Mobile phones with incorporated photo cameras are nothing new. Quite the contrary, where once you had to try and find a phone that had a camera, now it’s almost impossible to get one without. There’s no need to present the iPhone or the mention that its introduction has revolutionized the meaning of the word “smartphone” or “touchscreen”. iPhone users can praise their device for good camera pictures but do they reall respect some basic laws of taking pictures?
Anyone can just go out and take some nice pictures, without having to lug a big, uncomfortable camera around.
But how many of us know how to take pictures with the iPhone? Let’s admit, we Just point and shoot. Right, but if you mind a few key aspects, your pictures are bound to come out even better than maybe you would have expected. Here’s a few pointers.
Know and accept the limitations of your camera
While they have come a long way since the first mobile phone cameras, today’s iPhone is still a far cry from dedicated digital cameras. It does offer simplicity and comfort in use, but exchange that for low capabilities, like low resolution, no optical zoom, no stabilization, low ISO range and so on. One solution would be to rely more on good natural conditions rather than the camera capability. Look for a lot of natural light, good colours and steady objects.
If you are aware of the limitations of your mobile camera and accept them, you’ll be well on your way to taking great pics. Maybe the next iPhone will have an impressive 8MP camera with top quality sensors, who knows?

Keep the camera steady
When taking pictures, any pictures, one of the most important aspects to take into account is camera stability. This point is even more important when using a mobile phone camera, which does not come with its own stabilizer, either digital or optic.
So, if you want to take the best pictures, try to keep as steady as possible, stick your elbows onto something fixed, like a fence, railing, car or even your own body. Also, hang on to your iPhone with both hands, just like you would a normal camera. You could also try holding your breath while taking the picture. Last, but not least, gently press the shutter button, instead of stabbing at it.

Keep the zoom use to a minimum
Most mobile phone cameras only have digital zoom, which is basically just another word for cropping and iPhone’s camera is no exclusion. It gives you nothing more than a cut, “pixelated” version of the full picture. Macro features are therefore a long way away.
So, instead of using the zoom function, try to actually get closer to your subject. Get as close as you need (or can) to take the best picture. And not just extend your hands, it’s best to actually walk over there.

Mind the background
Another point to take into consideration is the fact that iPhone’s camera lacks advanced focus settings. This leads to pictures with the same focus on both close objects and the background.
Therefore, try to mind the background and keep it simple, if you want to emphasize the closer subject. You might want to keep away from things like trees. Having all the leaves well focused, just like your buddy posing in front of them might create a not-so interesting picture.

Take more than one picture
Here’s a pointer from the specialists. Try to take several pictures, don’t just point and shoot one. Professionals take hundreds of pictures in photo shoots, just to choose a couple of them.
Bear in mind that a normal mobile phone picture is somewhere in the 500 kb range and with phones now being able to manage memory cards up to 32 GB, there’s plenty of space to fill.
When you get home, download them onto your computer and have a quick look over them. Most might not have come out just the way you wanted, but if there’s tons to choose from, chances are you will come across a few that you will just love.

Use apps and/or Photoshop
If you aren’t satisfied with the way your iPhone takes pictures, you can always use software to enhance them. Whether go to AppStore and download some directly to your iPhone to help you while you’re taking the actual pictures, or use something like Photoshop to tweak them after you’ve downloaded them to your computer. Either way, using software to enhance pictures is an almost sure way to get them from “good” to “great”.
Just please bear in mind that the most important element in picture taking is the photographer himself. Don’t just rely on equipment and software to do the job for you, but rather try to make yourself the best photographer you can be.
Radu Tyrsina is a known tech blogger in the past 3 years, writing for top websites in the industry. He thinks technology will help humans evolve and will change the society as we know it today. When he’s not obsessed with his futurustic dreams, he’s busy writing for NextiPhoneNews, covering buzzing information on the ever upcoming iPhone.