The iPhone 16 series has made waves with its new Camera Control button and the color-palette-looking real-time style adjustment feature. But you don’t always need a new phone to take great photos. With the right tips, you can also effortlessly upgrade your photos!

1. Make the Most of Lighting

Natural light is the best, especially during the Golden Hour—either early in the morning or late in the afternoon—when warm, soft light enhances the artistic mood. For outdoor photography, avoid shooting at noon as harsh light can cause overexposure or heavy shadows. If natural light is not an option, use soft artificial light and reflect it off walls to create a balanced, soft lighting effect. A handy trick: point the camera at the back of your hand to test the light and find the most flattering angle for your shot.

2. Choose the Right Angle

Which is your best side, left or right? The angle you shoot from can make or break a photo! Besides the golden angle of the persona, shooting from a low angle (low shots) can elongate the subject, making them look taller. A common simple trick: have the photographer crouch down and flip the phone upside down for a shot from closer to the ground, creating an illusion of long legs. Conversely, shooting from above (high shots) can shrink the subject, adding a playful or wide-view effect, like the recent trend of Y2K vintage-style photos. Experiment with different angles to find the one that works best for you!

3. Creative Composition

Let’s start with the simple composition method: choose a clean, uniform background to make the subject stand out, like an industrial-style white wall or a Japanese wood-textured background. If you cannot avoid a busy background, like murals or a forest-themed plant wall, use a shallow depth of field to blur the background and focus on the subject. To add a sense of story, introduce foreground elements like tree branches, door frames, or windows for natural framing, or bring in cute props like plants, home decor, or even your pet! As for subject placement, use the rule of thirds and position the subject along one of the grid lines for a harmonious composition.

4. Subject Posing Tips

Striking a hand gesture while facing the camera doesn’t create a cinematic feel! Instead, the simplest technique is to avoid looking directly at the camera—gaze into the distance to evoke a sense of storytelling. If there are props like utensils, plants, or curtains nearby, interact with them — take a sip of coffee, smell the aroma from a glass of wine, gently touch a curtain, or just any other natural pose you can think of! Even simple actions like resting your head on your hand can create an elegant, effortless pose for enhanced storytelling.

5. Post-Editing Adjustments

The iPhone 16 series offers a new megapixel control pad that enables you to adjust tone and color simultaneously in real-time. However, the older iPhones also provide built-in photographic style in Camera and an auto-adjust feature for Photos edits. For those who want to personalize the photo style to your liking, the manual adjust feature can give you the perfect photo finish — adding brightness can bring out details in darker areas; boosting contrast highlights the subject; and enhancing saturation makes colors pop, giving your photo that extra vibrancy. Of course, you can always simply apply a filter using any popular photo editing app.

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