# how to get the best photos from iPhone 4S



## sanlen (Jun 25, 2012)

Hi,

I am the newbie here as well as in photographing.

I am planning to have a trip to the top of a mountain sometime in two weeks. Normally, it is foggy on the top of that mountain early in the morning and we can see sun shine normally after 8AM. I want to get some good photos once i get there and i will be using my iPhone 4S to capture them. The photos will be developed in 13x18 or a bit bigger size.

Here, i am looking for some tips of how to get the best pictures out of my iPhone 4S. I have been trying some applications for iPhone such as Camera+ & 645 Pro, however, i seem could not get what i want.

 Your advise will be very much appreciated.

Thanks,
sanlen


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## c.cloudwalker (Jun 25, 2012)

Don't worry about it. It's just a phone camera.

Do you think serious photogs would spend thousands of $ on gear if they could get the same results with a phone?


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## Bitter Jeweler (Jun 25, 2012)

sanlen said:


> Here, i am looking for some tips of how to get the best pictures out of my iPhone 4S. I have been trying some applications for iPhone such as Camera+ & 645 Pro, however, *i seem could not get what i want.*



Well, what do you want?


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## Trever1t (Jun 25, 2012)

Maybe they can help you here ----> iPhone Forum  ?


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## fjrabon (Jun 25, 2012)

One thing that helps the iPhone a lot IMHO is to used your headphones as a trigger.  

The iPhone as a camera has three flaws: 1) really small sensor 2) lack of manual controls and 3) awkward shape

The really small sensor won't be a big deal for you, actually, since you'll be taking landscape style shots and thus won't need to control DOF.  The lack of manual controls sucks, especially given that you can't shoot in RAW either, to be able to edit the photos, but there's not much you can do about it.

The awkward shape hurts because it causes most people to take photos with a LOT of camera shake.  Using your headphones as a trigger really helps with sharp pictures a LOT.  YOu do this by plugging in your headphones with a volume control and hitting the volume up botton while a camera app is engaged.  However, since you will still be holding the camera with your hands, and it is still awkward to hold, try to find something to steady your hand against.  a tree, a rail, etc.  Shoot on the exhale.

Additionally, the built in HDR works pretty well for landscape shots.


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## sanlen (Jun 25, 2012)

Bitter Jeweler said:
			
		

> Well, what do you want?



I saw some photos on net were taken by iPhone 4s and they look so good. I want to get same result from my phone but I really cannot make it.


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## gsgary (Jun 25, 2012)

sanlen said:


> Bitter Jeweler said:
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They will look good on the net but they won't look great printed


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## HRP777 (Jun 25, 2012)

Download different camera apps and see what the best result is for your need....
I have for instance 360 for certain panos I want to create and then Auto Stitch for othe pano creations that does the job very well.
Camera Awesome is great and have a selection of editing too and btw, Snapseed is now free and has the same editing options that are on the iPad version...

The Only drawback with the iPhone is that poor light conditions to take photos, other wise no problem at all with it...

If yo been looking for a small compact camera that do RAW, buy the the Nikon P7100 or maybe the Canon G12, depends on the budge you want to spend and for later use...

Me as a professional photographer have the Nikon P7100 with wide angle adapter next to my D700 at a wedding or event where I suddenly need a wide angle shot and have great results with it.

Enjoy your hike to the top of the mountain....


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## cgipson1 (Jun 25, 2012)

sanlen said:


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A lot of the GOOD Iphone shots you see also have a lot of Post Processing done to them. Amazing what you can do in Photoshop!


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## xjoewhitex (Jun 25, 2012)

cgipson1 said:


> sanlen said:
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Exactly!! Don't get me wrong the iPhone can take some decent shots on its own much better than some old p&s cameras ive had over the years. Just a basic understanding of what your doing will help out plenty to get you started, knowing where to focus, and what to lock your exposure on. And having decent apps will help as well, I have camera+ and woodcamera installed on mine, both cost but you can get some decent results from them. All I can say is experiment.


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## KmH (Jun 25, 2012)

The good phone photos are often made by people that know how to do photography. Some are made by accident.

Any of today's phone cameras has major technical limitations, and gives the user so little control, that it is often hit and miss even when experienced photographers use a cell phone camera.


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## enzodm (Jun 25, 2012)

However, some attention to composition rules - the only thing really in your hands - might help.


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## KmH (Jun 25, 2012)

&#8593; &#8593; &#8593; &#8593; &#8593; Yep, that's about all you can do with a phone camera, though you can also consider the light in a scene.

10 Top Photography Composition Rules | Photography Mad


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## sanlen (Jun 25, 2012)

Thanks all for your comments.

thanks,
sanlen


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## imagemaker46 (Jun 26, 2012)

When you get to the top of the mountain, use your iPhone and call someone to ask them why you didn't bring a better camera.


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## 2WheelPhoto (Jun 26, 2012)

imagemaker46 said:


> When you get to the top of the mountain, use your iPhone and call someone to ask them why you didn't bring a better camera.



+1

Then take a pic and throw the whole phone over the side


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## WilliamDSLR (Jun 26, 2012)

If you are wanting really good quality images, I wouldn't recommend the iPhone 4S.  Apple are great, but they certainly haven't cracked the digital camera.........yet!

Don't you have other photography equipment like a DSLR?

TBH, I don't think any app on the iPhone will help you take great photos.  Plus, you probably want to be taking RAW images as well and to the best of my knowledge you can't do this with the iPhone 4S


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## TechArtist (Jun 29, 2012)

cgipson1 said:


> sanlen said:
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Perhaps, but even so you can take some really good shots with just the basic camera app. Just a matter of knowing the camera you using and how to use it, not necessarily having a great expensive camera. 

Here are a few, unprocessed photos, I took using the default camera app on the iPhone 4S:


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## nehas8 (Jun 29, 2012)

I would definitely recommend this article by Jose Vazquez iPhoneography Tips &#8211; Capture Amazing Photographs with your iPhone.
It is an excellent post and also contains good apps recommendations.


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## KmH (Jun 30, 2012)

The opinion of what are of 'really good shots' is a moving target.

I was noticing the exposure and white balance variances in the 3 posted phone camera examples.


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## SoCalTiger (Jun 30, 2012)

sanlen said:


> how to get the best photos from iPhone 4S



Take your iPhone, login to Amazon.com and buy a DSLR?


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## Tee (Jun 30, 2012)

Use the HDR function.


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