Contents:
- Basic iPhone photography tips
- Macro photography tips
- Landscape photography tips
- Food photography tips
- Night photography tips
- Bonus tip: find and remove similar and duplicate photos on iPhone and Mac
Before we start
Every photographer should have these applications on his/her devices. When trying to make the best shot, we usually take multiple photos of the same object. As a result, we have tons of similar photos on the iPhone, but there are only one or a couple of photos that we need. Phone Cleaner will help to clean up these similar photos and leave only the best shots on your iPhone.
Also, if you regularly transfer your iPhone photos to your Mac, you might create duplicate files. With Duplicate File Finder, you can check your Mac for duplicate photos (and duplicates of any type of file) and similar photos and easily remove all unneeded copies.
Both applications are free to use, so download them and clean up your devices from duplicate photos.
Duplicate File Finder
Basic iPhone photography tips
Pay attention to the light
The best times for a good light are mornings and evenings. You might have heard the phrase “golden hour” from photographers. It is the first hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. If you take photos at this time, the colors will be natural, without overexposure and shadows.
If you take photos at another sunny time, first pay attention to the light, check how the light falls on the object you are going to shoot, try taking photos from different angles, and see the difference. Find the best location with the best light and take photos there.
Use the focus and exposure option on iPhone
The new camera on iPhone provides a wide set of features like a professional camera. You can adjust focus and change the exposure while shooting. To specify the focus point, just tap the object on the screen to be in focus. Also, you can lock the focus and disable changes during shooting. For this, tap and hold on the focused object for a while.
To adjust the exposure, you need to tap on the screen and slide your finger up or down to see the exposure changes.
Never zoom
The “never zoom” rule means that you shouldn’t zoom on the iPhone for photos. When you zoom an object by fingers on the screen, you just stretch the images. It is a digital zoom, and it always spoils the photos’ quality. An exception is automatic 2x optical zoom available on iPhone 7 Plus and later. Anyway, if you need to take closer photos, it’s better to come closer to the object.
Wipe the camera lens
This might sound trite, but you’ll be surprised how many times you get blurry photos just because you forgot to wipe the lens. Make your rule to always clean the lens before taking photos. Even if it seems that your lens are clean, if you compare two photos before cleaning the lens and after, you will see the difference between clarity and crystal clarity. Even a tiny difference in your big step will improve your talent in photography.
Use your both hands
If possible, try to hold the phone with your both hands. This will prevent shaking the phone and you will get sharper photos. Another trick for easier balance is to use the volume buttons on wired earphones for taking photos. For the maximum fixation of the picture, you can use a short timer of the iPhone camera.
Use the rule of thirds
Pay attention to the composition. For this, enable showing the grid and use the rule of thirds.
The rule of thirds in photography states that it is better to place the main subjects on the grid lines or their intersections. This will make your photos look better. To activate the grid showing, go to Settings → Camera → Enable the Grid option.
Macro photography tips
Fix iPhone
When it comes to macro photography, the iPhone must remain fixed when you tap to make a shot. It usually takes some time to find the best focus on the object, and it might be disappointing when you finally press the shooting button but iPhone shifts even a millimeter and you don’t get the desired macro photo. To avoid such a situation, you can use a tripod. Another way to prevent shaking your iPhone while shooting is to lean your hands on any firmly standing object, for example, on a wall, stone, or in the case of photographing plants and flowers, on the ground.
Avoid a direct light
IPhone cameras are great, however, they are suited for macro photography, and especially for capturing close-up shots of highly illuminated objects. You should avoid direct light on the object. Just make a shadow over the item you want to shoot, for example, with the palm of your hand or your own body.
Take many pictures
Macro photography requires a lot of practice and patience. If you really want to improve your macro photos-taking skill, be ready to take hundreds of frames and then select the best ones.
Landscape photography tips
Add people to show the scale
It can be difficult to show on a photo how large or small the landscape really is. This is why you should always try to measure using something or someone as a ruler.
People are generally about the same size, so if you see a person in a landscape photo, you can really understand how vast the landscape is.
Find symmetry
This rule is almost the opposite of using the rule of thirds, we expand above. Using symmetry means creating a photo that looks alike on both sides of the frame. Photos can be vertically and horizontally symmetrical. The photo above is horizontally symmetrical as the left and right sides of the photo are almost mirror images of each other. A great example of a symmetrical photo is water, which allows you to capture the reflection of the sky in the water at the bottom of your photo.
Add a foreground
Show the landscape in the background. By adding an item on the foreground, in fact, you can attract more attention to the background landscape. It is a great way to create a sense of depth in landscape photos as it draws the viewer’s attention from the front to the back of the photo.
Food photography tips
Use a neutral background
The background is as important as the food you are going to shoot. If it is too bright, it can attract too much attention, distracting from the food itself. A relatively neutral background will allow you to focus on the food. Note, “neutral background” does not mean that it should be completely simple or monochromatic. You can use any background, just make sure that it only features the composition, and does not suppress it.
Find the right angle
When photographing food, always choose the angle that best represents your composition. Shooting from above is often an ideal angle, especially when the food is beautifully presented on a plate.
Leave enough space
Make sure that you left enough empty space around the plate. You don’t need it to fill the entire photo frame. Often free, clean space makes the food look more attractive and puts more emphasis on what you are shooting.
Night photography tips
Use a tripod
At night, you will need to deal with long exposures. This means that you have to make your iPhone stable. Otherwise, you will end up with blurry photos and unnecessary streaks of light that can ruin your photo. As a rule, you will need it for shutter speeds longer than 1/60 sec.
Use artificial lighting
As we mentioned before, light is the most important thing in photography. Even the best camera for night photography will not be able to take colorful pictures in the dark. Therefore, if you want to take good night shots, try to look for places with sufficient lighting. In this case, you will not have to raise your ISO, as a high ISO makes images grainy. Also, in this case, you can use shorter shutter speeds, which means you do not have to worry about blurry photos.
Use the black and white filter
The main problem with all night photography (not just with smartphones) is the unnatural yellow lighting. Faces are yellow, photographs in color are perceived as sloppy due to color noise. Most importantly, the subject is perceived not as clearly as in monochrome photography. The black and white filter is needed to solve this problem.
Monochrome is also great for night photography, giving it a classic, elegant look. All you need to do is to apply a black and white filter before shooting or during editing.
Bonus tip: find and remove similar and duplicate photos on iPhone and Mac
We provided the tips and tricks that will improve your skills in photography. Making lots of shots is always a good idea meaning that later you can select the best photo. However, you don’t need all these bad shots neither on your iPhone, nor on your Mac. Since photos usually take up a significant space of your storage, we recommend that you clean up your devices from all unneeded photos. We will explain how to do this with free tools from Nektony – Duplicate File Finder and Phone Cleaner for Media Files.
How to clear up similar photos on iPhone:
- Download Phone Cleaner for Media Files to your iPhone.
- Open the Phone Cleaner application.
- Go to the Similar tab.
- View the groups of similar photos. Tap on the Like icon on the best photo in the group. All other photos in the group will be automatically moved to the Trash section.
- Go to the Trash tab and confirm removal of unneeded similar photos.
Also, with Phone Cleaner for Media Files you can view the list of the biggest photos and videos on your iPhone and remove them when you need to quickly free up storage space on your iPhone.
How to find and delete duplicate and similar photos on Mac:
Duplicate File Finder is an application that can easily find and remove duplicate files on Mac. The application supports all types of files extensions. You can find both duplicate and similar images. This is especially important for all users who have tons of photos on a Mac and in the Photo Library. Duplicate File Finder is free to use. The Pro mode provides additional features for organizing duplicate files on Mac, such as merging folders or automatically selecting duplicates in particular folders. The Pro mode costs $19.99 and it’s a one-time purchase.
Here are the steps on how to use Duplicate File Finder:
- Launch Duplicate File Finder.
- Click Find duplicate pictures in the left panel.
- Drag and drop folders or disk you want to scan and click Find Duplicates.
- Select all unneeded duplicate pictures.
- Go to the Similar Media section and select all unneeded similar photos.
- Click the Remove button and confirm the removal.
Conclusion
We shared tips on how you can make better and more interesting photos on your iPhone. We wish you good luck in pursuing this branch of art. Once again we want to remind, that you can easily clean up your iPhone and Mac from unneeded duplicate photos with the help of special tools from Nektony – Duplicate File Finder and Phone Cleaner. Both applications are absolutely free to download and use.
