You don't need a professional camera to get Insta-worthy shots. You've got an incredible camera in your pocket; you just need to unlock some of its features. If you use these simple hacks, your photos will look like you hired a professional.
Turn on The Grid
If you want proper photo composition, using the the grid on your camera is essential. Whenever you line up your photos, you want to consider The Rule of Thirds. The Rule of Thirds is imaging splitting up your photo into thirds both vertically and horizontally. The grid really helps amateur photographers achieve this rule. An easy way to think of it is to make sure that your head is in the top center square, your torso is in the middle center square, and your feet are in the bottom center square. Voilá - The Rule of Thirds.
Take Advantage of Live Photos
Taking pictures with the Live Photos feature activated gives you the ability to pick apart shots you love frame by frame. Live photos allows you to pick from 3 seconds worth of frames to grab the perfect shot. This feature is especially great if you have a less than skilled significant other taking your Instagram pictures for you ... Always use Live Photos - we cannot stress this enough.
Use the Yellow Focus Square
Ever have a hard time getting your camera to focus on the subject of your photo? Well, the iPhone camera has a tool to fix that. Tap where you want to pull focus, and a small yellow box with a yellow sun graphic next to it will pop up on the screen. The tap pulls the camera's focus to the subject instantly.
Underexpose Your Camera
Often when you sit down to edit your photos, the exposure is already too bright for your filters or edits - leaving you stuck with a washed out photo. Remember the yellow focus square from earlier? Now we're going to use the yellow sun graphic beside it. If you pull the yellow sun up, the exposure will turn up (center photo). Likewise, if you pull the sun down, your exposure will go down (right photo). Try taking pictures with your camera underexposed to have an easier time when you get to the editing stage.
Try Out Portrait Mode
Portrait Mode is one of the easiest tools to use to get your photos looking professional quality with minimal effort. Portrait Mode is especially great when you have a ton of natural light to work with. Portrait Mode also comes with several unique settings like natural light, studio light, contour light, and stage light. Seriously, if you've never played around with the Portrait Mode option on your iPhone camera, your life is about to be changed.
Now take that expensive camera out of your Amazon shopping cart, and start practicing with your iPhone camera. With these new tips, we know your Instagram feed is going to be looking fierce.
