The cameras are pretty great across the iPhone 12 range. I am no photographer, but even I can get a decent shot out of one. What is more, there are a few things users can adjust to take even better pictures.
Changing the Camera Settings to Take Better Pictures on Your iPhone
- Turn on Grid – Go to Settings > Camera > Grid. This puts a grid across the screen when you load up the camera, helping you line up shots better and us the rule of thirds.
It’s also worth checking the Scene Detection and Smart HDR found in the same menu, are turned on as they should help improve pictures too.
In the Camera app, you can turn Apple ProRaw and Live Mode (those shots where the ‘photo’ moves a little) on and off. They are available in the top right-hand corner when you have the camera open in Photo mood. You can maintain various settings so that they are there as the default when you open the camera app. Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings to do this. (I personally have Apple ProRAW and Live Photo off preserved.
[Holiday Photography Tips – TMO Daily Observations 2020-12-21]
Night Mode
In certain conditions, Night Mode will become available. It’s next to the flash option in the top left corner of the camera. Tap on that, and you get a dial at the bottom through which you can adjust quite how bright your night shots are.
Use Portrait Mode… When It’s Not a Portrait
The camera automatically loads in ‘Photo’ mode. Tap on ‘Portrait’ (one to the right) to load Portrait mode. This focuses your short on the key area, and softens it elsewhere, leaving a really nice effect. It works great on people, of course, but also be really nice on all sorts of objects too. There are also various light settings available in this mode that are worth experimenting with too.
Take High-Quality 4K Video
Back in Settings > Camera you can also set the default resolution at which your iPhone 12 shoots video. Tap Record Video and you get a range of settings, the top-end of which is 4K at 60 FPS – this is the highest resolution and smoothest way to short. Warning though, this will use much more storage. Apple says the one minute of video at those settings will use 440 MB.