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Chapter 1: Capturing and Sharing Photos and Videos with Camera In This Chapter ✓ Snapping a picture with Camera ✓ Focusing, flashing, and zooming ✓ Turning the lens on yourself ✓ Recording a video with Camera ✓ Editing photos and trimming videos ✓ Viewing and sharing photos and videos he Camera app on your iPhone is really three digital cameras in one: an T8 megapixel still camera (iPhone 4S; 5 megapixel on iPhone 4) and a high definition video camera, both with LED flash, on the back of your iPhone; a 640X480 pixel still and video camera on the front of your iPhone so you can take self-portraits and use FaceTime, your iPhone’s video chat app. All three work in both portrait and landscape position. In this chapter, we explain how to use all three cameras. We talk about focusing, using the flash, and zooming in on your subject. After you capture photos and videos, you probably want to edit them, so we show you how to enhance the photo quality, crop photos, trim vid- eos, and cure that terrible red-eye disease. At the end of the chapter, we give you all your options for sharing your photos and videos via e-mail, text mes- sages, Twitter, YouTube, and good old-fashioned slideshowsCOPYRIGHTED and printing. MATERIAL Camera Features and Controls The first time you open Camera, a message appears asking if Camera can use your location. Tapping OK lets Camera geotag your location. A geotag uses GPS (Global Positioning System), Wi-Fi, and cel- lular access to add the longitude and latitude of the location of the photos 225_9781118101193-bk05ch01.indd5_9781118101193-bk05ch01.indd 473473 11/11/12/11/12 22:31:31 PMPM 474 Camera Features and Controls and videos you shoot. (In some situations, say, if you’re standing in a lead- walled bunker, your iPhone may not be able to activate geotagging.) Like the date and time, a geotag is a piece of information about your photo that’s kept in the metadata; that is, data you don’t see that describes your data. You can then sort and search for photos based on the location — more about that later in this chapter. If at some point you want to turn geotagging off, tap Home➪Settings➪ Location Services. You can turn Location Services off completely or turn Location Services off for specific apps, such as Camera. Previewing through the viewfinder We think the easiest way to learn about taking photos and videos with your iPhone is to snap a few shots or capture a few minutes of video. First, we show you the three simple steps for taking a photo, and then we explain the basics of capturing video. Because the tools are the same for both photos and videos, we go through the options that help perfect your photo and video skills. The two basic “parts” of any camera that you need to know are the view- finder and the shutter button. Unlike traditional cameras where you close one eye and put your open eye up to the viewfinder to see and frame your subject, your iPhone — like most new digital cameras — doesn’t have a viewfinder. Instead, you point your iPhone at your subject and then look at the screen to see how it will be framed. As for the shutter button, your iPhone actually has two: ✓ Camera button: Tap the button on the bottom of the screen in the cen- ter to snap a photo. The button is a red circle when you switch to video mode. ✓ Volume Up button: Press the volume up button on the left side of your iPhone to snap a photo or to start and stop video recording. If your iPhone is locked, double-click the Home button. A Camera button appears to the right of the Slide to Unlock slider bar, as shown in Figure 1-1. Tap the Camera button to open the Camera app, and then take photos or video as explained next. Taking photos with the back camera Here’s how to take a photo with the back camera: 225_9781118101193-bk05ch01.indd5_9781118101193-bk05ch01.indd 474474 11/11/12/11/12 22:31:31 PMPM Camera Features and Controls 475 Book V Chapter 1 Videos with Camera Sharing Photos and Capturing and Figure 1-1: When your iPhone is locked, double- tapping the Home button brings up a Camera button by the unlock slider. 1. Tap Camera on the Home Screen or, if your iPhone is locked, double- click the Home button and then tap the Camera button. A shutter opens, revealing a screen as shown in Figure 1-2. 2. Point your iPhone at whatever you want to photograph. 3. Tap the Camera button or press the Volume Up button. A clicking noise lets you know the photo was taken. You can mute the shutter sound by moving the ring/silent switch to silent. If you have a hard time holding the phone still, you can press on the shutter button, steady the camera, and then remove your finger. 4. A thumbnail image of the photo you took appears in the lower left cor- ner (in landscape mode, the lower right or upper left corner depend- ing on which direction you rotate your phone). 225_9781118101193-bk05ch01.indd5_9781118101193-bk05ch01.indd 475475 11/11/12/11/12 22:31:31 PMPM 476 Camera Features and Controls LED flash Switch point of view Thumbnail Shutter Camera/video switch Figure 1-2: Your iPhone screen is your viewfinder. The buttons on the bottom shift to the right side in landscape view. Shooting video with the back camera iPhone 4S shoots video in high definition, up to 1920x1080 pixels (iPhone 4 shoots Hd up to 1280x720 pixels) and 30 frames-per-second. This means you can make smooth, clear full-motion videos. Each video can be up to an hour long, although one minute of video takes about 80 MB of memory or close to 5 GB for an hour of video. To capture video: 1. Tap Camera on the Home Screen or, if your iPhone is locked, double- click the Home button and then tap the Camera button. 2. Tap under the video icon of the Camera/Video Switch to move the but- ton to Video. The “shutter” has to open before you can flick the switch. 225_9781118101193-bk05ch01.indd5_9781118101193-bk05ch01.indd 476476 11/11/12/11/12 22:31:31 PMPM Camera Features and Controls 477 3. Point your iPhone at the action you want to capture. Book V 4. Tap the Video button, which is the red dot in place of the Camera but- Chapter 1 Videos with Camera ton, or press the Volume Up button. Sharing Photos and Capturing and The button blinks while the video is recording. 5. Tap the Video button or press the Volume Up button to stop recording. You can also press the center button on iPhone’s earphones to start or stop recording. 6. A thumbnail of your video’s keyframe appears in the lower left corner in portrait orientation. In landscape, it will be at the upper left if the volume buttons are on top, or the lower right if they’re on the bottom. Turning the lens on yourself The Switch Camera button in the upper right corner of the screen switches the active objective from the back of your iPhone to the front so you see yourself on the screen. The front camera has lower resolution, no flash or zoom, but it can take advantage of the Backside Illumination Sensor and takes both still photos and video. It’s handy for self-portraits (or if you find yourself without a mirror and some lettuce in your teeth) and FaceTime. The Backside Illumination Sensor perceives low light conditions and makes adjustments to compensate. You can tap on areas that are too dark or too bright to adjust the lighting. The sensor corrects the contrast of the image as a whole. Figure 1-3 shows the difference between two photos. Figure 1-3: The Backside Illumination Sensor perceives areas that are too dark or too light and corrects the contrast. 225_9781118101193-bk05ch01.indd5_9781118101193-bk05ch01.indd 477477 11/11/12/11/12 22:31:31 PMPM 478 Camera Features and Controls To use the front camera — that’s the one above the screen: 1. Tap Camera on the Home Screen. 2. Tap the Switch button in the upper right corner. You see yourself on the screen. 3. Use the Camera or Video button to take a photo or shoot video of yourself, as explained in the two previous procedures. Setting the exposure and focus The buttons, as shown in Figure 1-2, appear when you open Camera. Tap the screen if you don’t see them. The first thing you want to do is choose where you want Camera to focus its attention. Your iPhone’s default autofocus is the center of the image on the screen, where you see the white box. iPhone 4S uses face detection and focuses on the most prominent face. Face detection balances exposure across up to ten faces. If you want the Camera to focus on a subject that isn’t in the center, tap that area on the screen. You see the focus and exposure change to put your chosen subject in the best light. (Unless you want the subject in the center, in which case, move your iPhone until you see the subject in the center of the screen.) You can change the exposure (that is, the amount of light that is allowed through the lens) and then focus on a different area.