Welcome to Week 21 of 2025!
In today's e-mail, you'll get:
TIP OF THE WEEK: My favourite camera mode to transform flat iPhone photos
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Faux macro on dewy blades of grass
RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE: Photo Studio Meetup on May 27!
TIP OF THE WEEK
Upgrade Your Flat Photos
One of my favourite things to shoot is nature. And my favourite ways of doing it is by experimenting with my phone camera's techniques to rise above the standard, boring phone photo look.
On the left is a typical point-and-shoot phone camera photo. Everything is in focus.
But on the right, I've added extra blur to create a macro-lens pro-camera look.
I did this using Portrait Mode.
The photo on the left feels regular. Typical. "Normal" to what the eye sees.
But the photo on the right grabs your attention, zeros in on the beauty of the fern's intricate details. The background is not distracting. It's soft, unassuming and helps draw the eye to the star of the show: the fern.
Portrait Mode on your iPhone camera must be turned on to get this effect. But what's even more fun is that you can further control where the blur lands and how much blur is added after you take the photo.
This after-shoot control happens in your Photos app on your iPhone.
Want to see how I did it?
I have an easy step-by-step article on my blog here.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Faux Macro on Dewy Blades of Grass
I stepped outside the other day to find rain drops on blades of grass. It was an instant invitation to start a macro photo shoot with my phone!
I just have a regular iPhone 14 camera, no macro function or third lens. But even with a standard phone lens, anyone can get in close and capture incredible detail and texture:
In case you're curious: no, I did not use Portrait Mode for this.
Of course, the photo is never finished until I take it to Lightroom Mobile to edit it. I make sure the contrast, colour and textures pop.
I posted more photos from this impromptu photo shoot on Instagram. Check it out!
RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE
Meetup in Winnipeg!
If you want to meet up with like-minded phone photographers and get a chance to practice taking portraits inside a professional photography studio, come join me and 'Segun as we host our next meetup on May 27th in Winnipeg!
No experience needed, just bring your phone and we'll show you how to create pro-looking portraits with just a phone camera and natural window light.
Get more info here: