Camera

The iPhone's camera is such a handy and versitile tool that I find myself favoring it even when I've got expensive photography equipment gathering dust in my office. Setting the exposure is as easy as tapping on the point in the image you want to meter, tapping the sun icon that appears next to that point to reveal the brightness slider, and then dragging the brightness slider up or down. That way you can make the darks a little darker or the lights a little lighter, and create the image you want every time. The Camera app doesn't give you exposure settings in f-stops, or let you adjust aperature or shutter speed directly. For that you'll need a third party app. However, it does let you adjust which part of the frame the auto-exposure meters quickly and easily. Here's how to do it.

While some people consider their iPhone a camera first and a communication device second, not everyone has embraced iPhone photography. If that's you and you want to get started using your iPhone camera, you've come to the right place. Whether you're taking a photo of a pet, sunset, or yourself, your iPhone can be used as a point-and-shoot (in this case, point-and-tap) camera. And once you've mastered the steps below, check out this more advanced article on How to Shoot Clearer, Better Photos on Your iPhone.

FaceTime video calls automatically use the front view camera. Here's how to flip the camera from front to rear view during a FaceTime call. It's helpful for showing the other person a quick house tour, the odd sleeping position your cat is in, or anything that's not directly next to you. 

When you're taking photos with your iPhone, sometimes you have to finagle your phone a bit to get the right shot by tilting it or holding it on its side to use the volume buttons to snap a picture. But while the photos usually appear right-side up in the iPhone's Photos app regardless of how you were holding the phone when you snapped the picture, sometimes they don't. And sometimes the photos appear upside down when you're trying to upload the photos to your computer or when you send them in an email. Here's how to fix upside-down photos on your iPhone.

Typical vintage filters for photos slap on a yellow tint and call it a day. VSCO, a photography app that doubles as a photo editor, imitates analog camera settings to make your images look like natural film photos. The app also offers VSCO X, a yearly subscription that bulks up the app to include over 100 filters and tools to edit your photos to look like professional pieces.

Did you know you can use your iPhone's volume buttons to snap photos? Learning how to get the best angle for a photo on an iPhone can be tricky. Using the iPhone volume buttons can make it easier to take a picture when holding the iPhone at an awkward angle. Here's a quick tip on how to take a photo with your iPhone's volume buttons.

FaceTime, the Apple live video chat app, is a fun way to connect with friends and family when hearing their voice just isn't enough. Now FaceTime is getting even better with a new filter feature in iOS 12. There are lots of filters to choose from, so you'll always find something to fit your mood: a cartoon filter, a few black and white choices, and much more. Let's get started learning how to use FaceTime filters on iPhone or iPad. 

iOS 12 has added tons of helpful and fun new features to your iPhone's software, one of my favorite new ones is the ability to add cool effects and Animojis (and Memojis!) while taking a picture or video in the Messages app.

If you have an iPhone X, iPhone XS, or an iPhone 7 Plus or 8 Plus with 2x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom, you can easily select the exact amount of zoom you'd like to use with each shot with the zoom slider. This is a really fun iPhone photography feature to play around with, so let's get started learning how to use the zoom slider to catch all the detail you've been aiming for in your pictures. 

If you're into iPhone photography and filming, there will come a time when you feel the need to start investing in accessories to improve your results. One of the most basic yet helpful extras you can buy is an iPhone tripod. A phone tripod can help you get your best shots by stabilizing your iPhone, thereby eliminating unwanted movement and jiggling while you film or live stream. A tripod is also very handy when the time comes for a selfie or group shot where you'd like to include everyone. Whether you have the newest iPhone or an older version like the iPhone 6, iPhone 7, or iPhone 7 plus, there's a tripod out there that will help you take your filming and photography to the next level. Let's get started learning about three of my recommendations for your upcoming purchase. 

One of my favorite features of the iPhone is the Camera, as well as the Photos app. Before purchasing my first iPhone I didn't take too many photographs at all; it was just too inconvenient to tote around a camera and then upload the photos to my desktop. Now that I've had an iPhone for several years, it's time to learn some photography tips so I can fully utilize my smartphone to take great pictures, or at least good ones! But how to take good pictures on my iPhone when I've never been much of a photographer? Luckily Apple shares lots of photography tips and tricks, and here's one I want to pass on to you; how to take an overhead shot on your iPhone. Let's get started! 

The iPad mini 5; to be released, or not to be released, that is the question. I'd already come to my own conclusion about Apple's iPad mini line; I felt that with the advent of larger displays on iPhones, plus the less expensive 2018 iPad that was released earlier this year, iPad minis will be discontinued. It turns out that the Apple fans who vehemently disagree with me were correct, though; the iPad mini 5 was just announced! Below are the ideas we had about features to expect if and when the latest in the mini 5 was released, including release date and features might we expect to see in a new version of the iPad mini. Finally, we wondered how much the latest iPad mini would cost. Let's get started discussing the iPad mini 5 rumors, then you can compare them to the newly-released tablet and see how close we were to accuracy! 

In a previous tip we went over how to make a slow-motion video with the Slo-mo feature of your iPhone's native camera app; in this tip, we'll learn how to edit your Slo-mo video. After you’ve taken your video, you can edit it to choose at which point you want the slow motion to begin and end. Let's get started learning how to edit slow-motion videos on the iPhone. 

One of my very favorite iPhone features is a simple one, the camera! It's convenient and fun to have a camera in my pocket all the time, and to be able edit my photos right on my iPhone for the best results. Recently I learned that it's possible to use compatible third-party camera and photo-editing apps as an extension, right from my Photos app. And while many of the best photo-editing apps cost money, there are lots of free photo-editor apps with Photos extensions to choose from as well. Let's get started learning how to enable a third-part photo-editor app extension, so you can have as much fun with iPhone photography as I am. 

Great news, everybody; iOS 12 has been announced at WWDC 2018, and it's bringing performance improvements across the board. These benefits will extend not just to the latest iPhone models, but also to every older iPhone that can be updated to the new operating system as well. This means that things are about to get a lot quicker and smoother for the iPhone 5s and later. From animations, to app launch, to Camera, to keyboard display, if you need your iPhone to perform better, the release of iOS 12 is just the boost your device needs. Let's get started talking about the latest iPhone update, and how it's going to make your iPhone faster! 

Sometimes you get the perfect shot on your iPhone, but you'd like to crop the photo so the focus is on the main subject. If you're wondering how to crop a picture on iPhone, there's a quick and easy way to accomplish this without adjusting the crop box manually. 

Portrait Mode is a feature on the iPhone 7 Plus, 8 Plus, X, XR, XS, and XS Max that gives photos a professional look by blurring the background (known as the bokeh effect). While Portrait Mode on the iPhone is a software version of what DSLR camera lenses can do, it works pretty well most of the time. But perhaps you took a photo in Portrait Mode that didn’t turn out so well. You can turn off Portrait Mode after taking the photo since it is just a software feature. Here’s how to turn off Portrait Mode after taking a photo on the iPhone.

While older models of iPhone had you swipe left on the Lock screen to open the iPhone Camera, things changed when Apple got rid of the Home button. When looking at the Lock screen on your iPhone XS, you’ll see two icons on either side near the bottom: a camera and a flashlight. Having quick access to the Camera app and Flashlight on your iPhone XS is a great feature that utilizes some of your extra screen space. But how do you open the Camera app or turn on the flashlight from Lock screen? Your instinct may be to tap each icon, but you’ll need to make it a 3D Touch. Here’s how to access the flashlight and camera from the Lock screen on your iPhone XS.

The camera roll on my iPhone is jam packed with pictures of my dogs—there's just something about those fuzzy faces that demands to be adored and photographed so that the pictures can be adored as well. Then of course there's the sharing; #instadog #socute #sorryyouguysicantrestrainmyself. I've been known to take dog photos with Instagram, share them to Facebook, then text and private message them to friends and family that really must see the latest iteration of canine cuteness right away. Therefore it is with great delight that I announce the discovery of my new favorite app, BarkCam, the "Instagram for Dogs." 

We've already gone over how to sign up for Instagram on your iPhone, how to create a second Instagram account, and even how to deactivate your Instagram account if you need a break, but there's one more thing we need to go over. A major frustration for Instagram users has been the inability to download Instagram on their iPads. After all, it would be great to edit photos or watch a video on a larger screen, to switch back and forth between watching a movie on the iPad and checking Instagram notifications, and to just have another option for using the app. In the past, you needed to use workarounds to download and install Instagram on your tablet, but now there's an official iPad version of Instagram. Unfortunately, the official version is tiny; it doesn't fill the iPad screen and leaves a large, black frame around the app. Don't worry, though, we'll go over a trick you can use to get fullscreen Instagram on your iPad