Sometimes a regular photo can’t get everything you want in the photo. Or, maybe the landscape or subject you are trying to capture doesn’t look right in a normal shot. This is where pano photos can be a game changer. Here are three reasons why you should try pano shots. 1. Expansive Views: Pano photos on the iPhone excel at capturing wide landscapes, towering skyscrapers, or sprawling cityscapes in one breathtaking shot. With just a swipe, you can squeeze more into your frame, adding depth and drama to your shots. 2. Immersive Experience: The beauty of pano photos lies in their ability to convey the grandeur and scale of a scene, pulling the viewer into the moment and immersing them in the surroundings. Whether it's a mountain peak or a tranquil beach, pano photos enable you to capture the full scope of your experience in stunning detail. 3. Creative Expression: Pano photos offer a creative way to experiment with composition and perspective. By stretching and distorting the scene, you can create dynamic and captivating images that push the boundaries of traditional photography. With just a few taps and swipes, you can transform an ordinary moment into an extraordinary masterpiece. Panos can add an incredible look to your photos. And the thing about Panos is they don’t have to be sideways all the time. I’ve done Panos from side to side and from the ground up. This allows for a cool look especially with a person in the front. Many times a building, statue, or scene can’t all fit into a photo with your subject. A pano can get everything in and add that cool look to the shot. Happy Shooting! 📸💥📱

One of the biggest differences in smartphone cameras and professional cameras is the depth of field. If you notice in professional portraits, the subject is in perfect focus while the background is blurry. This is a great look for portraits, products, automobiles, and others. Although smartphones can’t naturally get this look, there is a built in AI feature that gives this look - Portrait Mode. Many people know about this feature and have used it, but there are some techniques and settings that allow this to be even better. 1. F stops What the portrait mode is mimicking from a professional camera is aperture. Aperture allows more light to hit the sensor, and in turn gives that blur look. However, it seems somewhat backwards. Lower aperture = more light = more blur. Aperture is measured by “F Stops.” Don’t ask me how this came to be, but that’s the way it is. And just like you can adjust the F stops in a camera, iPhone gives you the ability to adjust the “F stops” (blur) in portrait mode. Sometimes, the blur just looks too much and unnatural. So you can raise the F stops in the hidden menu. The same way we reach the hidden menu for exposure, you can get there to adjust the F stops. Simply swipe up on your screen (you may have to swipe twice in Portrait mode), or hit the little arrow at the top of the screen. You then want to tap on the fancy “f” icon, and you adjust it from there. I never want to make the photo look like it used AI. If the blur is too much, the subject will get a weird ring around their head and body that doesn’t look professional at all. So, make sure you’re using the right aperture. 2. Lighting One thing that iPhone has that professional cameras don’t have is insane AI. And one of the features that this brings is the portrait lighting settings. If you swipe up the first time to get the hidden menu, you’ll see a wheel of different lighting settings. The default is “Natural Lighting,” but there are plenty of other options. For practical purposes, I would never use the last three settings - “Stage Light,” “Stage Light Mono,” “High-Key Light Mono.” These simply look too artificial. But the others can be incredible options. My personal fav is the studio light. This just makes portraits of people even better. It adds more light on the person’s face that makes it look like it was taken in a studio, which look amazing.