iPhone photo tips.. for capturing the moments on San Francisco Bay!
10 Expert Tips for Taking Stunning Travel Photos on Your iPhone
We share our favorite products and iPhone hacks that even novice photographers can replicate.
Time on the water and moments spent traveling are memories you’ll want to remember forever. But if you find your iPhone isn't capturing those moments quite as vividly as you'd like, there's a lot you can do to make your photos absolutely stunning. And no, the answer likely isn't lugging around a bulky, expensive DSLR—which is rarely worth it when your iPhone has the ability to pack a truly artful punch.
We showered the web and compiled these tips from professional photographers and travel bloggers to learn their clever tricks for turning an iPhone into a professional-grade travel camera. The good news? A combination of camera hacks, phone accessories, and editing apps should yield photos that can easily compare with those taken with a pricy Canon or Nikon.
From the best packable tripods, to the phone settings that’ll make landscapes pop, to the gadgets solo travelers can use for better selfies, here's how the pros recommend you hack your iPhone camera to get incredible shots.
1. For sharper photos, use a tripod.
The Joby GorillaPod has flexible, spider-like legs that can be bent into any shape you want.
When reaching out to photographers to ask for their iPhone photography hacks, “use a tripod” was the most common tip I received. Phone-friendly tripods are typically super lightweight, can easily fit into your suitcase or backpack, and are absolutely necessary when shooting photos that tend to be ruined by shaky hands (think long exposures, low-light photos, and nature shots).
There are tons of great options on the market, but here are some phone tripods specifically recommended by travel photographers:
Gahenwo 64-Inch Selfie Stick Tripod with Remote
Travel and fashion expert Nneya Richards swears by “the size, durability, and cost” of the Gahenwo 64-inch tripod. “I always set the photo on ‘Live’ so I can get the best shot out of a few different movements,” she says. The tripod fits most iPhone models, and it comes with a remote control for additional control (and selfies).
Joby GorillaPod with Phone Mount
Raymond Cua, founder of Travelling Foodie and Journey Traveler, prefers the Joby GorillaPod for its “form factor and adaptability for unique photography scenarios.” This popular tripod has flexible, spider-like legs that can be bent into any shape you want. Wrap it around tree branches or railings to take pictures from any angle.
2. Use a remote shutter to achieve next-level selfies.
A remote shutter is "essential for the aesthetic ‘walking away from the camera into nature’ photos,” says Hatton.
You’ve probably seen tons of travel influencers post dreamy pics of themselves immersed in nature—perhaps walking down a tree-lined path or gazing out over a canyon. And unless the influencer always travels with an “Instagram wife" or partner, it's highly likely that they achieved those shots using a remote shutter.
Camera remotes tend to be inexpensive and can connect to your phone via Bluetooth. Will Hatton, founder and CEO of The Broke Backpacker, personally recommends the Ashutb Bluetooth 5.0 remote shutter. “It’s essential for the aesthetic ‘walking away from the camera into nature’ photos,” says Hatton. “Since I often travel alone, this purchase has served me well in my quest to take photos of myself on adventures.”
Remote shutters are usually under $10
3. Control your camera with your Apple Watch or EarPods.
You may be aware that pressing the volume buttons on the side of your phone can click photos when your Camera app is open, but did you know that trick also works with the volume buttons on your Apple EarPods? Street photographer Todd Coleman loves to take photos this way, explaining that it “helps in low light situations so that there isn’t a camera shake.”
All you have to do is plug in your EarPods, open the Camera app, and push either the volume up or volume down button on the cord to snap the photo. Not only does this technique help with shakiness, but it’s also great for candid shots, as people around you will just think you’re listening to music and not fiddling with your screen. “It has really freed me up and transformed my travel photography,” says Coleman.
If you don't want to deal with wired headphones on the fly, you can also use an Apple Watch to snap photos with your iPhone. You'll just need to open the Camera Remote app on your watch. From there, you'll be able to utilize your watch as a viewfinder, zoom in on your subject, or even adjust exposure—and trigger your iPhone to take the shot.
4. Convert Live Photos into long exposure shots.
Utilizing a long exposure is a popular way to imbue life into photographs.
If you’ve ever seen a photo where moving objects (like clouds, waterfalls, shooting stars, and car headlights) look smooth or smeared, it was probably taken with long exposure—a technique that slows down the shutter speed to make still objects appear sharp and moving objects appear blurry. It’s a popular way to imbue life into photographs, and you can easily mimic the style on your smartphone.
There are a few third-party camera apps that slow down your phone’s shutter speed—like Slow Shutter Cam, ProCam 8, and Camera+ Legacy—but you can convert Live Photos to long-exposure photos in just a few seconds and at no additional cost. Aside from showing movement in shots of water or night skies, photographer Sam Opp says the trick “also works well if there are a lot of people walking around that you don't want in the photo. Long exposure will make them more blurry and not the main focus in your photo.” (Check out her Instagram tutorial to see what she’s talking about!)
Follow these steps to convert Live Photos into long-exposure photos: Open the Camera app and turn on Live Photos (an icon in the top left of your screen that looks like a little target). Take a photo—preferably with a tripod for the best, least shaky results—then open the Photos app and find the shot you just took. Either swipe up to reveal “Effects” or tap the drop-down menu next to “Live” at the top of the photo (depending on your phone model) and select “Long Exposure.”
5. Turn on Smart HDR for detailed, well-balanced photos.
“One of the easiest ways to improve photo quality is the automatic HDR function,” says Rick Wong of Cameras Trends.
“One of the easiest ways to improve photo quality is using the automatic HDR function,” says Rick Wong, editor-in-chief of Cameras Trends. When an iPhone is in HDR (high dynamic range) mode, it takes several photos at different exposures and blends them into one image, which “ensures that the exposure of the photo is ideal,” says Wong. This is particularly useful if you are trying to capture scenery with lots of shadows or different lighting levels within a single frame. If you don’t have HDR turned on, then you might get—for example—a nature shot with a dark foreground and a completely washed-out sky with no cloud details.
While you can manually control whether or not a photo is taken using HDR, it's a good idea for beginner photographers to set their phone up to do this automatically. Go to Settings > Camera, then toggle on Smart HDR. Voila! Your travel photos are now much more likely to show beautiful details and coloring.
6. Enable grid lines for easier composition.
using iphone grid lines to take photo of food
In the rule of thirds, a frame is divided into thirds and the subject is placed at the intersection of those grid lines.
In the world of photography, the “rule of thirds” refers to a type of composition in which a frame is divided into thirds (both horizontally and vertically)think tic tac toe boxes and the subject is placed at the intersection of those grid lines. This creates a final photo where the subject occupies roughly one third of the frame, while the surrounding scenery or background occupies the other two thirds—generally considered to be a visually pleasing composition.
To help with your own photo composition, you can choose to have very light grid lines appear on your Camera app every time you open it. Go to Settings > Camera, and toggle on Grid under Composition. The grid lines will also help you keep your phone level so your landscapes don’t come out crooked.
7. Capture tall scenery with vertical panoramas.
A vertical panoramic photo is a great way to fit tall buildings or scenery in frame.
Struggling to capture the entirety of a building, tree, or mountainside? Eva Phan, blogger and professional photographer at Eva Darling, suggests taking a vertical panoramic photo to fit everything in the frame. Simply switch your camera to panoramic mode (it will appear as “Pano” at the bottom of the app) and hold your phone horizontally. Then, instead of moving left to right like you normally would in panoramic mode, move the phone from the ground towards the sky. You’ll end up with extended portrait-mode photos that show towering trees or landmarks all the way from bottom to top.
8. Manually adjust exposure on the Camera app.
You can manually adjust exposure on your iPhone's camera app.
“One simple way to take better travel photos with your iPhone is to learn how to use exposure compensation to your advantage,” says Rex Freiberger, co-CEO and editor of Gadget Review. “This tool adjusts how light or dark a photo is before you take it, but sometimes the automatic adjustments don't perfectly capture certain outdoor scenes.” To manually adjust the exposure, open the Camera app, tap the screen, and wait for a yellow box with a sunshine icon to pop up. From there, simply slide your finger up and down on the screen to test different exposure options.
9. Turn your phone upside down for low-angle photos.
Flip your phone upside down to get a low-angle shot.
“One of the techniques I’ve used to get unique images with an iPhone is shooting from a low angle with the phone upside down,” says Sean Lau, travel photographer and blogger at LivingOutLau. Since an iPhone’s camera lenses are positioned at the top of the phone, it’s hard to get a super-low angle even if you lay with your phone upright—flipping your phone means the camera is flush with the ground. “This is perfect for taking reflection photos where there is a puddle of water on the ground,” says Lau. “This type of photo is usually very difficult to get with a traditional DSLR camera, but the portability of the iPhone makes it a lot easier.”
10. Shoot outdoors during golden hour.
The natural sunlight around dawn and dusk is better than any filter.
While using ring lights and playing around with exposure are great tools, nothing can fully replicate the photographic magic of natural sunlight—especially during the “golden hours” right after sunrise and before sunset. “The magic hours of early morning or dusk are just as effective when shooting with your iPhone as a big impressive Nikon,” says Garrett Hayes, an avid bird photographer and founder of Birding Hub. Utilizing the soft, warm light of these time windows (as opposed to the harsh, unflattering light of high noon) will result in beautiful shots that don’t require any filters. Before your next trip, download the Golden Hour app to get location-specific recommendations for the best times to go out and snap some photos each day.
Bonus Tip: Be sure to pack a portable phone charger.
Using your iPhone's Camera app can drain the battery quickly, so be sure to have a power bank for backup. | O_Lypa/iStock/Getty Images
“Having a portable battery to take with you is vital, mainly if you use your phone for pictures,” says Ally Wardrop, owner of Cafes and Getaways. Using the Camera app drains battery life quicker than many other phone functions, and “the last thing anyone wants is to miss out on capturing a special moment because their phone has died!”
Wardrop personally vouches for this Anker power bank, which currently has over 58,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. It is small enough to slip into your backpack or carry-on bag, and the manufacturer claims it has enough juice to charge an iPhone 11 at least four times.
*Originally By Caitlin Morton of Thrillist then tweaked by Allie Hawkins to fit our customer needs.