10 Camera Hacks Every IPhone User Should Know.
As the old saying goes, the best camera is the one you have with you. People will argue about which smartphone has the most impressive camera specs or whether it’s worth buying a separate DSLR for more professional shots, but if you have an iPhone, it’s undoubtedly your most reliable camera. It’s always with you; it takes great photos right out of the box; and it’s easy to store and share your results. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make it better.
Over the years, I’ve tweaked my iPhone’s Camera app many times to achieve the highest possible photo and video quality. If you want to do the same, try these 10 life hacks, tips, and tricks to help you get more out of your iPhone camera:
If you’re following the latest Apple rumors and want a chance to win the latest Apple Watch, check out Lifehacker’s guessing game . CNET Group is asking readers to predict what Apple will announce this year, and the game is currently in its second round.
Adjust your video recording settings to achieve the highest possible quality.
If you’ve never changed the default video settings on your iPhone, you’re not taking full advantage of its capabilities. iPhones have supported 4K video since 2015, but Apple prefers to leave the default setting at 1080p to prioritize storage space. This also applies to slow-motion videos, if your iPhone supports 4K in this format. If video quality is more important to you than storage space, you can leave it as is. However, if you want to record video in the highest possible quality, you should change this setting.
To do this, go to Settings > Camera , then select Video Recording. Here, choose 4K at your preferred frame rate: 24 fps, the frame rate used for video, takes up the least amount of space, while 4K at 120 fps takes up the most. I also like to disable a few features: I don’t like Enhanced Stabilization, as it crops the image slightly for stabilization, and HDR Video looks too oddly bright for my tastes. Go back one page and select Slow-motion Video Recording to adjust this setting as well. You can also change the resolution and frame rate directly in the Camera app by tapping the menu in the upper left corner (or lower left if you’re holding your iPhone in landscape orientation).
Shoot in ProRAW format for high-quality large prints.
Similarly, Apple tries to balance image quality with storage requirements in its default photo settings. Therefore, your iPhone’s camera likely isn’t taking photos as high-quality as it could, especially if it supports the ProRAW format. ProRAW is Apple’s RAW format that retains more image information in each photo than standard JPG. This can improve the quality of your photos, as well as provide you with more detail for editing or printing images at larger sizes.
If you have an iPhone 12 Pro or later, you can shoot in ProRAW format, and if you have an iPhone 14 Pro or later, you can shoot in ProRAW Max format, which contains even more information. You can shoot at up to 48MP per image, giving you a huge amount of data to work with, but at the expense of storage.Apple claims that ProRAW images are 10-12 times larger than standard JPGs, and when shooting at 48MP, they get even larger. Just keep this in mind if you decide to start shooting in such a large format.
To try ProRAW, go to Settings > Camera > Formats , then select “ProRAW & Resolution Management.” If you have an iPhone 14 Pro or later, you can change the megapixel setting in the Camera app itself by tapping the format button in the upper-left (or lower-left) corner. On other compatible iPhones, these options are located in this settings panel.
Change settings to prevent accidental camera launch.
I have an iPhone 17 Pro Max, and accordingly, Apple gives me five different ways to launch the camera by default. I can open the Camera app from the Home screen; launch the app from its icon in Control Center; long-press the shortcut on the Lock screen to open it; swipe left on the Lock screen to reveal it; or press the camera button on the side of the iPhone to take a photo. If I want, I can also ask Siri for help. That’s too many options, especially considering some of them make it easy to accidentally open the camera while it’s in my pocket.
So, here are all the ways to disable each of these options, in case you, like me, need to reduce the chances of battery drain due to accidentally turning on the camera:
-
Home Screen app : Press and hold the app icon and select Uninstall app, then select Remove from Home Screen.
-
Control Center tile : Launch Control Center, tap the (+) icon in the top-left corner, then tap the minus icon next to the Camera tile.
-
Quick access to the lock screen : Open the lock screen, then long-press an empty space to open the editor. Tap “Customize,” then tap the minus sign next to the camera shortcut. You can replace the shortcut with another app or feature, or lock the settings and leave the space empty.
-
Swipe on the lock screen : Go to Settings > Camera , then scroll down and turn off Swipe on the lock screen to open camera.
-
Camera control : Go to Settings > Camera > Camera control , then select None.
Change the camera control setting to launch a different camera app by default.
If you followed the tips above, you may have noticed something interesting in the Camera Controls settings panel: although the Camera app appears on this page, any other photography app installed on your iPhone will also appear there. This setting allows you to change the default camera app that opens when you tap the Camera Controls button.
While the default Camera app on iPhone takes great photos, it’s far from the best choice for users who want complete control over their images. There are plenty of excellent third-party camera apps that offer advanced controls unavailable in iOS, such as shutter speed, ISO, and white balance, among many other parameters. I sometimes use Halide when I want to try to take a more “professional” photo, but I also paid for the app before it switched to a subscription model, so your experience may vary. You can even customize camera controls for any social media apps with built-in cameras, such as Instagram or Snapchat, if that’s more your speed.
For better quality shots in night mode, use a tripod.
It took some time to master Night mode on the iPhone, but it was worth it. This feature allows you to take high-quality photos at night without a flash, and I’m usually very impressed with the results. By default, Night mode selects a conservative exposure time. It takes into account the light level and the stability of the iPhone, as too much shaking can result in a blurry image. So, if you’re holding your iPhone in your hand, iOS may select a faster Night mode, which may not capture the detail you need. And while you can manually extend Night mode’s exposure time, you likely won’t be able to use the maximum 30-second exposure time unless your iPhone is perfectly stable.
Instead of hand-holding your iPhone while shooting in Night Mode, try using a tripod . With your iPhone perfectly steady, iOS will suggest a 30-second exposure, capturing maximum detail in the photo. Here’s what to expect: in a dark scene, the Night Mode icon will appear in the upper right corner. Press and hold the icon, then next to “NIGHT MODE,” select “Max (30s).” Now take a photo and wait 30 seconds for the shutter to finish.
Use your iPhone’s wide-angle front camera for better group selfies.
For years, we’ve been taking group selfies the same way: someone extends their arm as far as they can and turns the phone sideways to get everyone in the frame. It’s become muscle memory. You probably still do it, even if you have an iPhone 17. But you don’t have to.
If you have one of Apple’s latest iPhones, you can take wide-angle selfies by holding your iPhone vertically. Personally, this is one of my favorite features of the 17 series. To use it, launch the Camera app and activate the selfie camera, then tap the person icon in the frame that appears above the shutter button. You’ll see the frame expand, as if you’ve already rotated your iPhone without moving it. Unless your group is very large, you likely won’t need to adjust anything at all to fit everyone in the frame. This also works with video, turning your iPhone into a great camera for vlogging in 16:9 format.
Use the “Save Settings” feature to avoid resetting your camera settings when you close the app.
If you’ve changed your camera settings and then found that they’ve reset the next time you open the app, it’s due to the “Keep Settings” feature, or the lack thereof. The “Keep Settings” feature allows you to leave certain settings unchanged after adjusting them, rather than having them reset to iOS defaults when you exit the Camera app. You’ll find it under Settings > Camera > “Keep Settings,” where you’ll find options to save the following settings:
-
Camera mode
-
Photographic style
-
Creative settings
-
Depth control
-
Macromanagement
-
Exposure correction
-
Night mode
-
Portrait zoom
-
Mode of action
-
ProRAW and Resolution Management
-
Apple ProRes
-
Live photo
Use Most Compatible to make sharing photos and videos easier.
If you’ve ever tried to share a photo with a friend or open a video on your computer only to find that the files won’t open, it’s likely due to format incompatibility. By default, Apple shoots photos in HEIC format and videos in HEVC, both of which are High Efficiency Video formats. This is great for storage, but not so great for compatibility. While I don’t think this is as big of an issue as I once thought, it’s still worth keeping in mind if someone can’t open your photos or videos.
To change these settings, go to Settings > Camera > Formats , then tap Most Compatible to switch from High Efficiency. Note that file sizes will likely increase, and some video settings will force this setting back to High Efficiency, including Cinematic Video, 4K at 60 fps or higher, and when shooting HDR video.
Use your iPhone’s built-in grid to help you frame your photos correctly.
Photography is all about framing, but judging it by eye through a 6.7-inch viewfinder can be difficult. To help, enable the built-in grid on your iPhone, which will help you frame your shot and place subjects exactly where you want. To do this, go to Settings > Camera, then scroll down to Composition. Here, turn on Grid. You can also select Levels, which will help balance your shots.
Connect an external drive to record professional-quality video directly, bypassing your iPhone.
iPhones generally shoot excellent video, but depending on the specific model, you might end up with a miniature cinema camera. Apple’s latest iPhone Pro models can shoot in ProRes, a professional video codec, as well as in Log, which gives editors greater dynamic range for color grading. (Note that the original footage will appear washed out, but color information is preserved in the video file.)
Choosing the best possible formats for shooting on your iPhone Pro can produce excellent results, but it has a significant drawback: the files are very large . For example, when switching to ProRes Log, you’ll see a notification on your iPhone about “freeing up resources,” so you’ll still have enough space to record even a few minutes of video. This format isn’t intended for amateur video recording, so Apple doesn’t make it the default.
However, if you want to shoot this kind of video, you don’t have to rely on your iPhone’s internal storage. Instead, consider an external SSD drive . You can now connect it directly to your iPhone 15 Pro or newer via USB-C and record all footage directly to the drive. This way, you can connect the SSD to your computer for editing without worrying about the local files on your iPhone. In fact, this is the only way to shoot ProRes in 4K on the iPhone 15 Pro with 128GB of storage. Apple provides detailed instructions on setting up the external drive, as well as its specifications,so check them out before purchasing .