Table Of Contents: How To Blur Background On iPhone

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1. Capture Beautifully Blurred Backgrounds Using Portrait Mode
2. Get Closer To Your Subject For Amazing Background Blur
3. Blur The Background Of A Picture In Editing
4. Frame Your Subject With A Dreamy Blurred Vignette

1. Capture Beautifully Blurred Backgrounds Using Portrait Mode

Do you want to shoot stunning iPhone portrait photos with gorgeous blurred backgrounds?

If you thought you could only achieve professional results with a DSLR camera… think again!

The built-in iPhone Camera app has an incredible tool for blurring the background in your photos.

What is this tool?

It’s called Portrait mode.

Portrait mode uses depth-effect software to blur the background of a picture as you shoot it.

The subject will remain in sharp focus… which is perfect for portrait photography.

It’s also great for scenes with distracting backgrounds. Your subject will stand out much better if the background is blurred.

Portrait mode is available on all of the latest iPhones: iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max.

You’ll also find it on the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 7 Plus.

If your iPhone doesn’t have Portrait mode, don’t worry! Just skip to Section 2 below to discover how to blur photos on iPhone without using Portrait mode.

1.1 How To Blur Background On iPhone Using Portrait Mode

So, how do you use Portrait mode to blur the background in your iPhone photos?

First, open the Camera app. Then select Portrait at the bottom of the screen.

Ensure your subject is between two and eight feet from the camera. There also needs to be enough light in the scene. (Portrait mode doesn’t always work in low light.)

When you’ve composed your photo, you’ll see a yellow focus box around the subject’s face. The face will be in focus and the background will appear blurred.

When you see the words Natural Light (or Depth Effect on iPhone 7 Plus) in yellow, your iPhone is ready to shoot.

Now, simply press the shutter button to take a picture!

1.2 How To Change Background Blur In Portrait Photos

Did you know you can make changes to the background blur… after you’ve taken a photo?

If you have one of the iPhones listed below, you can easily adjust the strength of the background blur:

iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, XS, XS Max, and XR.

Open your portrait photo in the Photos app. Then tap Edit at the top right.

Tap the f/number icon at the top left.

Now use the Depth slider beneath your photo to adjust the blur strength.

A low f/number results in strong blur. And a high f/number results in less blur with more background detail.

The Depth slider isn’t available on older iPhones. However, if you’re not happy with the background blur, you can revert to the original image without any blur.

To remove the blur, tap the yellow Portrait option at the top of the screen. The depth effect will be switched off and the blur will be removed. You can switch the blur back on at any time by tapping Portrait again.

While we’re looking at the Portrait mode editing options, let’s take a look at Portrait Lighting (not available on iPhone 7 Plus).

Portrait Lighting lets you add different studio lighting effects to your portrait photos.

At the top left of the editing screen, tap the Portrait Lighting (hexagon) icon. The Portrait Lighting icons will appear beneath your photo.

Swipe across the Portrait Lighting icons (cube icons) at the bottom of the photo.

Natural Light doesn’t modify the lighting in any way. Studio Light brightens your subject’s face. Contour Light adds shadows for more defined facial features.

Stage Light turns the background black. Stage Light Mono is the same as Stage Light, but with a black and white effect. High-Key Light Mono creates a black and white photo with a white background.

When you’ve chosen a Portrait Lighting effect, use the slider to adjust the strength of the light.

When you’ve finished editing your portrait photo, tap Done to save the changes.

2. Get Closer To Your Subject For Amazing Background Blur

Do you want to know how to take pictures with blurred background on iPhone… even if you don’t have Portrait mode?

Here’s a simple trick for getting incredible background blur:

Get closer to your subject.

It’s that simple!

Shooting with the camera close to the subject creates a shallow depth of field.

A shallow depth of field means only a small portion of the image is in focus. The rest of the image will be blurred out.

The closer you get to the subject, the shallower the depth of field will be.

So for really blurry backgrounds, you’ll need to get really close.

However, if you get too close, the camera won’t be able to focus at all. And your subject will appear blurred.

So always check that your subject is in sharp focus. If it isn’t, move a bit further away and try taking the photo again.

For extreme close-up photos, you’ll need an add-on macro lens, such as the Moment Macro Lens.

A macro lens allows the camera to focus at very close distances.

You can take amazing close-up photos of flowers, insects, and nature with a macro lens.

When shooting up close, it’s important to ensure the correct part of the scene is in focus.

You want your foreground subject to be sharp and the background to be blurred.

Luckily, it’s easy to set the iPhone camera focus.

In the Camera app, simply tap the screen where you want the focus to be set. A yellow box will indicate the focus point.

If the background doesn’t look blurred, move a bit closer, then tap to set focus again.

Remember, the closer you get, the blurrier the background will be!

3. Blur The Background Of A Picture In Editing

As you’ve discovered, taking photos with a blurred background is easy.

But what if you don’t capture a blurry background… and then decide the photo would look better if it was blurred?

This isn’t a problem!

Because you can use an editing app to blur the background after taking a picture.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to blur the background of a picture using the AfterFocus app.

3.1 Select Your Foreground Subject & Background

Open AfterFocus, then tap Select Photo at the bottom of the screen. Tap on the photo you want to edit.

Some helpful tips may appear on the screen after opening your image. Swipe across to read the tips, then tap the X at the top left to exit.

The first step is to use the Smart Selection tools to select the subject and the background.

Tap the Focus icon at the bottom of the screen. Now, use your finger to draw a line inside the area you want to keep in focus.

You don’t have to be too precise. Just roughly mark out the foreground subject that you want in focus.

Next, tap the Background icon. Draw a line over the background that you want to blur. When you release your finger, the foreground will be highlighted with a red mask.

The red area with white lines is the part of the image that will remain in focus. The black line indicates the area that will be blurred in the next step.

However, before you blur the background, you need to check whether the app has selected your subject accurately.

Is part of your foreground subject not highlighted in red? Or does part of the background appear red? If so, you’ll need to fix this so that only the background gets blurred.

In the example above, you can see that the top of the cycle helmet hasn’t been selected.

You can try drawing more lines to mark the foreground and background areas. But this doesn’t always produce perfect results.

If you can’t achieve an accurate selection with the Smart Selection tools, you’ll need to switch to Manual Selection mode. To do this, tap the Pencil icon at the top of the screen.

Zoom in by pinching with two fingers. Then check the edges of your selection carefully. Use two fingers to drag the image while zoomed in.

Tap the Brush Size icon, then select a suitable brush size for the area you want to select. Now, select either the Focus or Background icon, then brush over the subject or background that you want to select.

Remember, you need to be precise when using the Manual Selection tools. Any area that you brush over will be selected.

If you make a mistake, tap Undo (curved arrow) at the top of the screen. Or switch between the Focus and Background icons to repaint an area you selected by mistake.

When you’ve finished, the red mask should only be on the foreground subject that you want in sharp focus. The neater you make your selection, the more realistic it will look when you apply the blur effect.

When you’ve made a neat selection, tap the arrow at the top right. The background of your photo will now appear blurred!

If you notice a mistake with your selection, tap the single left arrow at the top of the screen. You can then adjust your selection by brushing with the Focus and Background tools. When you’ve finished, tap the right arrow to return to the blur effects screen.

3.2 Customize The Blur Effect

The icons at the bottom of the AfterFocus app let you customize the blur in your photo.

Tap the Blur icon, and ensure Lens Blur is selected. Drag the slider to adjust the strength of the blur.

Below is the edited photo with a beautifully blurred background.

For comparison, below is the original image where the background is in focus. Notice how the blurred background helps to draw attention to the boy.

If you want to add a sense of movement to the scene, you can use the Motion Blur option (instead of Lens Blur).

This is perfect for moving subjects as it exaggerates the feeling of motion in your image.

Below is the image with motion blur applied to the background.

The original photo was taken while the boy was stationary. But the motion blur makes it look like he was moving quickly through the scene!

When you’ve finished editing your photo, don’t forget to save it. Tap the down arrow at the top of the screen, then tap Yes.

4. Frame Your Subject With A Dreamy Blurred Vignette

This next editing technique offers something slightly different.

Rather than blurring the entire background, you’re going to create a blurred vignette around the edges of the scene.

The blurred edges help draw attention to the central focused area. The blur acts as a frame, drawing the viewer’s eye toward the subject.

A blurred vignette also adds a dreamy quality to your photo.

Here’s how to blur photos on iPhone using the free Snapseed app:

Open Snapseed, then tap the screen to open your photo library. Select Open From Device, then tap on the photo you want to open.

Tap Tools at the bottom of the screen. Then scroll down and select the Lens Blur tool.

Two white circles will appear on your image.

Anything inside the inner circle will be in sharp focus. Anything outside the outer circle will be blurred. The area between the two circles is where the image transitions from sharp to blurred.

You can drag the circle to a different area if you wish. Or resize it by pinching with two fingers.

To adjust the blur strength, swipe up or down and select Blur Strength. Then swipe left or right to adjust the strength of the blur.

You can also adjust the Transition and Vignette Strength in the same way.

Transition adjusts how gradually the focused area transitions to blur. And Vignette Strength controls how dark the edges of your photo appear.

When you’re happy with the blur effect, tap the checkmark at the bottom right.

Save your image by tapping Export, then Save A Copy.

Below is the edited image with a dreamy blurred vignette around the edges.

For comparison, below is the original image without any blur applied. Notice how the subtle blurring in the photo above draws the eye toward the center of the frame.

Note that a blurred vignette doesn’t work well on every photo. It tends to work best went the subject is positioned centrally in the frame. And you need to have enough space around your subject to blur the edges.

But on the right photo, a blurred vignette can be very effective!

The post 4 Easy Ways To Blur The Background In Your iPhone Photos appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

Table Of Contents: How To Blur Background On iPhone

Click any title link below to go straight to that section of the tutorial:

1. Use Portrait Mode To Create Beautifully Blurred Backgrounds
1.1 What Is Portrait Mode?
1.2 How To Blur Background On iPhone Using Portrait Mode
1.3 Edit Or Remove Background Blur In Portrait Photos

2. Get Close To Your Subject To Blur The Background
2.1 Move Closer To Your Subject
2.2 Set The Focus Point Manually
2.3 Getting Closer vs. Portrait Mode

3. Use AfterFocus App To Blur Background In Editing
3.1 Choose A Selection Mode
3.2 Use Smart Selection Mode To Specify Background & Foreground
3.3 Use Manual Mode To Make Precise Selections
3.4 Customize The Blur Effect

1. Use Portrait Mode To Create Beautifully Blurred Backgrounds

Do you want to shoot professional-looking portrait photos where the background appears out of focus?

Portrait mode in the built-in iPhone Camera app offers an easy way to blur the background in your photos.

1.1. What Is Portrait Mode?

Portrait mode is a shooting mode in the iPhone’s built-in Camera app. It uses depth-effect software to create soft, blurry backgrounds while your subject remains in sharp focus.

As the name suggests, Portrait mode is perfect for shooting portraits of people and pets. But you can also use it to blur the background behind other subjects.

Portrait mode is especially useful when the background is ugly or distracting. Blurring the background creates a more pleasing image and helps your subject stand out.

Portrait mode is available on the new iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. You’ll also find it on the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 7 Plus.

Unfortunately, Portrait mode isn’t available on the iPhone 8, iPhone 7, or older. But the other techniques covered in this article show you how to create blurred backgrounds with any iPhone.

To learn how to blur background without Portrait mode, jump to section 2 below.

1.2 How To Blur Photos On iPhone Using Portrait Mode

With Portrait mode, it’s easy to create images with dreamy, blurred backgrounds.

Open the Camera app on your iPhone, and select Portrait mode at the bottom of the screen.

Your subject needs to be between two and eight feet from the camera. And there needs to be plenty of light (Portrait mode doesn’t always work in low light conditions).

Compose your photo, and wait for the words Natural Light (or Depth Effect on the iPhone 7 Plus) to appear in yellow.

This indicates that the depth-effect is working, and you’re ready to take your shot.

Check the viewfinder to ensure the depth-effect feature is producing good results. Your subject should appear sharp, and the background should be blurred.

Now simply press the shutter button to take a beautiful portrait photo.

1.3 Edit Or Remove Background Blur In Portrait Photos

Sometimes Portrait mode photos don’t turn out exactly as you’d like.

Maybe you wish the background was more out of focus. Or perhaps you’d like the background slightly less blurred.

Sometimes the camera doesn’t correctly determine which areas are background and which are foreground. For example, it might blur part of the foreground or leave some of the background in focus.

But the great thing about Portrait mode is that you can make changes to the background blur after you’ve taken the photo.

On the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, XS, XS Max, and XR, you can adjust the strength of the background blur.

Start by opening your portrait photo in the Photos app, then tap Edit.

Tap the f/number icon at the top left.

Now drag the Depth slider (beneath the photo) left or right to increase or decrease the blur strength.

On older iPhones, you don’t have the option to adjust blur strength. But you can turn off the depth-effect completely, reverting your image back to the original without any background blur.

To remove the blur, tap the yellow Portrait option at the top of the editing screen. You can switch it back on at any time by tapping Portrait again.

Another interesting feature within Portrait mode is Portrait Lighting (not available on iPhone 7 Plus). Portrait Lighting lets you apply studio lighting effects to your photos.

To experiment with the Portrait Lighting options, tap the Portrait Lighting icon at the top left of the editing screen. Then swipe over the Portrait Lighting icons beneath the image.

Natural Light is the default Portrait Lighting setting. This option doesn’t apply any lighting effects to your photo.

Studio Light brightens the face of your subject. Contour Light creates shadows for more defined facial features.

Stage Light makes the background completely black. Stage Light Mono is like Stage Light, but it turns your photo black and white. And High-Key Light Mono creates a black and white photo with a white background.

Once you’ve selected the Portrait Lighting effect you want to use, drag the slider to adjust the strength of the effect.

2. Get Close To Your Subject To Blur The Background

Do you want to know how to take pictures with blurred background on iPhone without using Portrait mode?

It’s actually really simple! And you can do it on any iPhone – even older models that don’t have Portrait mode.

You just need to get close to your subject.

2.1 Move Closer To Your Subject

This little-known technique is a guaranteed way to create amazing blurred backgrounds in your photos.

The closer you get to your subject, the blurrier the background becomes.

To test out this technique with your own iPhone, find a subject that you’d like to photograph.

Make sure the subject isn’t too close to the background, otherwise the background won’t appear blurred. The further the background is from the subject, the more blurred it will appear.

Start by holding your iPhone a few feet away from the subject. Now slowly move your phone closer to the subject. Notice how the background gradually appears more blurred the closer you get.

If you get too close to the subject, the camera won’t be able to focus at all. When this happens, the subject will appear blurred. You need to be far enough away to ensure the subject looks crisp and sharp, but close enough to blur the background.

You also need to ensure the background has some detail that can be blurred. If you’re shooting against a plain white wall, there won’t be any detail for the camera to blur.

2.2 Set The Focus Point Manually

When shooting close-up photos, the depth of field is shallow. This means that only a small part of the image from front to back is in sharp focus, and the rest of the scene appears blurred.

So it’s essential you tell the camera which part of the scene to focus on. If you don’t, the camera might focus on the wrong part of the scene and your subject will be blurred.

To set the focus point on your subject, simply tap that area of the screen. A yellow box indicates the focal point.

Alternatively, you can lock focus. This allows you to take multiple shots of the subject without having to reset the focus point each time. To lock focus, tap and hold for a couple of seconds until you see AE/AF Lock.

If the background doesn’t look blurred after setting focus on your subject, try moving closer. Ensure you tap to reset focus every time you change the distance between the camera and subject.

2.3 Getting Closer Vs. Portrait Mode

Getting closer to your subject works with any camera, including all models of iPhone.

Why? Because the shallow depth of field is created optically by the lens, rather than digitally in software.

If your iPhone has Portrait mode, it might be tempting to use this every time you want a blurred background. But in certain situations, it would be better to use the “getting closer” technique.

The main benefit of getting closer to your subject is that you’re not relying on software to decide what should be in focus and what should be blurred. You’ll get good results every time, as long as you’re close enough to the subject and you set focus correctly.

Another benefit of getting closer to your subject is that you can easily change which part of the scene is in focus.

So if you want the background in focus and the foreground blurred, just tap the background area.

Or try tapping somewhere in the middle ground to set focus at that point. In the photo below, the foreground and background appear blurred, while the pebbles in the middle ground are in sharp focus.

3. Use AfterFocus App To Blur Background In Editing

Have you ever taken a photo and wished it had a blurred background? Maybe the background is messy or ugly. Or perhaps the subject doesn’t stand out well.

In such cases, you can use an editing app to blur background on iPhone after you’ve taken the picture.

Below you’ll learn how to blur a picture on iPhone using the AfterFocus app.

Open the AfterFocus app, then tap Select Photo. Open the album containing the image you want to use. Locate the photo and tap to open it.

When you first open a photo in AfterFocus, some helpful tips will appear. Swipe across to read each tip, then tap the X at the top left to exit.

3.1 Choose A Selection Mode

There are two modes for selecting the areas you want to blur: Smart Selection mode and Manual Selection mode.

Smart Selection mode lets you quickly select the areas you want in focus and blurred. You draw lines to specify which area is background and which is foreground. You don’t have to be too precise. The app will work its magic to blur the background while keeping the foreground sharp.

With Manual Selection mode, you need to be precise. You have to “paint” over all areas that you want in focus. If you make a mistake and select some of the background, you have to erase that part of the selection.

Often you’ll need to use a combination of both selection methods. It’s best to start with Smart Selection to roughly select the background and foreground areas. Then use Manual Selection to tidy up any edges where the selection isn’t perfect.

How do you switch between Smart and Manual Selection mode? Tap the Pencil icon at the top right to switch to Manual Selection mode. And tap the Wand icon to switch to Smart Selection mode.

Note that if you use Manual mode to make a selection, you’ll lose your selection if you switch back to Smart mode.

3.2 Use Smart Selection Mode To Specify Background & Foreground

Ensure you’re in Smart Selection mode. You’ll see the Pencil icon at the top of the screen when you’re in Smart mode.

Tap the Focus icon at the bottom of the screen. With your finger, draw a line inside the area that you want to keep in sharp focus. This would normally be your subject in the foreground.

Now tap the Background icon at the bottom of the screen. Draw a line around the inner part of the background.

When you release your finger, the foreground area appears with a red mask. This indicates the area that won’t get blurred. The white line indicates the area you want in focus. The black line indicates the area you want to blur.

Draw more lines to define foreground and background areas if necessary.

There’s also a Mid icon at the bottom of the screen. You can use this on photos that have a clear definition between foreground, middle ground, and background.

The area you select as middle ground will be blurred, but the blur strength won’t be as strong as the background blur. This creates a more gradual blur from foreground to background.

If you make a mistake when drawing the lines, you have two options: Tap Undo (curved arrow icon) at the top of the screen to get rid of the line completely. Or use the Eraser icon at the bottom of the screen to erase part of the line.

The Smart Selection tool is great for quickly defining foreground and background areas. But it doesn’t always get it perfect, especially around the edges of the subject.

To see the edges of your selection in more detail, you’ll need to zoom in on the image. First, tap the Pan & Zoom icon. Then pinch outwards to zoom in. Drag your finger to pan across to a different part of the image.

In the screenshot above, some of the leaves in the background have been selected as foreground. Remember, the red mask indicates the area that won’t get blurred.

To fix this problem, you could try drawing more background lines over the leaves. But if you get too close to the subject’s hair, the hair might get selected as background too. This has happened in the screenshot below.

In cases like this, you’ll need to use Manual Selection mode to make precise selections around the edge of your subject.

3.3 Use Manual Mode To Make Precise Selections

Tap the Pencil icon to switch to Manual Selection mode.

Next, tap Pan & Zoom. Then pinch to zoom in on the area you want to work on.

Tap the Brush Size icon. Select a brush size suitable for the area you need to select. If you’re selecting a small area, choose the smallest brush size.

To select an area of background, tap the Background icon. Use your finger to precisely paint over the background area that you want blurred. The red mask will disappear as you paint over it.

To select a part of your subject or foreground, tap the Focus icon. Paint over the area you want to keep in focus. The red mask will appear as you paint. Remember, the red mask indicates which parts of the final image will be in focus.

Your aim is to have the red mask only on the foreground subject that you want in focus.

If you make a mistake, tap the Undo icon (curved arrow). Or switch between the Focus and Background icons to paint over areas where you made a mistake.

It’s worth spending a bit of time getting your selection as precise as possible. If you don’t make a neat selection, the final result won’t look realistic when the background gets blurred.

Once you’re happy with the selection, tap the arrow at the top right of the screen. The area you selected as background will now appear blurred.

If you notice any mistakes with your selection, tap the single left arrow at the top of the screen. You can now fine-tune your selection using the Focus and Background tools. Tap the right arrow to return to the blur effects screen.

3.4 Customize The Blur Effect

The icons at the bottom of the screen let you customize the blur effect.

Tap the Blur icon. Here you can choose between Lens Blur and Motion Blur.

Lens Blur is the type of blur you get when you shoot with a shallow depth of field. Motion blur is the kind of blur you get when there’s movement in the scene, or when the camera moves as you take the shot. In most cases, you’ll want to select Lens Blur.

Use the slider to control the blur strength. Slide left for less blur, or right for more blur.

Keep the Edge Feature checkbox switched on. This ensures a smooth transition between the focused and blurred areas.

The Aperture icon lets you select different shaped apertures, which subtly change the blur effect. Switch on Bokeh if you want small hexagons of light to appear in the background of your image.

The Fading BG icon lets you create a gradual transition in blur from top to bottom.

You wouldn’t use this setting for a portrait photo. It wouldn’t look right if the top and bottom parts of the background appear blurred while the middle is in focus.

But this tool can be useful for creating a fake miniature tilt-shift effect, as shown in the example below.

If you wish, you can use the FX icons to apply filters or make adjustments to color and brightness.

When you’re happy with your edit, you can save the image to your photo library. Tap the down arrow at the top of the screen. Click Yes on the message asking if you’d like to save.

The edited photo with blurred background will save into the Photos app on your iPhone.

Below is the final edited image created with the AfterFocus app. The background has a beautiful, soft blur, while the subject remains sharp. The original photo is shown beneath for comparison.

Background blur created using AfterFocus App

Original Image

The post How To Blur Background In Your iPhone Photos: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on iPhone Photography School.

Table Of Contents: 10 Focus Tips For Perfectly Sharp iPhone Photos

Click any title link below to go straight to that section of the article:

1. Tap To Set iPhone Camera Focus
2. Tap & Hold To Lock iPhone Focus
3. Don’t Change Your Distance After Focusing
4. Avoid Getting Too Close To Your Subject
5. Use A Macro Lens For Extreme Close-Ups
6. Use Manual Focus For More Precise Focusing
7. How To Blur Background On iPhone Using Portrait Mode
8. Get Closer To Your Subject For Incredible Background Blur
9. How To Get Everything In Sharp Focus
10. How To Take Sharp Photos In Low Light

1. Tap To Set iPhone Camera Focus

Does your subject sometimes look out of focus or blurred?

Has the iPhone camera focused on the wrong part of the scene?

Getting the focus correct in your photos is a top priority.

Why?

Because our eyes naturally search for the sharpest point in an image.

If the main subject is out of focus, the viewer will become confused about where they should be looking.

But if your subject is in sharp focus, the viewer will be instantly drawn to that part of the scene.

So, how do you tell the camera which part of the scene you want in sharp focus?

Setting iPhone focus is actually very easy.

But it’s one of those hidden iPhone camera features that most people don’t even realize exists!

Here’s how to set the focus point in your iPhone photos:

Open the built-in iPhone Camera app and compose your photo.

Then simply tap on the screen where you want the focus to be. Usually, this would be on your main subject in the foreground.

A yellow box appears to show where the camera is focusing.

And that’s all there is to it. You’ve just learned how to adjust focus on iPhone!

If you wish, you can tweak the exposure (image brightness) after tapping to set focus.

To adjust exposure, swipe up or down on the screen. Swipe up to make the image brighter. Or swipe down to make it darker.

When you’re ready to take your photo, press the shutter button.

Because you tapped to set the iPhone focus, your subject will be perfectly sharp.

In the photo above, I tapped to set focus on the large flower on the left. If I hadn’t done this, the camera might have tried to focus on one of the other flowers in the scene.

So don’t forget:

Whenever you take a photo, think about which part of the scene you want in sharp focus.

Then tap to set the iPhone camera focus on that area.

If you do this, your subject will always be pin-sharp!

2. Tap & Hold To Lock iPhone Focus

Tapping to set focus works well in most situations.

But there are times when this isn’t enough.

One situation is when there’s movement in the scene, such as people walking around in the background.

Even if you’ve tapped to set focus on your foreground subject, the camera might re-adjust the focus onto a person walking through the background.

Another situation is when you want to take several similar photos of the subject.

The problem with this is that as soon as you press the shutter button, the camera forgets where you focused in the previous shot. So you’ll have to tap to set focus again for each new photo.

Luckily, the iPhone camera offers an easy way to solve these problems!

You simply need to lock the focus.

Once focus is locked, you can take as many photos as you want and the focus will remain locked where you set it.

So, how do you lock the iPhone camera focus?

Instead of just tapping where you want to set focus, you need to tap and hold for a couple of seconds.

When you see AE/AF Lock in yellow at the top of the screen, focus is locked.

If necessary, adjust exposure by swiping up or down. Then take your picture.

You’ll notice that the yellow AE/AF Lock remains on the screen after you’ve taken your photo.

This means the focus and exposure are still locked on the same settings from the previous shot. So you can go ahead and take more photos without having to set focus and exposure again.

If you want to adjust exposure, you can do so without unlocking the focus.

When you want to unlock focus and exposure, simply tap anywhere on the screen.

As you can see, the iPhone camera focus lock is really useful.

Use it whenever you want to take several shots with the same focus setting. And use it to ensure the focus remains on your subject when there’s movement in the scene.

Locking focus is also great for street photography. Why? Because it allows you to set up the shot in advance.

Simply position yourself in a good spot where you know someone will walk into the frame. Lock focus at the point where you think someone will walk past. Adjust exposure if necessary. Then press the shutter as soon as someone walks by.

3. Don’t Change Your Distance After Focusing

Here’s a little-known focus tip for you:

After you’ve set the iPhone camera focus, don’t change the distance between the camera’s lens and your subject.

In other words, don’t move towards or away from your subject.

Why is this important?

Because focusing works by setting the focus point at a particular distance from the camera. Anything in front of or behind this point may appear out of focus.

So, what happens if you set focus at a particular point and then you change the camera-to-subject distance?

Here’s the answer:

The subject that you originally focused on might not appear sharp.

Why? Because it’s no longer at the same distance from the camera.

In the example below, the flowers in the foreground are in sharp focus. That’s because I tapped on that area to set focus there.

But look what happened when I set focus on the foreground flowers and then took a few steps back:

Now everything is out of focus. That’s because I told my iPhone to focus at a certain distance from the camera. But then I changed that distance. And the camera is still trying to focus at the distance I initially set.

As you can see, it’s really important that you don’t change the camera-to-subject distance after setting focus.

If you need to move closer or further away from your subject, that’s fine. Just make sure you tap again to set focus from your new standpoint.

Don’t forget that even if you stay still, your subject might be moving (a lively child or pet!). If this is the case, you might need to reset the focus if they move closer or further away.

Most people don’t realize that you shouldn’t change your distance after setting focus.

But now you know this, you can avoid those blurry iPhone photos when you’re shooting!

4. Avoid Getting Too Close To Your Subject

Do all of your close-up photos turn out blurred… even when you tap to set focus?

Tapping to set focus on your subject ensures it will be sharply focused… with one exception:

If the camera lens is too close to the subject, it won’t be able to focus at all.

In the example below, I was holding my iPhone too close to the flower.

No matter how many times I tapped to set focus, the flower was never going to appear sharp. The iPhone camera isn’t capable of focusing at this close distance.

By pulling my iPhone back a couple of inches, I was able to get the flower in focus:

Remember, whenever you change the camera-to-subject distance, always tap to set the focus point again.

Of course, it can be frustrating when photographing close-up subjects like flowers. Often, you can’t get close enough to avoid getting some of the distracting background in the shot.

However, keep in mind that you can always crop away the edges of a photo if necessary.

Yes, your cropped image will have fewer pixels. But if you’re not planning to print your photo at a large size, then it should be fine… as long as you don’t crop too much away.

It’s better to get the subject in focus and then crop the image, rather than get too close and end up with a blurred photo.

That said, there is a way to capture extreme close-up photos with your iPhone!

Read on to find out how to shoot sharply-focused pictures at very close distances…

5. Use A Macro Lens For Extreme Close-Ups

You’ve just learned that you can’t take extreme close-up photos with your iPhone.

So how do people shoot those incredible iPhone macro photos where the subject is very close?

They use an add-on macro lens!

A macro lens, such as the Olloclip Macro, allows you to focus at very close distances.

It’s perfect for nature macro photography. You can shoot stunning insect macro photography and flower macro photography with the Ollolip lens.

Getting the lens extremely close to your subject allows you to capture detail that’s often invisible to the naked eye.

However, when you use a macro lens, you have to be very accurate when tapping to set focus.

Why?

Because shooting extreme close-ups results in a very shallow depth of field. This means that only a small portion of the image will be in focus, while the rest appears blurred.

You may have to take a few shots and tap on different areas of the scene before you get the focus perfect.

It’s also essential that you don’t change the distance between the lens and the subject. The tiniest change in distance will mean you don’t get what you want in focus.

For this reason, it’s best to use an iPhone tripod and iPhone tripod mount when using a macro lens.

It can take a bit of practice to capture sharply focused macro photos. But the results are definitely worth it!

6. Use Manual Focus For More Precise Focusing

Sometimes, you might not be able to get the camera to focus on the exact spot you want.

This is especially true with close-up and macro photography.

Tapping to set focus doesn’t always work when you need to be extremely precise.

So, what can you do to focus more accurately?

You can use a third-party camera app to focus manually.

Camera+ 2 is one of the best iPhone camera apps that offers full manual control over your camera settings.

Its manual focus feature lets you use a slider to adjust the focus point very gradually.

To use manual focus in Camera+ 2, tap the Auto Focus icon (circled below).

The Manual Focus slider will appear at the bottom of the viewfinder.

Slowly drag the slider left or right. As you do this, notice how different parts of the scene come into focus.

When the correct part of the scene is in focus, press the shutter button to take a photo.

To switch back to autofocus, tap the Auto button to the left of the focus slider.

Manual focus isn’t something you’ll want to use for every photo.

But it’s a great backup option when the tap-to-focus technique isn’t focusing precisely enough.

Knowing how to focus iPhone camera accurately can make all the difference to your close-up shots.

7. How To Blur Background On iPhone Using Portrait Mode

Getting your subject’s face in sharp focus is critical in portrait photography.

But how do you create those beautiful blurry backgrounds in your iPhone portrait photos?

You use Portrait mode!

This shooting mode keeps your subject’s face in sharp focus. At the same time, it uses depth-effect software to create a dreamy blurred background.

Portrait mode is available in the built-in iPhone Camera app on the following iPhones:

iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 7 Plus.

How do you use Portrait mode to blur the background in your photos?

Open the Camera app and select Portrait at the bottom of the screen.

Compose your shot, making sure the camera is between two and eight feet from the subject.

The camera should automatically focus on the subject’s face. You’ll see a yellow focus box to indicate where it’s focusing.

If you’d prefer to set the focus point yourself, you can tap on the screen.

When the camera has focused, you’ll see Natural Light in yellow at the bottom of the screen.

Now simply press the shutter button to take a beautiful portrait photo.

Your subject should appear sharply focused, while the background is blurred out.

If you have one of the latest iPhones (iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR) you can even adjust the strength of the background blur… after you’ve taken the photo.

Just open your portrait photo in the Photos app and tap Edit.

Then use the Depth slider to adjust the blur strength. A lower f/number results in a blurrier background, while a higher f/number shows more detail.

Portrait mode is an incredible iPhone camera setting. But it’s not the only way to blur the background in your photos.

Read on to discover a simple way to create beautiful blurry backgrounds without using Portrait mode…

8. Get Closer To Your Subject For Incredible Background Blur

Do you want to know how to blur background on iPhone without using Portrait mode?

Here’s the simple answer:

Get closer to your subject!

This is one of the best focus tips for creating professional photos with beautiful blurry backgrounds. It works with all iPhone models – and indeed all cameras.

All you need to remember is this:

The closer you get to your subject, the blurrier the background will become.

Of course, you have to ensure you don’t get too close because the camera won’t focus at very close distances.

But you can certainly get within a few inches of your subject.

Just make sure you tap to set focus where you want it.

There’s one other thing to consider:

The distance between the subject and the background also affects how blurred the background will appear.

The further away the background is from your subject, the more out of focus the background will be.

So, for the blurriest backgrounds, here’s what you need to do:

Get close to the subject…

and ensure the background is far away from your subject.

With these focus tips, you can shoot stunning photos with sharp foreground subjects and beautiful blurry backgrounds.

9. How To Get Everything In Sharp Focus

Creating a shallow depth of field with a blurred background isn’t always what you want.

Sometimes you’ll want a large depth of field where everything is in sharp focus from foreground to background.

For example, in landscape photography, you’d usually want everything to be clear and sharp.

So, how do you achieve a large depth of field in your photos?

You simply need to ensure there’s nothing too close to the camera.

But what about setting focus? If everything is in focus, do you need to set a focus point?

Due to the large depth of field, it’s not so critical to set an accurate focus point in these kinds of photos.

However, some parts of the image are likely to be slightly more in focus than others.

So it’s still a good idea to tap on the part of the scene that you’d like perfectly sharp.

In the photo below, I tapped to focus on the woman. If the sand in the foreground and the rocks in the distance are slightly out of focus, it won’t matter.

But if the woman is slightly out of focus, it would just look like a bad photo that wasn’t focused properly.

So it’s best to tap to focus… even when you’re taking photos with a large depth of field.

10. How To Take Sharp Photos In Low Light

Do your low light and night photos often turn out blurred?

This is a very common problem.

It happens because the camera uses a slower shutter speed in order to capture enough light.

And if you move the camera during this long exposure time, that movement will be captured as motion blur.

So how do you take sharply focused iPhone photos in low light?

First, you need to eliminate camera movement. The best option is to use a tripod to keep the camera perfectly steady.

If you don’t have a tripod, try to find a solid surface to rest your iPhone on. You could use a wall, a fence, a rock, or anything else that will keep your phone steady.

If you need to hand-hold your iPhone, try to find something to lean against. A tree, a wall, or a lamppost will help keep your body steady as you take your shot.

You should also avoid holding your arms out in front of you. Instead, bring your elbows into your chest for a steadier grip.

Next, you need to think about light.

The camera will use a faster shutter speed when there’s more light, reducing the chances of blur in your image.

If you’re indoors, can you turn on some more lights? If you’re outdoors, can you find some street lighting or window lighting to throw some light on the scene.

You could even use a small hand-held LED light to illuminate your subject. This can work particularly well for night portrait photography.

To recap:

For sharply focused low light photos, you need to keep your iPhone steady. And you need to ensure there’s as much light as possible.

Try these tricks and your night photos will definitely become sharper!

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