Iphone Camera Persuasive Speech

Now now, I know that it might not seem like an important topic to ponder over, but with the easy access to a camera on the iPhone, I thought it would be great to share some tips and tricks on the iPhone camera since not all of us own a professional camera or even have the time to head over to Martin Hall to check one out. I would have to say, the iPhone camera is one of the best invention since sliced bread. HAHA. Ever since the great invention of the iPhone camera, iPhonegraphy (iPhone-photography) is now commonly used to take photographs compared to professional cameras and even a compact digital camera.

The iPhone camera comes in with many different and awesome features. One thing that iPhone users tend to overlook is that the camera on

the iPhone is actually quite well equipped with functions similar but not entirely to a professional camera. Today, we are discussing iPhonegraphy.

Now, one common iPhone photography misconception is that the iPhone can’t be used for serious photography. While professional cameras are technically superior, the quality of any photo mostly depends on the photographer’s intent and creative vision. As photographers, we often get caught up buying the latest photo gear thinking that it will help us take better photos, while no camera can take a good photo without the photographer’s ideas.

That is because the iPhone – just like any other camera – is a tool. And that is a took that can be used to take both poor and outstanding photos. With the right knowledge and the right techniques, iPhone users can use their iPhones to take photos that are so great that nobody believe they were taken with the iPhone.

Today I have compiled some tips and tricks of the iPhone camera that I gathered from my user experience as an iPhone-tographer.

Function 1: Grids

If you were ever into photography, you should have heard of the Rule of Thirds. The grids are vital in applying the Rule of Thirds because it places the two vertical and two horizontal lines into vision instead of having you to imagine it. Most professional cameras come with grids to help photographers apply the Rule of Thirds. To apply the Rule of Thirds, position your subject into the intersection points instead of the center of the shot ideally to make it more naturally visually pleasing and makes a more charming shot instead of a tedious shot. Furthermore, it aids your creativity to use up the negative space around the subject as an artistic effect. As an iPhonegraphy fanatic, I always leave my grids on and never turn it off. To switch the grids on, simply tap on Settings and scroll down till you see Photos & Camera.

Function 2: HDR

High Dynamic Range, or aka HDR is one of the easiest ways to improve quality in you iPhone photos. The one and only tip I can offer you on HDR is ESSENTIAL when taking landscape pictures with huge contrast between land and sky. It helps enhances your shot automatically for you where unlike in professional cameras, you would have to apply the settings yourself for almost every shot. That’s where this iPhone feature comes in super handy. You do not need to apply ALL those settings yourself because it automatically applies the settings simply by tapping HDR on the left hand corner while in the Camera app.

Simply switch it to Auto and you never have to worry about dealing with bad light balance in your shot. I would not suggest leaving HDR on all the time for all types of shots but just when you have a bright natural light in the background and a dark subject, HDR then would be a tremendous lifesaver for your shot.

Function 3: Focus & Exposure

The Focus and Exposure are also vital in creating the perfect photograph. If you were to compare bad focus and bad lighting, I would take a bad lighting anytime because you can always adjust the lighting later with the extensive collection of photo applications available on the App Store. If you were to take a photograph with a bad focus and exposure, it is already considered a bad shot.

Basically, what you have to do to adjust the focus and exposure is that every time you have your phone pointed and ready, tap on the subject to focus on it and slightly adjust the exposure (if needed) on the little sun next to the focused box by sliding it up to brighten the subject or slide it down to darken. Tapping anywhere else will automatically reset the exposure and lose the initial focus point. If you have a macro shot in mind, like so *Picture, like applying the focus point in the shot, just tap and hold until the words AE/AF Lock appears on the screen.

Function 4: Burst Mode

Ever wonder how models get the perfect shot on magazine covers?

The answer: Burst Mode. How it works is that the photographer would take many dozen or even several hundreds and only pick a handful that has the perfect expression needed. With the iPhone, you can do the same. Just hold the shutter button down and let the camera do all the work. What will happen is that the camera will start shooting in a rapid manner. This will however, take up some space on your phone if you have limited storage but just go through the pictures the moment you have time to kill. Open up the Camera Roll album and select the burst and just kick back and scrub through the shots to pick out your favorites to save them. Don’t worry, if you like ALL the shots, your iPhone will give you a choice whether you want to delete the unsaved ones or save all the

burst.

Function 5: Flash and Zoom

The two things to (almost) always avoid when taking pictures on the iPhone is the zoom and the flash. The zoom on the iPhone blows up the photo which results in a soft and noisier picture. Simply put, the more you zoom, the poorer the quality of your picture. What I would recommend if you are left without any other option than to zoom, is to take the natural shot and then just zoom in on the final picture which is slightly better. OR, just get closer to your subject which should be the more obvious choice.

The other function also to (almost) avoid is the flash. Pictures taken with the flashed turned on are highly recognizable and it kind of easily ruins the shot and also quite unappealing.
Tip 2: Time-lapse

Another awesome feature to be found on the iPhone camera itself is the time-lapse function.

Many people tend to overlook that feature because I guess all y’all are putting your focus in taking more pictures. I get it. The more pictures you take; the higher chances you will get a better photograph. But next time (if you do have some), take 20 minutes or even 10, and just place your phone and take a time-lapse because trust me, it is worth it! If you don’t believe me, take a look at this time-lapse I recently did on my latest trip to Grafton. I took this prior to leaving and just set the camera on time-lapse mode and left it on the dashboard for the whole ride from Morgantown to Grafton. If you’re still not convinced, take a look at this awesome time-lapse I took on my latest trip to Tokyo on the busiest crossings in the

world.

Now, with these great tips and tricks in mind, I hope to see them being utilized on our great and fun trips to Grafton and Whitesville otherwise my 1300-word blog post would have been written for nothing. If you do use these great tips and tricks, do hashtag it with #WVUZongiPhonegraphy so I know my hard work is being put to good use. See ya.