Mastering Mobile Photography: Improving Picture Clarity on iPhones and iPads

The iPad camera gets better with each new model. Still, it isn’t a full-featured camera capable of taking every shot. While the device’s huge screen can make it easier to snap a fantastic photo, the camera lags behind the one found in the iPhone.

To take advantage of your mobile device without sacrificing quality, improve your camera and the photos you take with these suggestions.

Instructions in this article apply generally to models running iOS 12 and iPadOS 14 and later.

Improve Your Photos Through Settings

Some newer iPads and iPhones contain an Auto HDR or Smart HDR setting that you select to automatically take every photo with this feature. This setting tells the iPhone or iPad to snap multiple photos and merge them to create a high dynamic range (HDR) photograph.

TurnAuto HDR orSmart HDR (depending on your iOS or iPadOS version) on or off inSettings >Camera .

In older iPads and iPhones, there isn’t an automatic setting for HDR. Instead, you manually turn on HDR in the Camera app when you want to use it.

1. Open theCamera app.
   
2. TapHDR .
   
3. When HDR is on, HDR appears at the top of the screen.
   
4. HDR automatically runs whenever you take a photo as long as HDR is displayed at the top of the screen. Use your camera as usual.

Edit Photos With the Camera App

The Camera app has built-in filters that can bring out the best in an image.

After snapping a photo, a small thumbnail of the picture appears to the right or below the large circular snap button, depending on if the iPad is in landscape or portrait mode.

Tap this thumbnail to view the photo full-screen, then tapEdit .

Use the editing tools to make changes and enhance a photo.

Depending on your iPad model, these tools all appear on the right side of the image or are split to appear on both sides of the image.

• TheMagic Wand analyzes a photo and adjusts lighting and color contrast.
• TheCrop tool removes unwanted portions of a photo and can be used to rotate the image.
• TheFilters tools apply filters to a photo that change the brightness, saturation, and color contrast, which can have a dramatic effect on your photo. You canadd third-party filters through the App Store .
• TheDial tool gives you manual control over lighting and color.

When you finish making changes, tapDone to save the image.

Use Live Photos to Improve Your Photography

Live Photos are small video clips the phone captures when you take a photograph on a newer iPhone or iPad. Along with creating moving pictures, you can choose a main photograph from the video to fix defects like an awkward facial expression, a blink of the eyes, or a just-missed shot.

The Live Photos function is available on iPhones 6S and later and 9.7-inch iPad Pros and later, running iOS 9 or newer.

Here’s how to choose a new image from a Live Photo:

1. Take a Live Photo (or select one from the Photos app) and then tapEdit .
2. When editing a Live Photo, the bottom of the screen shows every frame the camera captured. Tap individual slides to preview the image.
   
3. TapMake Key Photo to choose a frame.

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4. TapDone to finalize your choice.

Buy an External Lens

An external lens can do more than adjust the camera settings. It can increase magnification and take specialty shots such as wide-angle. A lens also boosts functionality on an older device by improving the camera without the extra cost of a new smartphone or tablet.

A good source for camera peripherals for iPad and iPhone isiOgrapher . This company makes lenses that work with a specially designed case that supports different interchangeable lenses to get the perfect shot. You can use the same lenses for both iPad and iPhone as long as both devices have an iOgrapher case.

Another good source for iPad camera lens and accessories isB&H Foto & Electronics , and an Amazon search yields several compatible lenses as well.

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