| Cult of Mac

3 tips to take better pictures with your iPhone

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Step up your photography
A beautiful, well-framed picture will almost make a Prius look good.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

How can you take better pictures with just your iPhone? You should get comfortable with the world’s handiest camera so you can capture memories that will last a lifetime. After all, more and more people are leaving behind family point-and-shoot cameras for the smartphones in their pockets.

If you know the ins and outs of photography, you don’t need the latest and greatest to take gorgeous shots. In fact, the winner of the 2020 iPhone Photography Awards took the prize-winning picture on an iPhone 4!

No matter what phone you have, here are my top iPhonography tips for the casual and curious.

How to make sure your iPhone fireworks photos go off with a bang

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These tips will help you take better fireworks photos.
These tips will help you take better fireworks photos.
Photo: Richard Dongses/Flickr CC

Last year’s Fourth of July fireworks made you say ooh and ahh, but when you look at your iPhone photos from that night, the sound you make is more of an ugh. Want to shoot better fireworks photos this time around?

Don’t blame Siri or some engineer in Cupertino for previous photo fails. The iPhone camera, as mighty as it is, can’t do all the thinking for you — especially in challenging lighting conditions like a fireworks display. But with a little thought and preparation, you can make this holiday worth reliving on your iPhone camera roll.

Below are some simple tips to make your iPhone fireworks photos sizzle.

Today in Apple history: Newspaper replaces photo staff with iPhones

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More than a trillion photos were captured in 2015.
A big Chicago daily pulls the plug on staff photographers.
Photo: HypeBeast

May 31: Today in Apple history: Chicago Sun-Times replaces photo staff with iPhones May 31, 2013: The Chicago Sun-Times fires all 28 of its photographers, with the goal of training its staff to shoot photos using iPhones instead. Pulitzer Prize winner John H. White is among those who lose their jobs.

The move is significant not just because of what it says about the declining newspaper industry. It also spotlights the iPhone’s growing acceptance as a professional camera.

Take spellbinding half-underwater photos with this specialty iPhone case

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Here's an example of a split photo the waterproof dome case will let you take with a smartphone.
Here's an example of a split photo the waterproof dome case will let you take with a smartphone.
Photo: SJPro

You know those cool photographs that are half underwater and half above water? They’re called split photos. And a new waterproof case on Kickstarter called the SJPro Smartphone Mobile Mini Dome will let you take them with your iPhone, or almost any smartphone, for a pledge of $45.

Learn from the photographers that captured Hollywood for only $100

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Learn from the best with Photo School.
This $99 photography bundle delivers critical knowledge from world-famous teachers.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Photography is a lot more than pointing and shooting a camera. However, learning everything from staging a shot to editing it in Photoshop can take years if you tackle it on your own.

Photo School: Learn Photography & Photoshop from Hollywood’s Masters will teach you how to work through the entire photography process the way real professionals do. And after a huge price drop, it’s on sale for $99.99.

Hot deals on photo gear, software and courses

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Launch your photography with these top deals.
If you want to make great pictures and videos, you need the right hardware, software and knowledge.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you’re looking for a way to instantly improve your photography chops, and maybe even launch your own side hustle, you need to zoom in on these 10 helpful bundles. They’re chock-full of photo accessories, image-editing apps and educational courses that will get you started or take your photography (or videography) to a higher level.

Whether you need help selecting the best lens for portraits, need a brand-new setup for your in-home studio, or want the ultimate app to help you perfect your pix, we rounded up the best tools to help you take beautiful photos without any formal training.

Take a shot at becoming a photographer with these intro courses for less than $50

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This awesome photography course is $40.
Your photos will be picture-perfect after taking this photography course.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you want to get into photography and learn like a professional, then give the Intro to Professional Photography, Lightroom, & Photoshop Bundle a try. This pack of courses is a great starting point for new photographers, and it’s on sale for $40.

Create epic slideshows for Mac with WnSoft’s PTE AV Studio Pro

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WnSoft's PTV AV Studio is powerful photo slideshow software for Mac.
WnSoft's PTV AV Studio is powerful photo slideshow software for Mac.
Photo: WnSoft

WnSoft’s PTE AV Studio is powerful but easy-to-use slideshow software that is widely used by photographers, camera clubs and AV groups for competitions and festivals. Shows created in PTE AV Studio have won prizes in events held in the U.K., France, Belgium, Italy and other countries.

Now, WnSoft calls its latest version of PTE AV Studio Pro “the most powerful photo slideshow software for Mac.” And judging by the robust feature set it includes, that may be no exaggeration.

New Fjorden camera grip gives your iPhone DSLR controls

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The Fjorden iPhone grip and MagSafe-compatible case turn your phone into a DSLR.
The Fjorden iPhone grip and MagSafe-compatible case turn your phone into a DSLR.
Photo: Fjorden

A Kickstarter campaign pushes a new iPhone camera grip and MagSafe case combo called the Fjorden. It promises to turn your iPhone into a DSLR camera — while still fitting in your pocket. Its physical camera controls might make a lot of photographers very happy.