11 iPhone Photography Mistakes That You Make (How to Fix Them)

iPhones are well known for their stunning camera quality and cool filters. But unfortunately, you are unable to click a perfect picture with your iPhone despite all your efforts.

In that case, you must be making some silly iPhone photography mistakes. To get a stunning shot on your iPhone, you need to know how to use all the awesome iOS camera features and click the best snap.

Usually, people make some common iPhone photography mistakes, leading to poor image quality. So, let’s see a few common iPhone photography mistakes and how to fix them.

11 Common iPhone Photography Mistakes & How to Fix Them

Do you want to capture an Instagram-worthy shot on your iPhone? Then, ensure you are not making these iPhone photography mistakes:

Mistake 1. Disable the Night Mode

Night Mode automatically activates when the algorithm detects that you are shooting in low light. However, implementing the Night Mode toggle in the Camera app leaves much desired.

We’ve seen similar situations, and the issue is that Night Mode uses a long exposure time, depending on your lighting conditions. People unaware of this simply press the shutter button and lower their phone, resulting in a blurry image.

To avoid this, ensure the Camera’s yellow Night Mode icon is turned off. Then, go to Settings Camera Preserve Settings and toggle the switch next to “Night Mode” to the ON position to make the app remember this setting.

Mistake 2. Not Using the Portrait Mode

When photographing someone, a common mistake is not using Portrait Mode, which uses your iPhone’s telephoto camera and depth data to create flattering portraits. Instead of portrait photography, most people capture their subjects in Photo Mode, which lacks the depth-of-field effect.

We advise you always to take a couple of portrait shots when photographing a person in Photo Mode. In addition, when shooting in Portrait Mode, instruct the subject to remain completely still and use flash, even if it is daylight.

When there isn’t enough light, avoid using Portrait Mode because the telephoto camera struggles. RAW enthusiasts know that images captured in Portrait Mode do not support the RAW format.

Mistake 3. Using Flash While Capturing Moving Objects

Another common iPhone photography mistake is using flash when photographing fast-moving subjects such as people running around, a person jumping, your cat catching laser dots, and so on. The Camera app fires the flash several times quickly to adjust the flash required to adequately illuminate the scene before taking the shot.

Although pre-flash calculations take time, the scene has already changed. So, what did we learn today? First, if you’re trying to photograph a fast-moving subject, such as a car, avoid using flash, or you’ll get some strange-looking results.

Mistake 4. Not Using Photo Compositions

Poor photo composition can easily ruin your shot, so you should learn the art of photo composition. Unfortunately, many people take photos without properly framing the shot, believing that applying edits like crops will fix any framing issues. On the other hand, smart people who are serious about photography shoot as much as possible in-camera.

This entails using the Rule of Thirds and activating the grid (Settings > Camera > Grid) to help frame the image.

The grid can even assist you in making your photos more interesting. For example, rather than placing the subject in the center of the image, place their head at an intersection of grid lines.

Mistake 5. Using Zoom a Lot

The Camera app’s design makes it difficult to tell whether you’re zooming optically or digitally. iPhones have optical zoom capabilities of up to 3x. After that, the image is digitally enlarged, which causes blurriness.

To avoid this, approach your subject as closely as possible before taking the shot. You’ll end up with a detailed, crisp image in which the subject fills the frame, and every detail is visible.

Mistake 6. Not Having a Subject in Focus

When you’ve decided on your main subject, it must appear in sharp focus. Rather than letting the camera’s autofocus determine which part of the scene to focus on, you should always take control and manually set the focus.

Fortunately, the native iPhone camera app simplifies focusing. Simply tap where your subject is on the screen to take the photo.

Mistake 7. Incorrect Exposure

Our eyes are very good at distinguishing between very dark and bright subjects. However, digital cameras have a limited range of darkness/brightness that can be captured simultaneously.

The iPhone camera analyses the scene and determines the best exposure to capture the mixture of dark and light areas. Unfortunately, this invariably means that detail in either or both extremes (the darkest and lightest areas) may be lost.

If the camera does not correctly expose the image, you may end up with an image that is under-exposed (too dark) or over-exposed (too bright).

You must control and adjust the exposure to ensure the photo is properly exposed. The iPhone’s native camera app makes adjusting exposure very simple.

After you’ve tapped to focus on the main subject, you can access the exposure slider by swiping up or down on the screen. Swiping up brightens the image while swiping down darkens it.

Mistake 8. Camera Shake

Even if you tap to focus on your subject, moving your iPhone (even slightly) while pressing the shutter button can lead to a blurry photo. This is known as “camera shake,” resulting in a completely blurred image.

Camera shake is more common in low-light conditions and at night.

Why? Because the iPhone requires a slower shutter speed to allow enough light in for proper exposure. The image will be blurred if your camera moves during this long exposure time.

You can prevent camera shaking in a variety of ways. Of course, the obvious method is to keep the iPhone as still as possible while taking photos.

Of course, an iPhone tripod is the best tool for keeping your camera still. If you don’t have one, you can make do by resting your iPhone on top of a wall, fence, car roof, or any other solid surface.

Hold it against a wall, window, lamppost, signpost, or any other stable object to keep the phone steady.

If you must hand-hold the iPhone without any support, resist the urge to hold it at arm’s length, it can make it difficult to hold steady.

Bring your elbows down onto your stomach (or legs if sitting) and bring the iPhone closer to your body. Before shooting, keep your breathing steady.

You can reduce camera shake by pressuring the camera to use a faster shutter speed, such as:

The first approach is to add more light to the scene. For example, if shooting indoors, you could turn on a light or shoot in direct sunlight rather than shade.

The second approach you could take is to reduce the exposure manually.

Reduced exposure tells the camera to use a faster shutter speed. So if it doesn’t completely underexpose your photo, it is worth a shot.

Of course, camera shake and blur can be used intentionally for artistic purposes. It can help to move the camera deliberately while taking the photo.

Mistake 9. Clear Your Background

Sometimes we are so concentrated on our main subject that we forget to examine if the background is appropriate. As a result, we only discover the background destroys the photo when we examine it more closely later.

Perhaps there is a discarded plastic bottle on the ground, dirty marks on the wall behind the subject, a lamppost coming from the top of someone’s head, a person walking into the shot behind your subject, and so on.

Taking a moment to study the background before clicking the shutter button will improve your photographs significantly. It allows you to remove distracting things, refocus your photo slightly, shoot from a different angle, transfer your subject to a better backdrop location, and use Portrait Mode.

Mistake 10. Abusing Vintage Filter

Many people employ vintage filters in the hope of improving their ordinary images by giving them a vintage vibe. So, what makes a typical fake-vintage photo superior to a typical shot? Of course, these filters are frequently so powerful that they result in over-editing.

That being said, there is the right time to use a retro aesthetic, but only if it is congruent with the photo’s message. Vintage effects, when done correctly, can create a sense of timelessness to a photograph and improve its message.

Mistake 11. Over Editing

This one is massive. We often see people over-editing images to the point where they just look horrible all the time. Just because you have excellent photo editing tools at your fingertips does not mean you should always utilize them. This is especially true for filter programs, which often have such powerful changes that they almost always appear horrible.

We believe the last two iPhone photography mistakes are a big reason why so many people over-edit. As we previously stated, no editing can turn a bad shot into a good one, but if you attempt, you’ll most likely wind up with a terribly over-edited photo.

Conclusion

There you go, iPhone users. We shared the common iPhone photography mistakes that are ruining your photo quality. So, mind them, and click the award-winning shot with your powerful iPhone camera.

You can also share your iPhone camera-related troubles in the comments. Meanwhile, do check other iOS guides here.