As Christmas approaches and lights, trees, displays and all kinds of festive activities (including snow in the UK!) start showing up, you might be tempted to capture the moment with your phone. Android phones) are decent compact cameras, but capturing the perfect winter shot involves more than just pointing and shooting.
From framing to camera modes, there are plenty of ways to make even the most average snaps look professional. Whether you’re taking pictures of your Christmas tree, snowy landscapes in the park, or your family in matching Christmas jumpers as you step into Turkey on your big day, these 12 tips are great. help.
Without further ado, here’s how to get the most out of your iPhone’s camera this Christmas. This includes tips and tricks from Tech Advisor’s resident professional, his photographer, Dominik Tomaszewski.
In summary
- clean camera lens
- Frame your shots well
- Tell a story with shots
- remove distractions
- Use a telephoto lens whenever possible
- Disable built-in flash
- use night mode at night
- try burst mode
- Use Pro shooting mode or third-party apps
- Shoot in RAW
- edit photo
1. Clean your phone lens
Sometimes you want a soft focus effect, but it’s a good idea to check and clean your camera lens before taking a photo, not just for Christmas photos. Make sure your pockets and bags are free of dirt, dust, and other debris.
Especially if there are large fingerprints on the lens, it can greatly affect the quality of the captured image.
2. Framing the shot
Framing is one of the most important elements, and more difficult than you might think. Consider the subject of your photo, such as a Christmas tree, lights, or people in festive jumpers.
When taking a group family photo, stand far enough away (or use an ultra-wide angle lens) so that people’s feet aren’t clipped from the photo. Or, raise your hips and approach for a shot.
If you’re only shooting one or two people, they look better off-center.
Also consider the background. Too busy and distracted? Move it around until the background looks good. Doing this also allows you to remove unwanted objects from your photos. Some phones can remove objects and people adeptly, but it’s a good idea to take the shot you want first.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
The same goes for trimming. Don’t take all your photos wide-angle with the intention of cropping them later. When taking pictures, be sure to frame them correctly.
pro tips: Take shots from the chest or hips. Taking pictures from head height using the main wide-angle lens of your phone often distorts objects slightly, especially when photographing other people. You might not notice it because you’re used to it, but changing the hip/waist height can make a big difference to the look of your Christmas photo.
3. Tell a story with shots
A photo can exist alone, but at Christmas you will probably have multiple shots. You can also shoot.
The idea is to look for interesting details, such as taking pictures of someone helping set up a party, or picking up food at a buffet. helps.
Ideally, mute your phone, turn off the shutter sound, and take a photo without telling anyone. This eliminates the problem of awkward poses by people who know they are being photographed. A candid look is much more natural, and perhaps your friends and family will really appreciate the results.
4. Remove distractions
Want to take the perfect shot of a Christmas tree decorated with LEDs and share it with your friends on social media? Remove background stuff that might distract from the main focus of the shot.
It could be a corner of the couch, a person or pet standing in the background, or a plate of leftovers on a nearby counter. increase.
5. Use a telephoto lens whenever possible
The main cameras of modern mobile phones, including all iPhones, are designed for shooting in both bright day and low light conditions. But if there’s one potential drawback, it’s the wide-angle field of view, which isn’t ideal for every shot.
For portraits and other close-ups, use your phone’s telephoto lens (if equipped). Instead of capturing a lot of what you don’t want to focus on, use his dedicated 2x or 3x lens if possible to zoom in and crop the shot. This can reduce overall image quality as many telephoto cameras have lower resolution than the main camera or do not perform well in low light and can result in noisy and blurry photos Please note in particular.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
6. Disable built-in flash
Whether you’re taking pictures of your loved ones or taking pictures of the snow outside, it’s a good idea to disable the flash. While it can be useful in some situations, flash light is always evident in photos and rarely results in a true-to-life image.
If your shot needs some sort of fill light to add extra light to the scene, consider using another phone torch, a real torch, or turning on more lights please give me.
7. Use Night Mode When Possible
If using the flashlight doesn’t work, switch to iPhone’s built-in Night mode, available on iPhone 11 and later. This is very good on the latest iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro series, but is also found on many Android phones.
As the name suggests, night mode is suitable for shooting in dark places. This makes it ideal for photographing snow and other outdoor features at night, capturing as much light as possible with long shutter speeds.
Jim Martin / Foundry
Pro tip: Use a tripod or put your phone on a hard surface. Not only does this reduce camera shake when taking long exposure shots, but it also allows you to capture more light. The iPhone, in particular, allows up to 30 seconds of exposure on a steady surface, whereas hand-held he’s 3 seconds.
A short self-timer can also be enabled to trigger the capture, as tapping the screen can introduce a slight wobble to the shot.
8. Try Burst Mode
The problem with flashing LED lights on Christmas trees and outdoor decorations is that they change too quickly to get the perfect shot. The same goes for group shots. It seems nearly impossible to have everyone looking at the camera and smiling at the same time.
In such scenarios, we recommend trying burst mode, which takes multiple images per second and automatically selects the best one. However, you can also browse and select your favorites manually.
How you enable burst mode on your iPhone depends on your model. For iPhone X and earlier, just tap and hold the Shutter button, but for iPhone XS and later, you need to swipe left and hold the Shutter button.
To check the burst image, tap the burst image in the Photos app and tap[選択]to browse and select the main image. You can also discard all other burst images that you have selected, thus reducing file size.
Some Android phones have a similar mode that automatically selects the “best” image.
Jim Martin / Foundry
9. Use Pro shooting mode or third-party apps
If you’re shooting in low light or other difficult lighting conditions, it’s a good idea to ditch your phone’s built-in “AI” and use Pro mode to manually adjust camera settings.
Tap the arrow at the top of the Camera UI to access the Pro Tools in your iPhone’s built-in camera app. You’ll see some icons that let you adjust elements like exposure, but we recommend using a third-party app like Halide. If you are serious about photography.
Third-party apps give you more control over factors like ISO, so you can capture the best possible image from your iPhone. If you’re new to the world of photography, you’ll have to experiment a bit, but the results are usually worth it.
10. Shoot in RAW
If you want to capture the best Christmas image possible, shooting in RAW image format is recommended.
Available on some Pro iPhone models, the RAW image format allows you to capture more data, making it especially suitable for post-processing in dark areas. Standard shots can lose detail in shadows and highlights, but these can be restored with RAW shots and post-processing with the Photos app.
Lewis Painter / Foundry
You may find that some Android phones do the same, but not all can shoot in RAW.
Do not go that too But it’s wild with RAW images. It takes up much more space than standard JPG or HEIC files. Save it for that special shot that really needs to look its best.
11. Edit photos
All phones do their best to automatically process images to make them look appealing, but usually a little editing can improve this and make them really pop.
It can be anything from adding filters (the iPhone’s Vivid filter brightens colors and makes light stand out) to adjusting exposure, brightness, and other factors to give an image a specific look. You can also add a black and white filter to your snowscape for a striking effect.
Lewis Painter / Foundry
You can also use the Google Photos app, which offers a similar set of editing tools for both iPhone and Android. You can go further and adjust specific parts of the photo in other apps like the free Snapseed, or you can transfer it completely to your Mac or PC and edit it in Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop.
12. Take a power bank
If you’re heading out in the cold to take photos of the local Christmas lights, we recommend packing up (of course!) and carrying a power bank.
The cold weather that most of us experience at Christmas can have a negative impact on your smartphone’s battery life, and it can drain your battery faster than usual, especially if you’re using the camera app a lot.
A power bank can provide extra juice if needed. They can’t be too bulky or heavy, depending on how much space you need.
