How to Make your iPhone Photos Look Professional

There are tons of ways to make your iPhone photos look more professional and polished using these easy tips! With the use of a few different apps and some easy editing, you can make your iPhone photos really stand out. Below are some examples of my before and after photos taken on my iPhone 11. I will show you step-by-step instructions on how to edit your iPhone photos. Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links. If you decide to purchase any of these resources I earn a small commission at no additional charge to you.

Editing Landscape Photos

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To achieve this look, first and foremost you want to make sure that you are taking “Live” photos from your iPhone. The editing options are better when using this feature, especially when taking photos of moving water. When you open your camera this can be found in the top right corner. Tap this to make your photos live.

Once you have taken your photo in live mode, go to the photo you want to edit in your Photos and swipe up from the bottom. This will bring up this screen below. From there you will see several different effects that you can apply to the photo. Select “Long Exposure” and this will give the running water the professional effect shown above.

Once I achieved this look, I then used the editing app Snapseed to really make the colors pop. This is one of my favorite editing apps because it is free and has lots of great editing options.

Once you have downloaded the app, open the Tools screen at the bottom. From here click on the Brush option.

Once you have opened the Brush tool, you can edit your photo using several different options. My favorite for making photos pop, especially with nature shots, is to use the Exposure tool and the Dodge & Burn Tool.

To achieve the edited photo above I used the Exposure tool to lower the brightness in the trees and make them stand out more. You can adjust the tool using the arrows to make your photo either brighter or darker. Then simply swipe over the area of your photo you want to edit. I used a -5 exposure.

I also used the Dodge & Burn tool at -5 and brushed over the trees. This made them stand out more and brightened up the fall colors. I would suggest playing around with these features and seeing what works best for you. Each photo will be different!

Here is another example of an edited water photo using similar steps as above. I again used the Long Exposure feature that is on your iPhone.

For this photo I used the VSCO app to add a filter to the photo. I am a big fan of the VSCO editing app because they have hundreds of pre-created filters that you can choose from. The app even suggests a filter based on the photo that you upload. It is super easy to use and helps to make your iPhone photos look more professional.

Here is another example of a photo that I edited using just the VSCO app. As you can see it has brightened up the photo and given it a beautiful and clean look.

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I highly recommend VSCO for bloggers as it is so easy to create a certain look or aesthetic by consistently using the same filter on your photos.

Phone Accessories

Another great way to achieve more professional photos is to invest in a few different camera accessories. You can find many of these on Amazon for affordable prices.

– Tripod

A small tripod for your phone is helpful not only for taking pictures of yourself, but for landscape and nature shots as well. Here is a great and affordable option from Amazon, it also comes with a wireless remote.

– Lens Kits

You can also purchase a lens kit for your phone to take more professional and up-close photos. This lens kit from Amazon is perfect for portraits of people or pets and for achieving wide-angle shots of landscapes, buildings and more!

This kit from amazon is another great option with a 4 in 1 lens kit. It comes with the following options:
Telephoto lens – Magnify distant subjects(not for close-up shots)
Fisheye lens – Create fun and unique circular mystical results picture.
Macro lens – Capture close-ups of small objects (best shooting distance: 1 to 3 inches).
4K Wide angle lens – Capture a wide field of view.

– Ring Light

Ring lights are great for portraits or even product photos. You can achieve professional lighting for very little cost. This 10″ Ring Light is one of the top-rated options on Amazon. It also comes with a Bluetooth remote, so you don’t even need to touch your phone.