iPhone Photography Tips

Here are some tips Rick mentioned recently that can help you snap great photos with your iPhone.

• Where is the light? Be aware of where the sun or other major light sources (windows, indoor lighting, etc) are in your photo. You should always prefer them to be behind you shining onto the subject (watch your shadow), but it can also work to have the light coming in from the side. Avoid photos directly towards bright light. If the light is overwhelming, you can always tap on the focal point of photo and the phone will automatically adjust the lighting for that area.
• Wings In, Steady Shot. To avoid blurry photos, hold the phone like you would a camera (2 handed) and tuck both your elbows in toward your body to help steady your shot. If you can rest the camera on a stable surface or brace your hands/arms on a stable surface ... even better.
• Create interest. Most amateur photography is boring. Try to think of different ways you can compose the shot to add interest. Move around and get in different positions to find a unique perspective. You can also add interest by placing the subject off-center or only including a fragment of the subject to compose a shot of something familiar in an unfamiliar way.
• Watch the edges. Pay attention to distracting clutter that may be lurking in the edges or background of your photo. It is easy to get so focused on the subject that you miss other things in the photo that can be distracting. After you snap the shot, look at it on your phone with fresh eyes ... trying to see what others would the first time they look at it, and paying special attention to the edges and whatever is directly behind the subject.
• Use HDR in Low Light. Try the iPhone's HDR setting in low light instead of the flash. This essentially allows a greater range between the lightest and darkest areas of a photo (hence the name "High Dynamic Range"), which can help add more definition to photos with difficult lighting.

Here are a few other quick tips from some pros:

• Zoom with your feet. Don’t zoom in with the zoom on the camera, zoom in with your feet. If you want a tighter photo, get closer. Photo quality plummets with just a tiny bit of zooming with images becoming grainy and pixilated.
• Take multiple shots. The great thing about digital photography is it allows for a lot of attempts and a lot of mistakes. You can just take multiple shots of the same thing and inevitably one of them will be vastly better than the others.
• Clean the lens. Because we use our phones all the time ... they can get filthy. Some protective iPhone cases tend to allow dirt to collect more than others. Wipe off the lens occasionally, because there isn't much you can do with a photo covered with dust.
• Post Process. Most great photographers do some type of post-processing edits & touch ups on every single photo they take. You can correct a lot of common issues using a free, simple tool like Google's Picasa to adjust lighting, color temperature/saturation, sharpen a photo, crop out distracting elements, or apply a number of different effects to add interest.