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So you’re confident about making photographs with a DSLR or mirrorless camera, but you need some help capturing more than just snapshots with the iPhone in your pocket. Congratulations are in order because you’ve come to the right place thanks to the 10-minute beginners guide below.

Instructor Rich Bowlin has been making photographs ever since his weapon of choice as a kid was a Kodak Instamatic. Since then he’s evolved through 35mm cameras, digital imaging, and mobile photography with an iPhone. In other words, today’s five handy iPhone camera tips are backed up by plenty of experience.

Bowlin says he leaves the complex stuff to other instructors, so there no advanced technique in this lesson: “just easy to follow tips designed to get you up-and-running with Apple tech.” And he usually has some special advice designed specifically for seniors.

The lesson begins with an overview of the various camera modes you’ll find on an iPhone. He describes how each of them work and which option is the best choice for different subjects and situations. Some of these choices work differently on a phone than they do on a conventional camera, while there are others like Cinematic, Panorama, or Video modes that may be totally new to you.

Bowlin’s next tip is a real timesaver than can prevent missing a fleeting moment while fumbling around to find a particular mode or switching from one to another. All you have to do is tap and hold on the iPhone’s camera icon and you’ll immediately see a dropdown menu with all of the available modes at your fingertips.

There’s another helpful “Movie Slide” tip when you want to switch from shooting stills to recording videos, and a few other mode-related issues to explore. Next on the agenda is a quick look at a variety of camera settings that Bolin says are important for beginners to understand.
  

This way you can place a grid on the screen for precise composition, determine whether or not you want to see what’s outside the frame, and discover other basic settings that make iPhone photography easier and more productive.

The lesson concludes with a demonstration of Bowlin’s favorite methods for zooming in and out on the key subject of your scene. You can find more iPhone photography tips and techniques by visiting his instructional YouTube channel.

We also suggest watching an earlier tutorial we posted in which an accomplished pro reveals what he says is the “real truth” about Jpeg and Raw file formats for different types of photographs.

Thoughtful composition is an essential element of all great photos, especially when shooting complicated nature and landscape scenes that can really confuse a viewer. Today you’ll learn how to employ a simple technique that will “instantly” boost the impact of every image you make in the great outdoors.

The video below from pro Gary W is all about adding context to your compositions, and it only takes him five minutes to demonstrate how the concept works. He’s a versatile pro whose portfolio contains stunning landscapes, beautiful portraits, travel photos, and eye-catching images shot on the street. He’s also very experienced at mobile photography.

Gary introduces today’s five-minute episode like this: “By adding context we can turn a simple photo into a stunning masterpiece. That’s because context adds a storytelling element and an anchor point to our photos.” Best yet, this oft-ignored technique works wonders with photos of all genres and is simple enough for photographers of all skill levels to master quickly.

Context can mean any element within the frame that adds extra information like a sense of scale, time of day, a destination, and even various moods or feelings. As Gary says, doing so “adds an extra level of storytelling that separates high-quality photographs from those that are just ordinary.”

Gary demonstrates several ways to get the job done with inspirational images that illustrate these techniques. He begins by demonstrating how to accentuate an identifiable object to provide a clear sense of scale to other elements within the frame. Depending upon location this object can be a person walking along the beach, a car driving down a country road, a rock formation, a solitary tree, or anything else that grabs your attention.                                                                                         

The bottom line is this: These elements, when properly placed, can emphasize speed, the majesty of mountains looming in the distance, or the scale of a large lake or small pond. This approach requires no special skills or gear—just a willingness to view the world a bit differently when composing your shots.

There’s much more to learn about all styles of photography on Gary’s instructional You Tube channel, to be sure and check it out when you have time to explore.

We also recommend watching the tutorial we featured recently with an acclaimed impressionist photographer who demonstrates how easy it is to capture spectacular photographs of the magical world hidden within raindrops.

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