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iPhone camera modes are the creative support behind iPhone photography. While the iPhone Camera’s flash or timer might not always reach the photography effects you’re looking for, there are plenty of other features available.
Within the Camera app, you’ll see features such as Live Photos, Camera Timer, HDR, Focus, and Exposure. Three important iPhone camera modes to learn are Portrait mode, Night mode, and Burst mode. Here’s how these features expand your photography creativity and allow you to feel more comfortable using an iPhone for quality photos:
- The iPhone Portrait mode is a photo effect that blurs the background of an image by adding a simulated bokeh. This background blur isolates the subject in a photo and gives it a more professional look. Portrait mode provides similar results to ones you get when using a DSLR camera. Switch to Portrait mode by swiping on the slider at the bottom until you land on Portrait mode. Once you’re in Portrait mode, follow the on-screen prompts that let you know if you’re too close or too far from your subject or if you need to add more light to the picture.
- To use Night Mode, you’ll need an iPhone 11 (including Pro and Pro Max) or iPhone 12 (including the Mini, Pro, and Pro Max). On earlier iPhones, night photography was difficult. Blurry photos, graininess, exposure problems, and unnatural colors were common issues. The iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 cameras use intelligent software to eliminate these problems. When you shoot with Night Mode, the camera takes multiple shots over several seconds and then automatically blends the images into a single, high-quality photo. Night mode turns on automatically when taking a picture in low-light environments. You’ll see the small moon symbol near the top left turn yellow when Night mode is activated. A time indication like “1s” or “5s” will show up near the moon symbol, which signifies the exposure time (or the length of time the camera lets light in before taking the picture). When Night mode is activated, press the round shutter button to take a photo as you usually would. Hold the camera as still as possible until the exposure completes. The camera takes time to take in light to take a quality picture in very low light.
- To activate Burst Mode, you don’t have to change any of your iPhone camera settings. All you have to do is press and hold the shutter button. With an iPhone camera 11 or higher, tap the shutter button and immediately slide it to the left for portrait-oriented photos or drag it up for landscape orientation. Your device will then keep taking pictures as long as your finger touches the screen. Burst Mode takes approximately ten photos per second. Burst Mode is best for action shots that include children, animals, people playing sports, or any constant movement. Those can often be difficult to capture with a single press of the camera shutter. You can also try it when taking candid photos. Once done, open the Photos app, tap on the “Burst” album to open it and choose the “Select” button at the top right of your screen. Choose the photos you want to keep, then tap on the Done button in the right upper corner.
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