How to Do More with Your iOS 7 Camera

Like any other app in iOS 7, the Camera app has received a big change in the latest update with loads of new features. Sure, you probably have enough knowledge to take a decent photo with your iPhone or iPad, but you may not be using the camera to its full potential.

The features that come with the camera app are pretty simple and straightforward, but not many people use them to their advantage. With just a few tips and tricks, you’ll be able to take better pictures on your iPhone or iPad, even to the point where you might consider getting rid of it and the camera that’s collecting dust in your desk drawer. .

Focus and Exposure

Before you start using all the great features available to you in the iOS 7 camera app, your photos need to look technically correct, meaning the subject must be in focus and the lighting must be correct.

iPhone does a good job of automatically focusing on a subject and usually gets the exposure right so you can clearly see what’s in the picture. However, if you want to focus on a particular subject, all you have to do is tap the screen to change the focus. This will also change the exposure to put emphasis on the subject, so if your subject looks dark in the photo, tap on it to reveal it properly.

Filters

Many people associate filters with Instagram, but now Apple has included them in the iOS 7 camera. Of course, there aren’t many filter options to choose from compared to Instagram, but the basic ones are included. We see filters as a tool to save photos that don’t turn out very well. For example, if the white balance isn’t right or the photo is under or overexposed, you can use a filter to make it look a little better.

To activate a filter, tap the venn diagram icon in the lower right corner and then select the filter you want to apply to the photos you take. If you want to apply a filter to a photo after capturing it, simply go to your Camera Roll and tap the photo, then tap in the upper-right corner. From there, tap the venn diagram icon at the bottom to select and apply a filter.

Grid Lines

One photography rule that even the most novice photographer should know is the Rule of Three. This is where the subject is away from the center of the photo and placed two-thirds of the way to create a more compositionally pleasing image.

The camera on iOS has had the ability to add grid lines for a while, but not many people know about it. We’ve covered the process of how to enable them in the past, but it’s pretty straightforward. Just open the app and tap on it. From there, tap the toggle switch next to it to enable the gridlines. These allow you to place topics better and follow the Rule of Thirds smoothly.

HDR

If you’re in a situation where you’re trying to take a landscape photo, but the sun is so bright the camera is going crazy and it doesn’t show dark areas very well, HDR is your friend. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and this basically means that the camera will take multiple photos at different exposures and combine them to properly expose every area in the photo so you can see everything.

iOS 7 has an HDR mode that makes it extremely easy to take such photos. At the top of the camera app is a small . Tapping this toggles the HDR mode. When enabled, it will say in yellow letters.

When you take a photo, two copies are saved, one HDR photo and one regular photo.

LED light

Your iPhone has an LED flash on it, but it’s best not to use it unless you really need it. It erases your subject and keeps your photos from looking appealing overall. Of course, if you just need to take a casual photo of something dimly lit, then by all means run that LED flash, but if you’re at a party and want to take great pictures of your friends having fun, keep the flash off as much as possible.

If you have an iPhone 5s, the flash is better than previous iPhone models because it basically comes with two different LEDs with different color temperatures to more accurately illuminate the subject based on the current color temperature of the environment, but you’ll still get the photos deleted most of the time, so walk lightly.