Night Photos

[Ambrosia7177]

I have an iPhone 6S Plus with iOS 13.5.

How can I take photos at night and get the best results?

For instance, last night at the hotel I am staying, there was a big drama at 4am when the fire alarms went off.

I was shooting footage from outside of the (pissed) people in the parking lot and the fire trucks, but I'm guessing things came out blury since the auto-focus didn't seem to work.

On a regular camera, you'd open up the apeture and slow down the shuuterspeed for better results.

Not sure what can be done on my iPhone?

 

[C DM]

There are some apps that help out with some aspects related to that, like some night camera apps (Nigh Camera and various others), and some apps with more camera controls (ProCam and the like). But those can only do that much as the hardware itself plays a bigger role -- basically getting a newer iPhone model with better camera(s) and related hardware would make a bigger difference.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

There are some apps that help out with some aspects related to that, like some night camera apps (Nigh Camera and various others), and some apps with more camera controls (ProCam and the like). But those can only do that much as the hardware itself plays a bigger role -- basically getting a newer iPhone model with better camera(s) and related hardware would make a bigger difference.

But let's focus - no pun intended! - on "current state"...

What could I have done last night to have had beter results? (Of, and I was asking about VIDEO more so than photos, but I'm curious about those too.)

I've been impressed with how responsive my iPhone is under diffeent lighting conditions.

I just learned a wek ago that if you hold your thumb down for a second or two that you can lock the auto-focus and maybe something else?

Would something like that have helped out?

 

[ericgtr12]

I have an iPhone 6S Plus with iOS 13.5.

How can I take photos at night and get the best results?

For instance, last night at the hotel I am staying, there was a big drama at 4am when the fire alarms went off.

I was shooting footage from outside of the (pissed) people in the parking lot and the fire trucks, but I'm guessing things came out blury since the auto-focus didn't seem to work.

On a regular camera, you'd open up the apeture and slow down the shuuterspeed for better results.

Not sure what can be done on my iPhone?

Even with all of its advancements, the iPhone is still a basic point and shoot camera. If you want to be able to take professional looking shots, you'll need professional equipment. This isn't to put down the iPhone in any way, it's just the reality of it, it does not have a DSLR sensor, the lens is tiny and fixed, etc.

Night shooting and getting it right not only takes the right gear, but the right settings and a bit of practice. Depending on the situation I'll go from being on a tripod with a remote shutter release and mirror lockup for nightscape (still) shots to really high ISO and shutter speeds for low light motion.

The best advice I can give for the iPhone in low light is to hold as still as possible (or use a tripod if possible), even with image stabilization, lower light will cause the shutter to be open longer and the slightest amount of motion will make them blurry. It will also need enough light to be able to autofocus, otherwise it will just hunt without being able to lock.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

Even with all of its advancements, the iPhone is still a basic point and shoot camera. If you want to be able to take professional looking shots, you'll need professional equipment. This isn't to put down the iPhone in any way, it's just the reality of it, it does not have a DSLR sensor, the lens is tiny and fixed, etc.

Night shooting and getting it right not only takes the right gear, but the right settings and a bit of practice. Depending on the situation I'll go from being on a tripod with a remote shutter release and mirror lockup for nightscape (still) shots to really high ISO and shutter speeds for low light motion.

I used to be a pretty serious amateur photographer, so I understand all of that.

The best advice I can give for the iPhone in low light is to hold as still as possible (or use a tripod if possible), even with image stabilization, lower light will cause the shutter to be open longer and the slightest amount of motion will make them blurry. It will also need enough light to be able to autofocus, otherwise it will just hunt without being able to lock.

Well, any blurriness was caused by the autofocus, autofocusing?!

Is there a way I could have gotten it to focus and then hold?

With a camera I always shoot 100% manual, so autofocus never gets in the way.

What can i do shooting video (or photos) to get things in focus in low light, and then hold until I take the video/photo?

 

[ericgtr12]

I used to be a pretty serious amateur photographer, so I understand all of that.




Well, any blurriness was caused by the autofocus, autofocusing?!

Is there a way I could have gotten it to focus and then hold?

With a camera I always shoot 100% manual, so autofocus never gets in the way.

What can i do shooting video (or photos) to get things in focus in low light, and then hold until I take the video/photo?

It looks like the iPhone has a way to manually focus. Depending on the situation, what I typically do is find a point of light somewhere close to what I'm shooting and manually focus on it, then lock it. This is really the only way to prevent it from hunting in low light.

 

[Ambrosia7177]

It looks like the iPhone has a way to manually focus. Depending on the situation, what I typically do is find a point of light somewhere close to what I'm shooting and manually focus on it, then lock it. This is really the only way to prevent it from hunting in low light.

Well, if I could just set things to infinity (and then lock it), I would probably be good in most situations.

So how would I have done that?

 

[C DM]

A variety of information and tips from places like https://www.apple.com/iphone/photography-how-to/ (as well as some other blogs like https://www.techradar.com/how-to/10-iphone-camera-tips-and-tricks-direct-from-apples-experts or https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-camera-tips-better-professional-looking-photos/) might be of some help as well.

 

[turfz]

Follow On Instagram : @ali.turfah

 

[Veerasayz]

Try neural cam. I purchased that app and it seems this is taking better pics in low light when compared to stock camera