Photo How To

As much as some Shutterbug readers consider it blasphemy to shoot “serious” images with an iPhone, it’s difficult to deny that—when used properly—today’s sophisticated smartphones are capable of making truly superb photographs. In the detailed video below, you’ll learn everything you need to know to do that yourself.

This comprehensive tutorial is from our friends at the Tony & Chelsea Northrup YouTube channel—a great source of instructional tutorials with over 1.5 million subscribers. The goal of his comprehensive episode is to help you get the most out of all recent iPhones, including the iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12, and iPhone SE.

As Tony Northrup says, ”The iPhone is an incredibly powerful tool for still photography and video.” Of course that’s only if you understand how to set it up properly and take advantage of all its sophisticated features.

This episode is longer that most, and covers a lot of ground, so have pen and paper handy to jot down some notes. Northrup covers key camera settings, as well as how to customize an iPhone so everything you need is at your fingertips. He begins with simple tips for quickly opening the camera with double-taps or triple-taps. You’ll also to see how to use volume buttons as a shutter release.

After some basic advice for shooting stills and video, Northrup moves on to more advanced techniques like focusing and exposure compensation, long-exposure photography, panoramas, and bokeh control.

Northrup also discusses nighttime photography, the advantages of manual mode, video resolution and frame rate, Raw capture, and much more.  He even has some advice for shooting with an iPhone underwater. And if you also own an Apple Watch, you’ll see how that fits into the equation.

So the next time you leave home without a “real” camera, and come upon an interesting scene, just pull the iPhone out of your pocket and fire away!

After watching this video, head over to the Tony & Chelsea YouTube channel, where you’ll find a variety of great photography advice.