How to Take Better Photos with Your iPhone 6

Apple has recently began showcasing various photos taken with the iPhone 6 on their website as a new ad campaign. Here’s how you can take amazing photos like these with your own iPhone 6.

The iPhone 6 camera is one of the best smartphone cameras on the market, and it takes better photos than most dedicated point-and-shoot cameras, but a good camera alone won’t just magically take awesome photos. The user has to learn a few tips and tricks in order to take better photos with their iPhone 6.

While you may not be the next world-renowned National Geographic photographer, you can still take great photos with your iPhone 6 and show them off to your friends, and it doesn’t take a lot of training or knowledge to go from mediocre photos to great-looking photos when it comes to snapping pics with your iPhone.

Here are a handful of trips and tricks that you can use in order to take better photos with your iPhone 6.

Enable the Grid

The grid feature in the iPhone’s Camera app provides you with two lines horizontally and two lines vertically across the screen. This allows you to utilize the rule of thirds much better by using the four sections where the lines intersect as guidelines.

When framing your shot, the easiest way to get creative is by using the rule of thirds, so instead of framing your subject right in the center of the frame, offset it a little and use those lines as guides. Offsetting the subject provides nice composition and your photos will be more balanced. Furthermore, viewers who see your photo will interact with it more naturally.

Of course, not every photo you take should be governed by the rule of thirds, but having the grid enabled will make it easier to frame shots when you do take a photo that could benefit from the rule of thirds.

Keep the Flash Off

The iPhone 6 comes with an LED flash, and it even comes with True Tone, which is essentially the technology that determines what the color situation is like in the room and your iPhone 6 will decide whether to use a warmer LED flash or a normal LED flash.

However, it’s simply just bad idea to use the flash at any time. The light from it can wash out your subject and make the photo (and your subject) mostly unflattering. Instead, disable the flash completely (use it for something else) and simply just try to use other light sources, which brings us to the next tip.

Take Lighting Into Account

One aspect that can seriously make or break the quality of a photo is lighting. Not enough of it can make your photo look dark and grainy, which is why light is your friend when it comes to taking photos. Of course, you don’t want too much of it, as it can wash out your subject just like the flash would, and you also don’t want your iPhone pointing at a light source, because it will darken the subject and make it hard to see.

However, the built-in exposure settings in the Camera app can help with any tricky lighting situations.

Tapping in the viewfinder will bring up an exposure box and then tapping and holding down on the small sun icon will adjust the exposure by dragging your finger up or down on the screen. You shouldn’t have to do this too often because iOS usually does a good job of getting the exposure right, but it’s great to have when you want custom exposure for your photos.

Use Filters Wisely

The Camera app comes with some great filters that you can add to your photos to give them some extra spice, but use them wisely.

Ideally, you should use filters sparingly, but there are some instances where they can truly improve a photo in order to really make it pop. For example, using the “Chrome” filter while taking photos of the Antelope Canyon in Arizona, I was able to capture vibrant colors of the canyon with my iPhone, something that wouldn’t normally be captured using no filters.

The purpose of filters is to not significantly alter the look of a crappy photo to make it look good, but rather to make an already good photo into a great photo using the appropriate filter. So using the “Chrome” filter is great for taking pics of the desert, while the “Noir” filter can be good for photos on a dreary and rainy day.

Use Camera Accessories When Need Be

There are a ton of iPhone accessories that you can buy, and many of them are aimed at iPhone photography. Use them to your advantage.

Getting a tripod mount for your iPhone 6 can make it easier to steady your shots and prevent blurring, while a lens kit that you attach to your iPhone will provide unique photos like wide-angle shots and even macro photos. We’re big fans of the Olloclip lens kit, but there’s also the ExoLens and the Moment kit, all of which offer great quality.

Adding extra gear to your iPhone 6 to take better photos isn’t necessarily cheating, as we see it as a way to take full advantage of the iPhone 6 camera.