When you sense a memorable moment happening around you, your natural instinct may be to reach for your iPhone and document it with a photo or video. But if you’re holding your phone in portrait (a.k.a. the vertical way), you are doing your pictures a major disservice. And this rule is especially important to follow when shooting video.
“Never shoot video holding your phone vertically because it limits the area you can film,” says Apple Distinguished Educator Patrick Fogarty. “Always film video and take photos in landscape because you capture 60% more image that way.”
The idea is to shoot video that can actually fit your TV screen so that viewers aren’t left having to squint to capture interesting details. In the case of photographs, there may be times when portrait is preferable (what would shoe-loving street style photographers do without portrait?). But, in general, most photos look better in landscape–and you can always crop out unnecessary details when you edit your picture later on.
There is no shortage of great tips for taking better iPhone photos, but if you simply hold your phone horizontally and tap on your subject to designate a focal point, you’ll notice a major change in the quality of your pictures.
For more iPhone tips, check out 5 apps that make your iPhone battery die the fastest and 4 genius ways to organize your iPhone apps.
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