Professional-looking photos have been simplified by modern tech advances and the device that has changed the entire world, the smart phone. We endlessly text on it, check our social media accounts about 100 times a day, and we take photos on it. The iPhone is one of the top competitors of smart phones, and its camera takes beautiful, crisp photos.
To solve the glare issue when taking photos with the iPhone, face your back to the light while taking the photo. Your subject (unless a reflective object like a window) will be seen much more brightly and clearly with the lighting on them and not in your lens.
Knowing the tips to help you utilize your iPhone more efficiently to capture better photos won’t cost you much, if anything at all. It will give you the opportunity to take better quality photos so you can let your inner photographer go wild.
What Exactly is Glare in a Photo?
Glare is caused by light reflecting off a reflective object such as a window or sunglasses. Glare can be caused by a light source such as a flash going off on a camera while taking pictures or even the sun itself.
It’s so convenient to take photos with your iPhone camera. Results are instantaneous, and if you don’t like the photo, you can simply delete it or edit it with an app. Everything is done from your phone. That’s the beauty of technical advances.
In the past, there were digital cameras, but nowhere near the quality we have today with smartphones. And further back, of course, we had cameras that required actual film and dropping the roll of film off at your local drug store to be developed, crossing your fingers and hoping your photos came out decent.
Different Types of Glare
- Lens Flare – This type of glare happens when pointing your camera directly in a light source, like the sun. It basically distorts the actual image and can create contrast issues.
- Veiling Glare – Veiling glare produces a foggy effect on photos when unintended light is present in the photo. This is caused by reflective objects near the subject or possibly by the lens itself.
- Ghosting – Ghosting happens when light is reflected off of the camera lens, and a duplicate faded image is seen in the photo.
What to do if Taking Photos of Reflective Objects, Like Glasses?
There’s flexibility with taking photos on your iPhone. For one, it’s conveniently lightweight and allows you (the photographer) to take photos from different angles with ease. If you’re taking photos of a building, simply get shots of different angles to minimize glare.
If you’re taking pictures of people wearing glasses, have them move around until you’re able to see their eyes clearly through their glasses. Usually, with these sorts of photos, taking their picture from a slight side angle might work.
It’s all about testing out different angles– Straightaway head-on photos won’t always best represent a person wearing shades or a window since glare might be reflecting directly into your iPhone camera lens. Get creative and move around.
Turning off Your Flash
Fortunately, iPhones come with built-in flash and setting options. Although flash might be great for taking photos in dimly lit settings, it’s a glare issue waiting to happen. Simply turn off your flash in your settings. It’ll help you avoid red-eye in your subjects, washed-out photos, and unnecessary light bouncing off reflective objects.
When is the Best Time to Take Photos Without the Worry of Glare?
Avoid taking photos outside when the sun is high in the sky between 10 am and 3 pm. If possible, avoid getting shots outside during this time. The best times to take great photos outdoors with your iPhone camera is when the sun is coming up and when it’s going down, both right before and during the sun’s rise and set. The lighting will be softer, and glare shouldn’t be much of an issue. You’ll capture some stunning photos.
Is There Special Equipment for the iPhone Camera to Take Better Photos?
Yes, there is. A company called Moment specifically makes photography equipment for smartphones, which includes the iPhone. They sell everything from lenses, filters, cases, and more. Their products aren’t super cheap, but they’re great quality if you’re willing to spend the money, so check out their site.
A hooded lens might be a good investment if you plan on taking photos outside regularly. This special lens is meant to block out light that may cause glare or lens flare.
Another helpful tool would be a polarizer filter; it helps minimize glare and improves contrast. This is neat– it can also help with reflective transparent surfaces like a lake or pond, so you can take photos of fish, for example, that might be swimming under the water!
Editing Applications to the Rescue
If you can’t seem to get around the glare while taking your photos, try these Apple-compatible applications to edit out the glare.
- Snapseed – Snapseed is one of the more popular photo editing apps. Quite a few photographers recommend downloading it. It has a wide variety of tools to use to edit your photo to perfection. Use the healing tool to help remove glare from your photos, especially glare that causes that shiny face look.
- Airbrush: Easy Photo Editor – This app allows you to remove glare from your photos both automatically and manually if you want more precision. This app also includes a number of photo effects to create visually stunning photos.
- Fotogenic: Body and Face Tune & Retouch Editor – This app can smooth out blemishes on the face and body. Add tattoos, whiten teeth, and remove glare from reflective objects like sunglasses—hundreds of tools to test out and create a masterpiece.
- Adobe Photoshop Express Photo Editor – Adobe is one of the leading creative editing tool companies of our time. This application is surprisingly free—an arsenal of tools to blur and remove blemishes and, of course, glare from photos. You can even fix distorted camera angles with their transform tool. The possibilities are endless.
What are the New iPhone Camera Capabilities?
The new iPhone 11 was released September 20, 2019, and there are reports of the iPhone 12 possibly being released sometime this year in 2020. The iPhone 11 has plenty of cool features, and it’s camera capabilities are nothing less than impressive.
Technical Specs Right off Apple.com:
- Dual 12MP Ultra Wide and Wide cameras
- Ultra-Wide: ƒ/2.4 aperture and 120° field of view
- Wide: ƒ/1.8 aperture
- 2x optical zoom out; digital zoom up to 5x
- Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
- Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High-Key Mono)
- Optical image stabilization (Wide)
- Five-element lens (Ultra Wide); six-element lens (Wide)
- Brighter True Tone flash with Slow Sync
- Panorama (up to 63MP)
- Sapphire crystal lens cover
- 100% Focus Pixels (Wide)
- Night mode
- Auto Adjustments
- Next-generation Smart HDR for photos
- Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos
- Advanced red-eye correction
- Auto image stabilization
- Burst mode
- Photo geotagging
- Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG
A Learning Curve by Experimenting and Experience
Becoming a photographer in the 21st century is as easy as whipping out your iPhone and downloading some photo editing apps. Photography is an art form, just like drawing and sculpting.
The reality is, you only get better by practice, experimenting, and the experience itself. You’ll be able to gauge how to use your iPhone effectively for photography by testing out different mediums with format, lighting, and location.
Glare will become less of an issue when you know what to look for when taking pictures of your family or a skyscraper in New York. Let yourself get lost in your creative process, and apply these helpful tips the next time you’re taking photos.