightroom to edit and convert the file to a JPG.

Another critical point is the file size. RAW files and considerably larger than JPG and HEIF/HEIC files.

What the heck’s a HEIC file, you may be wondering? HEIF (High-Efficiency Image File) is Apple’s version of a JPG. HEIC is the file format that they use if you use Live Mode (more on this in step 8).

Choose High Efficiency in your setting if you want to use these file types. The benefits are that they’re smaller in size than JPG. The downside is that they’re aimed at Apple users, and there have been issues opening on Windows.

Top tip: Turn on the grid in your settings. This gives you a handy reference when taking a shot to line everything horizontally or vertically.

Choose Most Compatible if you want to stick with the trusty JPG.

Learn the basics of photography & keep learning more

Sadly, you’ll be mistaken if you think you’ve learned everything there is to know. Even with the best camera in the world, your images will suffer if you don’t understand composition, lighting and exposure.

How do you like to learn? Reading, watching, listening? You can pretty much do a university course in Photography online for free.

YouTube channels are a fantastic place to start. Books and magazines also provide endless knowledge, and podcasts are another incredible source of education.

Keep learning more throughout your journey. Sadly, you’ll be mistaken if you’ve learned everything there is to know. But, on the other hand, it’s exciting to know that no matter how good you get, you can continually improve.

A recommended for beginners and experienced iPhone photographers is the iPhone Photography School—insightful episodes brimming with ideas and inspiration.

 Get out more

One of the best iPhone photography tips I can give you is to go out and photograph more. As you learn the ropes, this will be more important than anything else.

Make a conscious effort to head outside as much as you can. This practice alone becomes a relaxing and mindful treat in your busy day.

Explore your local area in more detail than you ever have before. Visit further afield with a brand new set of inquisitive eyes, and most importantly, try and visit at least one place you’ve never been to before each month.

The more you go out, the more photo opportunities you’ll put yourself in front of. 

Immerse yourself in the photography world

As with any project or hobby, the more you get into it, the more you want to surround yourself with like-minded people.

Social media is a great place to start. Depending on your preference of platforms, you can meet fellow iPhone photographers on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Vero and approximately a million other platforms (but they’re four of the most popular).

Start following a few accounts that inspire you. Then, spark conversation in their comments, and don’t hold back on the praise if you like what they’re posting. Before long, you’ll have a social network that you can interact with and will also, in return, provide feedback on your photos. More on sharing your work online is step 9.

If the online world isn’t for you, you can always seek a local photography group or even start your own. The important thing is to find a way to be around like-minded folks that will inspire you.

Use all three lenses (but don’t zoom in or out)

If you’ve got a Pro or a Pro Max model of the iPhone, you’ve got three incredible lenses to play with. But, even if not, you still have two, and the same ethos applies.

Often with mobile photography, people need to remember to experiment with not only using one lens all the time. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but you’ll open up so many new opportunities by using the other tools in your kit.

The 0.5x lens is the widest of them all. This can often create the most dramatic results when you must fit a lot into your shot. The 2x lens is your zoom without having actually to zoom. Need a closer image of your subject without physically moving nearer; this is your weapon of choice.

New models (the more recent 13 Pro / Pro Max and the 14 Pro / Pro Max) also have a 3x option. This isn’t a lens, but a crop of the primary sensor, meaning the quality can sometimes be comprised a little. This leads nicely onto…

Yes, you can pinch to zoom in and out on your screen. But, no, you definitely shouldn’t do this if you want the best quality results. Zooming in this way, simply crops whichever sensor it’s closest to and simultaneously decreases the image size and quality.

Stick with your 0.5x, 1x and 2x wherever possible, and you’ll find some insane new angles and compositions.

Editing

There are three parts to a decent photograph.

1. Seeing the scene in the first place.
2. Having the right equipment to be able to capture it.
3. And, lastly, of course, editing.

You can edit your photo right on your iPhone without any additional software. Go into Photos, find the image you want to adjust and click Edit.

This inbuilt option is highly convenient. However, it’s not the best long-term option. Dedicated software like Adobe Lightroom will take your images to the next level. It’s a paid subscription, but it’s a worthwhile investment if you decide you’re serious about iPhone photography, it’s a worthwhile investment.

You can use Lightroom directly on your mobile, but I’d highly suggest editing on a desktop, laptop or iPad wherever possible. You’ll gain much more contrail and precision this way.

YouTube is one of the best places to start learning the software. You can follow along with most tutorials and soak up all the inspiration and knowledge.

Over time it’s essential to start developing your own look. A unique style that people will recognise as being yours.

Experiment

Experimentation is all part of the learning process. You’ll struggle to grow as a photographer without experimenting with new ideas, techniques, and styles.

As you become comfortable with one style, think about the next step. Can you capture the same scene in a new and exciting way? Consistency is essential, but so is breaking out of the routine now and again.

Top tip: Put things in the way of you and your subject. Shoot through windows, blinds or old plastic surfaces for pleasing results.

Shot using Apple ProRAW on the iPhone 14 Pro Max – Edited in Lightroom & Photoshop.

Try long exposures

With recent developments and more and more apps becoming available, you can now take long-exposure shots on your iPhone, without a tripod, in the daytime, and without an ND filter. Mind-blowing!

The easiest way to get started is with live mode. This is built into the native camera app already on your iPhone. Look for the two circles at the top right of your screen when you open the camera app. When that’s on, you’re in live mode.

Take your photo of something moving (a waterfall or the sea is an excellent place to start), holding your phone as steady as possible. Head to view the image, and at the top left, where it says LIVE, click the drop-down menu and select Long Exposure.

The iPhone will automatically piece together the series of images it took to create a long exposure.

Additionally, apps such as ReeHeld enable even longer exposures without needing a tripod. If you have a tripod, stick it on there and use an app like ProCam or ReeXpose to capture the highest-quality images.

Share your work

Sharing your work can be a daunting experience, yet some photographers fire their photos out to the world with little regard for quality over quantity.

Finding a middle ground here is the perfect solution. Yes, it can be a little intimidating initially, but go for it. Let your creativity free, and the more unique you can be (as well as your photography), the better.

Choose a few social media platforms (I’d recommend between two and four) and start posting your work for the world to see. Welcome any feedback and consider it a visual tracker of your progress.

It’s always lovely to look back a year and see how far you’ve come as an iPhone photographer.

Accessories

The list of accessories you need for iPhone photography differs from traditional photography. What you need is nothing. What you could do with, though, is a tripod.

This depends on what photography you plan on doing and if you can carry extra gear. For example, a tripod will be helpful for longer exposures if you plan on shooting anything with water involved or at night.

Furthermore, we can have attachable lenses and filters in the accessory aisle. I wouldn’t worry about anything like this as you’re starting out, but as you delve further down the rabbit hole, you may want to look at something like this.

Hold the phone properly

One of the biggest mistakes people make when shooting with their iPhones is not holding the phone properly.

Depending on which hand you’re holding it in, you should have three fingers on the back of the phone, a thumb on the top side (holding horizontally), and a small finger on the bottom.

This technique provides a solid grip, and you can also steady your arm with your spare hand whenever needed.

This will, of course, vary depending on which way you’re holding the phone. So please find a way that a) secures the phone and b) keeps it as steady as possible.

Follow the light

As with all photography, the right light will completely transform an image. The best times of the day are early in the morning or late in the evening. Sunrise, sunset, golden hour, and blue hour are when an otherwise average photo turns into something magical.

As you practice, you’ll notice different results in different conditions. Harsh sunlight, for example, would result in a drastically different result than shooting the same subject on an overcast day.

With time, you’ll most likely find the conditions and times best suited to the photography you want to focus on.

Have fun

Lastly, enjoy the process. Have loads of fun exploring new places, learning a new skill and taking better photos as every week goes by.

iPhone photography is renowned for being one of the most fun and exciting ways to capture images. However, don’t take yourself or your work too seriously to start with, or ever.

Keeping it fun will motivate you to want to practice more, and when you practice more, you have more fun. It’s a never-ending loop of good times.

With your new-found community, you can share your experiences, even if you’re on opposite sides of the earth.

Conclusion

The iPhone photography tips above will give you a decent introduction to your exciting new project or hobby. Then, with consistent practice and ongoing learning, you’ll be blasting out Instagram bangers (yup, even I’m cringing at that one) in no time.

How good you get will depend on how good you want to get. The more you can immerse yourself in the community and truly enjoy going out to take photos, the better your work will become.

Your thirteen pointers to get started are:

1. Settings and formats.
2. Learn the basics of photography.
3. Get out more.
4. Immerse yourself in the photography world.
5. Use all three lenses.
6. Editing.
7. Experiment.
8. Try long exposures.
9. Share your work
10. Accessories.
11. Hold the phone properly.
12. Follow the light
13. Have fun.