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Help me to be a better photographer with iPhone 6
- Thread starter DJTaurus
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What I usually do with shots like that with the table is I will tap to focus the table or in between the window and table(for best optimal balance in the photo since the overexposure in the background) , then adjust exposure slightly to get perfect balance, and then turn on HDR and the photo should overall be pretty nicely balanced
I dont use flash unless I absolutely have too. And dont listen to your friend, using HDR in those 2 examples in your OP would come in extreme handy, key to HDR is keeping camera even extra stiller as it gathers 3 photos.
One good amateur-pro tip is just tap to focus on the screen in whatever spot(usually dont want to tap to focus on corners though ever) and then just adjust the exposure to make sure you get at least perfect balance overall(wont always be so great but gotta find balance) then turn on HDR
With HDR, I try to set exposure for as close to a midpoint in the scene as I can find. Nice thing with the new photo app is that you can tap to focus wherever you want, then drag your exposure slider until it looks like you're somewhere in the ballpark of having a midpoint exposed well, rather than having to have both your focus and exposure set there. Where you want to focus may be nowhere near where you'd like to meter from. There are also apps such as Camera+ which allow independent focus and exposure points.
Thanks. Nowhere near a pro here though, just an amateur who's spent a lot of time reading/studying and practicing to try to take better photos.
So i followed your advices. Here is a photo with both dark and bright (not so bright light from the window at least for the human eye... but in iphones camera it seems like a lot of a bright light coming through the window)
1)Tap to focus on the couch+adjust exposure and then HDR.
http://oi60.tinypic.com/28lw0tu.jpg
2)Tap to focus on the couch+adjust exposure+flash
http://oi61.tinypic.com/2zgxkqv.jpg
3)Tap to focus on the couch+adjust exposure
http://oi57.tinypic.com/14oaiph.jpg
4)As you can see in photo 3 with tap in the couch even with exposure adjust you cant hide the windows brightness....so i tried again with tapping near the window on the right... cause if you tap direct to the window light everything gets so dark.
Tap to focus on the right of the window(curtain)+adjust exposure
http://oi62.tinypic.com/5oa1j7.jpg
5)Tap to focus on the right of the window(curtain)+adjust exposure+HDR
http://oi62.tinypic.com/2r7u7ol.jpg
As you can see despite flash the second one is the worst and most dark... maybe i didnt make a good use of exposure or maybe the flash made the photo sooo blurry. I cant decide which is the best. 3 and 4 are more bright cause i used more "bright exposure". I believe 5 is the best cause you see the least blur/noise in the background... it seems more sharp.
My human eye sees the details outside the window clearly and easy enough... when i look it from the iphone it suddenly becomes blown up by light...no detail at all.
3 different photos trying to capture window minimal detail without making the room sooo dark:
1)Tap to focus direct on the window and exposure set
http://oi57.tinypic.com/fmv0c6.jpg
2)Tap to focus direct on the window and exposure set+hdr
http://oi62.tinypic.com/epm1ix.jpg
3)Different shot again withoug hdr
http://oi58.tinypic.com/2s1pxmu.jpg
Conclusion: you cant have window detail without avoiding room darkening... and as you can see cause of room darkness there is a lot of noise everywhere.
1)Tap to focus on the couch+adjust exposure and then HDR.
http://oi60.tinypic.com/28lw0tu.jpg
2)Tap to focus on the couch+adjust exposure+flash
http://oi61.tinypic.com/2zgxkqv.jpg
3)Tap to focus on the couch+adjust exposure
http://oi57.tinypic.com/14oaiph.jpg
4)As you can see in photo 3 with tap in the couch even with exposure adjust you cant hide the windows brightness....so i tried again with tapping near the window on the right... cause if you tap direct to the window light everything gets so dark.
Tap to focus on the right of the window(curtain)+adjust exposure
http://oi62.tinypic.com/5oa1j7.jpg
5)Tap to focus on the right of the window(curtain)+adjust exposure+HDR
http://oi62.tinypic.com/2r7u7ol.jpg
As you can see despite flash the second one is the worst and most dark... maybe i didnt make a good use of exposure or maybe the flash made the photo sooo blurry. I cant decide which is the best. 3 and 4 are more bright cause i used more "bright exposure". I believe 5 is the best cause you see the least blur/noise in the background... it seems more sharp.
My human eye sees the details outside the window clearly and easy enough... when i look it from the iphone it suddenly becomes blown up by light...no detail at all.
3 different photos trying to capture window minimal detail without making the room sooo dark:
1)Tap to focus direct on the window and exposure set
http://oi57.tinypic.com/fmv0c6.jpg
2)Tap to focus direct on the window and exposure set+hdr
http://oi62.tinypic.com/epm1ix.jpg
3)Different shot again withoug hdr
http://oi58.tinypic.com/2s1pxmu.jpg
Conclusion: you cant have window detail without avoiding room darkening... and as you can see cause of room darkness there is a lot of noise everywhere.
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Yes, as said before, those kind of shots are very difficult shot to expose properly. To the camera, that's very bright light outside and very dim light inside. If I was going to try to shoot that even with a DSLR, I'd probably do an HDR of at least 7 exposures, maybe starting at -5 steps and ending at +5 steps (-5, -3, -1, 0, +1, +3, +5). Another approach would be to use off-camera flash on stands with radio triggers to balance the inside exposure to the outside.
It seems like it should be easy, but it's not due to the fact that cameras see things much differently than we do.
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Look 2 amazing photos taken with 6 plus. Do u see any flaws ?
http://oi57.tinypic.com/2lk2moi.jpg
http://oi58.tinypic.com/24b2ikj.jpg
http://oi57.tinypic.com/2lk2moi.jpg
http://oi58.tinypic.com/24b2ikj.jpg
Yeah you're right absolutely. What really matters is the knowledge/skills, if you have both then you can definitely handle any gear
The iPhone make things really simple technically
Things I would consider when taking photos with an iPhone.
1. Composition - to begin with, eliminate needless distractions.
2. Consider lighting direction.
3. Choose your focus. This is less of a problem with an iPhone because with the small sensor size the depth of field is pretty deep. but if you do a close up, pay more attention. Click on where you want the focus to be.
4. Adjust your exposure. Ask yourself what Ansel Adam would do. You see, for any given camera you have an x amount of exposure latitude. If you spend most of it on the darker part of the scene, you over expose the lighter part, and vice versa. The advantage you have over Ansel Adam is that you can see the final result right away which enable you to justify your decision immediately.
Another thing about exposure is that by default the iPhone (and most cameras) tries to expose a darker scene a bit longer which ends up with a photo that's brighter than you eyes see the actual scene. You could adjust the photo afterward, or you can change the exposure while taking the photo to match what your eyes see. The benefit of that is you end up with a shorter shutter speed which translate into a sharper photo.
Also, think creatively. Unless your aspire to be a crime scene photographer, you can make the subject as dark as you see fit. A silhouette of a subject can make a more interesting image than a face lit by bright flash. Not everything has to be visible.
Taking great photos requires creativity, but anyone can take good photos with little practice. The worst thing you can do is let other people convince you that it's difficult. It's not.
Things I would consider when taking photos with an iPhone.
1. Composition - to begin with, eliminate needless distractions.
2. Consider lighting direction.
3. Choose your focus. This is less of a problem with an iPhone because with the small sensor size the depth of field is pretty deep. but if you do a close up, pay more attention. Click on where you want the focus to be.
4. Adjust your exposure. Ask yourself what Ansel Adam would do
. You see, for any given camera you have an x amount of exposure latitude. If you spend most of it on the darker part of the scene, you over expose the lighter part, and vice versa. The advantage you have over Ansel Adam is that you can see the final result right away which enable you to justify your decision immediately. Another thing about exposure is that by default the iPhone (and most cameras) tries to expose a darker scene a bit longer which ends up with a photo that's brighter than you eyes see the actual scene. You could adjust the photo afterward, or you can change the exposure while taking the photo to match what your eyes see. The benefit of that is you end up with a shorter shutter speed which translate into a sharper photo.
Also, think creatively. Unless your aspire to be a crime scene photographer, you can make the subject as dark as you see fit. A silhouette of a subject can make a more interesting image than a face lit by bright flash. Not everything has to be visible.
Taking great photos requires creativity, but anyone can take good photos with little practice. The worst thing you can do is let other people convince you that it's difficult. It's not.
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This guy has some good tutorials on taking good photos with the iPhone: iPhone Photography School. It looks like he wants people to subscribe to his newsletter, but other than that all the tutorials are free. I've read through a lot of them and there's a lot of useful information there for anybody wanting to learn how to take better photos with their iPhone. Disclaimer: not my website and I know nothing about the guy other than I stumbled across his page from a Google search on "iphoneography".
That is simply not true. While the person behind the camera is quite important, a crap camera will always take poor images.
There are very, very few cameras on the market today which meet the definition of "crap camera". I'd dare to say that a decent photographer could walk into any store, buy a cheap camera at random and take good photos with it (within the limitations of the device, of course - we're not talking about shooting a pro football game with a budget P&S).
Check out the Pinhole Gallery. This is a gallery of photos taken with a pinhole camera. For anybody unfamiliar with the term, it's basically a box that holds film with a tiny hole (pinhole) poked in the front to serve as a lens. No glass, no knobs, no dials, no screens - you just take your best guess at how long your exposure should be, uncover the pinhole to let light hit the film, then cover it back up when the exposure is done. I don't think you could find a much better definition of "crap camera" - yet if you look at the gallery on that page, there are some very good photos there. Maybe not to one's particular tastes, but they can't objectively be called "poor images".
Any generalization can be proven false. I have a friend who has been exploring the art of the pinhole camera for years, and has taken some remarkable images.
The trick with any tool is not what it can't do, but what it can do, in the hands of someone who knows how to get the most from its capabilities.
And just what is a "poor image?" Are you referring purely to technical quality (optics not as sharp, lower sensor/film resolution), or to the quality of composition, use of light and shadow, etc.?
I have a fair number of photos of which I'm quite proud, despite the fact that they were produced with a relatively crappy camera. They certainly do have technical flaws - flaws that would preclude a gallery showing of exhibition-sized prints. So what? That wasn't my goal.
I stand by my comments and still think the user is the most important factor but also insist that the camera gear can make a huge difference. You are correct in saying that any generalization can be proven false, out two posts prove that!
Merry Christmas
May be you're right in a way but its uncertain. If you're good enough at taking pictures then even a Camera with low MP will capture an amazing click, only the quality of the picture would be compromised.
Check out this video by Jared Polin, Does you gear make you good? http://clip.mn/tag/YjA1MjVjNDA
Thjnk of all the things that comprise a great photograph. It is a combination of image quality, exposure and composition along with great lighting.
To me it is more than just the camera but if it is incapable of focusing or the lens distorts it will take away from what the photographer is trying to do. I will agree with you and the person behind the camera is quite important. It is all about the effect you are trying to achieve.
It is not the camera it is the photographer. Ansel Adams with an Instamatic will get much better results than about 90% of the people with a $10k dslr.
I find it rather ridiculous talking about quality photography in a phone forum
Adams best photography used the best lenses of the day and a 8" X 10" piece of film in a huge camera that allowed you to move/tilt the lens in relation to the film plate. This allowed you to do some spectacular things. Adams was also a genius and I think you are right that he could use a crap camera and get a decent image. But his images were known for their great detail which you will not get with an Instamatic camera.
Happy Holidays.
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I find it rather ridiculous talking about quality photography in a phone forum
Adams best photography used the best lenses of the day and a 8" X 10" piece of film in a huge camera that allowed you to move/tilt the lens in relation to the film plate. This allowed you to do some spectacular things. Adams was also a genius and I think you are right that he could use a crap camera and get a decent image. But his images were known for their great detail which you will not get with an Instamatic camera.
Happy Holidays.
I suspect Ansel Adams did not start out on a 8x10 camera. If he were born in this age and time, he likely begin with a mobile phone camera, then eventually end moves to a Phase One.
The point I try to make in all my posts here is that the iPhone 6/6+ has a great camera, more than good enough for great photos, and what is holding it back is more likely the photographer's skill. It's a great camera to learn to shoot with.
I suspect that many great future photographers get their shooting bug from experimenting with a mobile phone camera.
Sorry but the iPhone camera would suck when compared to the results of a 8X10 view camera.
When shooting landscapes/still lifes, absolutely. Take that 8x10 view camera to an indoor party with friends, or to the local skatepark with your kid, or out on a boat to shoot some wakeboarding photos and see which one works better. Not that the iPhone is the ideal camera for any of those situations, but I can virtually guarantee you it will turn out far better results than an 8x10 view camera. Again, it's all about understanding the limitations of the device and working within them.
In a similar vein, I could argue that a Lamborghini is a far better vehicle than a 4x4 pickup truck. No question that the craftsmanship and attention to detail is on a far different level and on a race course or twisty mountain road there would be absolutely no comparison. When we move the venue to rough, unpaved roads or an off-road desert course, the scenario changes entirely. That expensive and masterfully crafted Lambo is now completely unfit for the task at hand.
Here's a photo I took about 3 1/2 years ago using an iPhone 4. I digitally zoomed, then further cropped the photo afterwards in post. Not a shining example of clarity and quality and there's no doubt I could have done far better with my DSLR and a telephoto lens, but I challenge you to bring any large format view camera out on the boat and see if you can get a better shot:
Attachments
Did not read but the first few lines from the above blog and got the jist of what you are trying to convince me of.
No convinced. iPhones are great for snaps with a good or practiced user but the images will just not hold up when it comes to images I would consider be proud of.
I don't think there is any debate here.
It's like saying that the pencil and napkin I have in front of me is inferior to a sketch book and graphite pencil I can get at an art store.
However, a lot of beautiful rendering has been done on a piece of napkin like this. Sometime I actually enjoy pushing the limit of what I can I do with a simpler tool. With the iPhone the limit is pretty high, so it doesn't feel as much a compromise as point and shoot camera used to be.
As a photographer I don't remember the last time I refer to a camera as "suck" as I would not refer to a pencil the same way. Objects don't suck, but operators may.