The interesting part is that the camera is rarely the problem. After exploring and multiple discussions with tech and photography enthusiast, I have found that some of the biggest improvements in iPhone photography come from knowing the small controls your mobile phone manufacturer i.e. Apple, hides in plain sight. You do not necessarily need another lens, an expensive camera app or the newest iPhone. Sometimes you simply need to know what your existing camera can already do.

These are the 10 iPhone camera tricks I think are genuinely worth learning:

1. Clean the lens before blaming the camera

It sounds almost too obvious to include, but this is the first thing I do when an iPhone photograph suddenly looks hazy. Our phones spend their lives in pockets, bags and hands. The camera glass collects fingerprints incredibly easily, and even a thin layer of oil can soften an image or create exaggerated flare around lights.

Before taking an important photograph, give the lenses a quick wipe with a clean microfibre cloth. It takes five seconds and can make a bigger difference than changing half the settings in your Camera app.

2. Turn on the grid — and the level

Composition becomes considerably easier once you stop judging everything entirely by eye.

Go to Settings > Camera and turn on Grid and Level. 

The grid gives you a simple reference for composition, while the level helps straighten shots — especially useful when photographing food, interiors, landscapes or anything from directly overhead.

I particularly like the level for travel photographs. A beautiful horizon that is slightly crooked somehow manages to make the whole photograph feel wrong. Think of these guides as scaffolding: they are there when you need them, but they never appear in the finished image.

3. Stop letting the iPhone choose your exposure

One of the most useful camera controls is also one of the easiest to miss. Tap the subject you want in focus and you will see the familiar yellow focus box. Beside it is a small sun icon. Drag that sun up or down to brighten or darken the image before taking the photograph.

Apple also lets you lock focus and exposure, helping prevent the camera from constantly recalculating the scene while you compose your shot.

Most of the time, I lower the exposure slightly rather than letting the iPhone brighten everything automatically. It can preserve a little more atmosphere in sunsets, cafes, city streets and other scenes where shadows are part of what made the moment appealing in the first place.

4. Use the volume button as your shutter

When I am holding an iPhone horizontally, tapping the on-screen shutter can sometimes feel surprisingly awkward. There is an easier option: press either volume button to take the photograph.

It feels much closer to using a traditional camera shutter and can make the phone easier to hold steadily.

There is another trick worth enabling. 

Go to: Settings > Camera > Use Volume Up for Burst

Then holding the volume-up button captures a rapid sequence of photographs. Apple specifically recommends Burst mode for moving subjects where having several frames gives you a better chance of catching the right moment. Anything that is in motion; children running, pets moving around and refusing to cooperate, live sports in action, or a simple street photography — this is where Burst earns its place.

5. Record video without leaving Photo mode

A good moment rarely waits while you navigate camera menus. If you are already in Photo mode, simply press and hold the shutter button and your iPhone begins recording video using QuickTake. Apple also supports starting QuickTake by holding either volume button — indeed a very convenient built-in feature. 

It is one of my favourite everyday iPhone camera shortcuts because it removes that small hesitation between thinking I should film this and actually filming it; sometimes that second matters.

6. Tell the Camera app to remember your settings

This is one setting I think far more iPhone owners should change. By default, Camera does not necessarily reopen exactly as you left it.
Go to: Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings

Depending on your model, you can preserve things such as your previous Camera Mode, Photographic Style, Exposure Adjustment, Night Mode, Macro Control and Live Photo preference. For me, this is less about photography technique and more about reducing friction. If I deliberately changed a setting, I generally want the camera to remember that decision rather than quietly resetting it.

7. Turn an ordinary Live Photo into a long exposure

This is one of the more creative features hiding inside your Photos app. Take an image with Live Photo switched on, open it afterwards, tap the Live Photo control and choose Long Exposure. Apple describes the effect as simulating a DSLR-style long exposure by blurring motion. 

Try it on waterfalls, moving traffic, fountains, waves, passing crowds, illuminated streets at night. 

Instead of freezing movement, the photograph begins to show the passage of time. It will not replace a tripod-mounted camera and proper long-exposure technique, but for something created entirely on a phone, the results can be remarkably atmospheric.

8. Give Night mode something stable to work with

Night mode can produce excellent photographs, but there is one thing it cannot overcome indefinitely: your hands moving. On supported iPhones, Night mode automatically increases capture time in low light, and Apple lets you manually extend that exposure in suitable conditions. Apple also specifically recommends using a tripod when you want even more detail. 

You do not necessarily need to carry one. I have rested my iPhone against windows, tables, railings and even a coffee cup when travelling. Anything that keeps the phone still can help. The darker the environment, the more stability matters*. 

* In darker environmnet, your iPhone camera’s shutter stays open longer and raises its light sensitivity (ISO) to gather enough light, making any tiny hand movement result in motion blur. Keeping the phone completely stable ensures sharp, clear low-light and Night mode photos.

9. Use your highest resolution selectively

More megapixels sound automatically better, but I would not leave maximum-resolution capture switched on simply because the option exists. On supported newer models, Apple allows you to choose higher-resolution photo modes, while certain Pro models offer additional RAW capture options. Higher-resolution files can give you considerably more room for cropping and editing, but they also consume more storage. Apple currently allows supported devices to choose between resolutions such as 12 MP and 24 MP, with higher-resolution options available on compatible camera systems.

My approach is simple: Use higher resolution when the photograph matters — travel landscapes, architecture, portraits or something you may crop heavily later. For everyday snapshots? The standard setting is usually more than enough.

10. Edit lightly before reaching for another filter

The Photos app is more capable than many people realise. Open a photograph, tap Edit, and you can individually adjust settings including Exposure, Brilliance and Highlights, rather than simply placing a filter over the entire image.

Whenever my usual approach is restrained. I correct the exposure first, recover highlights if necessary, make a small adjustment to shadows or contrast, and stop. The temptation with phone photography is to keep editing because the sliders are right there. But a good edit should usually make you notice the photograph more, not the editing.