How To Get The Best Quality Images on Your iPhone

Taking better photos with your iPhone comes down to a few settings and techniques that anyone can use.

You don’t need professional photography knowledge or expensive gear.

You just need to set up your camera properly and understand a few basics.

This guide will show you exactly how to do that.

Do You Need a Pro Model iPhone?

No.

You can get great results on any recent iPhone.

If you have a Pro model (iPhone 14 Pro, 15 Pro, 16 Pro, or 17 Pro), you get access to ProRAW, which gives you more flexibility when editing.

If you don’t have a Pro model, everything here still helps.

You’ll just skip the RAW parts.

Camera Settings

Before you take any photos, fix your settings.

Most image quality issues start here.

Go to Settings → Camera → Formats

Change these:

Camera Capture → High Efficiency

Keeps quality high while avoiding massive files.

Photo Mode → 24MP

More resolution, more detail, and better crops.

ProRAW & Resolution Control → On

Lets you choose RAW and 48MP when you actually need it.

ProRAW Format → JPEG-XL (Lossy)

Smaller RAW files without noticeable quality loss.

Composition Settings

Scroll to Composition and turn on:

Grid — helps line up subjects and horizons.

Level — keeps your horizon straight.

View Outside Frame — most people keep this off so it’s less distracting.

Other Important Settings

Turn these on:

Fusion Camera — enable 28mm and 35mm. Set default lens to 24mm.

Portraits in Photo Mode — lets you convert normal photos into portraits later.

Lens Correction — fixes distortion, especially on ultra-wide.

Macro Control — gives you control over when macro kicks in.

Lens Cleaning Hints — reminds you when your lens is dirty.

Preserve Settings

Go to Preserve Settings and turn on:

• Camera Mode
• Macro Control
• Exposure Adjustment
• Night Mode
• ProRAW & Resolution Control (if you use RAW often)

This keeps the camera from resetting everything every time you open it.

Video Settings

Good defaults:

4K at 60fps — great for most content.

4K at 24fps — more cinematic.

Enhanced Stabilisation — On

HDR Video — On

That’s it for settings.

Take a few minutes to do this once and you’re done.

How to Actually Shoot Photos

Now the practical part.

Clean Your Lens

Sounds silly, but do this every time.

Your phone sits in your pocket, bag, or hand all day.

Oils blur the image.

You’ll notice that if your image doesn’t look clear, more often than not it’s a smudge on your lens.

One quick wipe instantly improves sharpness and contrast.

When to Use RAW vs HEIF

Tap the format button in the camera app.

Use:

HEIF (24MP or 48MP): everyday photos, sharing, normal shooting.

RAW (48MP): when you plan to edit or when the moment really matters.

RAW files are huge. Don’t use them for everything.

Save RAW for the shots you care about.

Lower Your Exposure

Tap your subject. Drag the sun icon slightly down.

Aim for around:

−0.3 to −0.7

This prevents blown highlights, keeps colour natural, and gives you more detail to work with.

You can also set exposure bias permanently using the EV control at the top of the camera.

Stick to the 1× Lens

The main 1× lens has the biggest sensor.

That means:

• more light
• more detail
• cleaner images
• better depth

Use 4× or 8× only in bright light.

Avoid zooming between preset numbers — that’s just digital crop.

Macro Mode

Macro switches to the ultra-wide lens, which has a smaller sensor.

You’ll notice it’s on when you see a small flower icon on your screen.

If macro turns on and the image looks soft, turn macro off and step slightly back.

Use 1× whenever you can.

Use Night Mode When It’s Dark

When night mode activates:

• check the exposure time
• hold steady
• brace against a wall or table if possible

Longer exposures can help, but only if you keep the phone still.

Longer exposures just means that the lens shutter stays open for longer, letting more light in.

More light = better for the lens = better photos.

Lock Your Focus

If you’re taking multiple shots of the same subject:

Hold your finger till you see AE/AF Lock.

This stops the camera from constantly changing exposure and focus.

Editing

Shooting in ProRAW only matters if you edit.

Lightroom is a good option because it handles RAW properly and syncs across devices.

Step 1: Start With a Preset

Presets handle the overall look:

• colour
• tone
• contrast

Apply one, then tweak from there.

Step 2: Make Small Adjustments

Adjust:

• exposure
• highlights
• shadows
• temperature
• contrast

Small moves are better than heavy edits.

Step 3: Fix the “iPhone Look”

iPhones add sharpening by default.

In Lightroom:

Lower Clarity slightly (around −5).

It removes that crunchy edge without making the image soft.

Step 4: Crop and Straighten

Tighten the frame.

Remove distractions.

Straighten lines.

Keep attention on the subject.

Often the crop makes the biggest difference.

Advanced Editing (Optional)

If you want more control:

• mask the sky
• brighten the subject
• darken the background for depth

Add a small amount of grain if you like texture.

It gives your shots that filmic look.

Keep it subtle.

If you want to make this part easier, the iPhone Creator Kit includes presets, LUTs, and simple guides that walk through everything in more detail.

It’s designed so you can get the same look every time without spending ages tweaking sliders.

Common Mistakes

Using digital zoom between lenses

Stick to 0.5×, 1×, 2×, 4×, 8×.

Shooting everything in RAW

Huge files, unnecessary most of the time.

Over-editing

If the photo looks processed, you’ve gone too far.

Ignoring light

Good light matters more than settings. Windows, shade, overcast days, and golden hour always look better.

That’s It

Better iPhone photos come from simple habits:

Clean the lens.

Use the right settings.

Look for good light.

Stay on the main lens.

Edit lightly.

iPhone Creator Kit

If you found this helpful, the iPhone Creator Kit builds on all of this with more detailed guides, presets designed for iPhone, and tools that make editing faster and easier.