The best camera is the one you have with you. Most often this is a smartphone, and if you are reading this, your smartphone is an iPhone. The Apple gadget takes amateur photography to a new level... if, of course, you know how to use all its photo capabilities.
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A striking example in this regard is the creation of high-exposure photographs. iPhone owners, having seen one such photo somewhere on the Internet, immediately rush to look for the corresponding application in the App Store. But it is not at all necessary to do this - after all, the corresponding option is in the Camera system application.
Thanks to a long shutter speed, you can capture the lights of hitchhikers describing the trajectory of traffic, highlight the movement in the frame and create cool photos in low-light conditions. “But that’s the lot of DSLR cameras!” you say.
Modern smartphones are trying their best to take over some of the functionality of expensive professional cameras. One of their advantages has always been considered to be a long shutter speed associated with a slow shutter speed. But now you can take photos in this way even on your usual smartphone, which is always at hand.
Apple does not provide direct access to iPhone hardware to protect the device. So you cannot directly change the shutter speed of the camera of this device. However, the iPhone still allows you to take photos with a trail effect. There are several ways to implement this scenario: using built-in iOS functions or third-party applications that provide longer shutter speed. We will explain all these options in detail.
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How to enable pro mode on iPhone?
How to enable manual camera settings on iPhone
- Next, launch the application and click on the camera icon in the lower corner.
- Next, change mode
from “Auto” to “Pro.” - You can now shoot with manual camera settings. You can configure parameters such as: ...
- You can also watch this instruction in video format:
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Method 1: Convert Live Photos to Long Exposure
Apple's Live Photos are a great feature that lets you capture three seconds of action the moment you press the shutter button. With iOS 11, Apple went even further.
You may not know it, but you can transform a Live Photo into a long exposure photo just by swiping your finger across the screen.
This means that even if you don't know what the terms "shutter speed" or "exposure" mean, you can still take a stunning photo.
How to Convert a Live Photo to a Long Exposure
Let's start by taking a live photo first. Not every Live Photo will take a good long exposure photo, so make sure you have at least one moving element (cars passing by, a train arriving at a station, falling water) and a clean, static background.
For example, a live photo with too many people running around can result in a blurry mess.
If you haven't taken a Live Photo before, here's how to do it:
- Open the Camera app.
- Click on the Live Photos icon at the top. It looks like a series of concentric circles and turns yellow when the feature is enabled.
- Compose your shot.
- Hold your iPhone steady and press the shutter button.
- Hold the phone still for two more seconds. Live photos are taken one and a half seconds before the shutter button is pressed and one and a half seconds after.
Now let's convert the live photo and see if we get a good long exposure image:
- Open the Photos app.
- Find and open your Live Photo.
- Swipe up to show effects .
- Swipe right until you see Long Exposure .
- Click on it and wait a second.
The system will overlay each frame onto your live photo, and hopefully you'll end up with a cool-looking photo with just the right amount of blur.
You can edit it as usual using the default tools in Photos or one of these free photo editors for iPhone.
The photo is easy to find in Photos > Media Types > Long Exposure , and you'll quickly recognize it in your Camera Roll by the Long Exposure .
If at any point in time you want to return the photo to Live format, you can do so by following these steps:
- Discover long exposure in photography.
- Swipe to Effects.
- Live .
Working with frame
Classic composition
If you still can’t frame a frame by eye, you can select a grid in the camera settings that will help you more easily identify 9 areas of the photo. By placing the main subject in the frame in one of the squares and lining up vertical and horizontal lines along the grid, you can very easily get a successful shot. Of course, sometimes you can allow yourself to deviate from the rules and arrange objects as you want, but first it is better to learn the basics of composition.
Bottom up, top down
The frontal shots can be original, but for the most part they are very monotonous. Therefore, dilute the usual and look at the world from unexpected angles. For example, shoot a building not from your height, but from ground level. Or photograph an indoor flower from afar, and focus on its shadow. Be creative, move around the subject and try different options. One will definitely be successful.
The last floors of high-rise buildings and roofs are good points for shooting. Photo: @jon.ciang / instagram.com
Behind the viewer's gaze
Even when the photo is small, on a smartphone screen, you still have to imagine how subscribers will look at the photo: while scrolling through the tape, they will catch a bright spot or one element that will lead their eyes further across the frame. This is how it should be built so that the plot is hidden in it. After all, every piece of art should tell a story.
Journey of Focus
You can focus not on the main subject of the photograph. If you remove the jug, it is not necessary to make it the center point. Instead, try to focus on the things around you: show the subject through its surroundings. Here we again rely on the techniques of professional photography, but what can we do?
Focusing on the drops gave a spectacular blur of objects in the background. Photo by the author
Description of Slow Shutter Cam application profiles
Almost all applications of this kind have three main profiles for shooting light trails and moving objects (Light Tail, Motion Blur and Low Light).
Below you will find some tips for getting high-quality long exposure photography, as there are some nuances to this.
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Light Tail mode allows you to create a spectacular light trail
A high-quality light trail can be found on a busy highway, in an amusement park, in the starry sky or during the launch of fireworks.
The most “convenient” time of day for a novice photographer will be early twilight. The thing is that at this time vehicles are already driving with their headlights on, and street lighting, which could distract from the main plot, is not yet on. In the dead of night, lanterns, signs, and other burning static objects will overextend, and there will be more noise.
More or less average values for shooting will be the following settings: light sensitivity 1/4 and shutter speed 15 seconds. But here you definitely need to work with exposure and contrast in order to get the best effect.
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Motion Blur mode is designed for shooting moving objects with long shutter speeds in normal lighting
The subject for the next mode could be water (fountains, waterfalls, surf), a moving cyclist, a busy intersection, a passing train, and so on. Additional options in iPhone apps usually include blur intensity and various effects.
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Low Light mode - for shooting in low light conditions with long shutter speeds
Taking a long-exposure photo at dusk even on a DSLR camera is quite a difficult task, not to mention an iPhone, because in this case the photosensitivity of the matrix is important, that is, the maximum amount of light that the device can capture.
But there are two nuances here:
- You can capture more light with a longer shutter speed (keep the aperture open longer), but there is a risk of getting a blurry image;
- A gradual increase in photosensitivity leads to the appearance of noise.
This is exactly why you need a tripod. Be sure to take into account the overall level of illumination, because a bright flashlight or advertising sign caught in the frame can ruin everything. There is a small rule - the more intense the light source, the shorter the shutter speed should be.
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Method 2: Use the Long Exposure App for iOS
The Live Photo conversion is a quick and dirty trick that works well enough with moving subjects, but if you're hoping to capture a subtle trail, you'll be disappointed. Luckily, you can take a photo of that dream using an app instead.
After trying out some of the best long exposure apps, I would recommend Slow Shutter Cam as the perfect balance between ease of use and functionality.
It offers three main modes, one of which is specifically designed for shooting light trails. Plus, Slow Shutter Cam isn't cluttered with features you don't need, so there's less of a learning curve than a pro-level camera app.
Slow Shutter Cam allows you to adjust your shutter speed depending on what you're shooting, use the volume button as a shutter, and set a self-timer to minimize camera shake. And all at a very reasonable price.
Is it possible to set a timer on a photo on Instagram?
Unfortunately, the Instagram app doesn't have a built-in feature that allows you to take delayed selfies. If such a need arises, then you need to use standard smartphone camera tools and then publish the image.
And at the same time, in the application you can set a timer with a countdown on the photo. But such a function is usually used for other purposes:
- creating a competition for subscribers (lasting no more than a day);
- setting the time for the draw;
- setting a meeting time, etc.
A timer will help you focus attention on a specific time.
Method 3: Use the attached camera on your iPhone
For true long exposures, that is, to actually leave the shutter on for a longer time rather than stacking multiple shots like the previous two methods, you'll need hardware.
You may not be able to change the shutter speed for the stock iPhone camera, but you can attach a more versatile external camera to your phone.
The DxO One, a clip-on digital camera, is slightly smaller than an AirPods case and connects to your iPhone via Lightning or Wi-Fi. It turns your phone screen into a decent sized viewer and comes with the DxO One app so you can access all the controls.
In the app, you can choose from a variety of modes, including sports and night photography, and set the shutter speed to 30 seconds.
The camera itself is an instant upgrade to your iPhone's capabilities: at 20 megapixels, it has higher resolution than the iPhone XS camera and gives you the control of a DSLR camera without the size.
In addition to long exposure, this powerful little thing will allow you to shoot bokeh portraits and Full HD videos. It even has a selfie mode with soft, flattering light.
