How to take better iPhone pictures

A bad picture is better than no picture but with a little advice it is possible to take good frame-worthy shots on your iPhone which contains the camera you never leave home without. Here are a few simple tips to make the most of your iPhone camera:

Many insiders think the iPhone unveiled will be 'iPhone 4S' - a faster model with a better camera and antenna, but still similar to iPhone 4 in shapeMany insiders think the next iPhone to be unveiled will be the ‘iPhone 4S’ –  this will inevitably be a faster model with a better camera and antenna, but still similar to iPhone 4 in shape shown above.

Clean the lens

Many iPhone users keep their phone in pockets or handbags and they will therefore become covered in minute lint and dust particles. It is most important to regularly clean the lens before snapping away.

Light, camera, action

The most significant thing you can do to improve the quality of your shots is to learn to make the most of the available light source. Whether you are working with natural or artificial light, be sure to have your back to the light source and avoid using the flash unless it is absolutely necessary. Phone flashes are generally harsh and result in washed out pictures. Whitson Gordon, author of Lifehacker’s Guide to Snapping Smart Phone Photos suggests that if you must use a flash, cover it in something white and translucent such as a tissue – using this technique you will find your pictures improve enormously.

If you find you sometimes have orange-tinted shots – avoid clicking away the second you power up – this is because it usually takes a minute for a camera to fully adjust to the light available. To speed up the process, point your lens at the nearest light source.

Size matters

There is nothing worse than taking an amazing shot and then realising your resolution is too small. Remember you can  switch your phone cam’s resolution to ‘large’ – this can usually be achieved by going into your settings menu.

Using our iPhone to take emergency snaps of documents and text would generally be disappointing with 50% of them illegible when we refer back to them. There is now a brilliant app that turns your iPhone into an effective scanner. Refer to the next section for details of the Scanner Pro.

Special-effect apps

The Scanner Pro app for iPhones costs £4.99 and is considered to be ‘Best in Show’ by Professional Manager Magazine September/October 2011 – they reviewed this app along with others for business use. Scanner Pro uses technical wizardry to sharpen up words; a normal phone photograph would give blurred, illegible text unfit to dispatch within the office. The review of Scanner Pro found that A4 pages chock-a-block with text came through with flying colours. It was awarded a 5 star rating with super-app status.

Generally, iPhone users  snap pictures to capture the good times, not to create great works of art. If you wish to go beyond ‘the point and shoot mode’ try the special effects apps such as Hipstamatic or Vintage Camera, which give your photos a grainy and old-fashioned look – even the most amateurish photos can look really great with this treatment.