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Photographs flatten things. That is a fact. That’s why they say, “The camera adds ten pounds.” It is also why your art teacher always wanted you to draw from the still life she had set up instead of a photograph. With this in mind, I present my first iPhone photography tips:

iPhone Photography Tip #1 – Panorama

The panorama setting is great for more than traditional panorama pictures…

If you have a tall feature you want to take a picture of (or with) such as a statue: open your iPhone’s camera > select the Panorama setting > turn your phone sideways and take your picture starting at the bottom of what you want to photograph and then slowly rotate your phone up to capture the rest of the subject.

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This tip is great for photographing:
– Statues
– Trees
– Buildings
– Windmills
– generally anything tall

*NOTE: Do not stand too close to the subject when using this technique… the results will come out more short and squat than you would want (unless that is the look you are going for).

iPhone Photography Tip #2 – Super Zoom

This tip requires binoculars. (And it was easier when iPhones only had one camera.)

Say you want to photograph a bird in a tree or on a fence, or an airplane soaring through the sky…this tip is going to be helpful.

To start use the binoculars to find your subject (make sure you have adjusted the lenses so that your subject is as focused as possible).  After that open your phone’s camera, put the lens on the backside up to one of the eyepieces/oculars and use the view on your phone’s screen to realign the view with your far away subject. The last step is to shoot! (The picture of course!) 

This is a great way to photograph birds because they tend to fly away by the time you get close enough to capture a decent picture.

Photos taken through a binocular eyepiece come out with dark space around the circle of your photo subject.  You can either leave the picture the way it is or use the editing tools to easily crop the negative space out.

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iPhone Photography Tip #3 – Edit

Don’t be afraid to play around with the editing tools that are already built into the phone’s camera.  Editing your picture doesn’t make you a failure or a cheater. Most photos benefit from a little adjustment. The auto edit/magic wand is a good place to start, but don’t be afraid to mess with the contrast, black point, or saturation settings.

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I personally like high contrast photos – my dad who was a professional photographer for years does not. I also love black and white photography.  It all comes down to what you like. With editing you can snap a good photo and then save a copy of it in black in white, with a faded look, with pumped up contrast, or with better definition.

I hope you can benefit from these simple tips. If you experiment with them, please tag me in your Instagram post(s) – I would love to see your pictures!

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