Capture Stunning Night Photos on iPhone with These Pro Settings

iPhone cameras have improved a lot over the years, and they can take great night photos—but not by default. If your low-light shots look grainy or dull, you need to adjust your settings. Capture stunning night photos on iPhone with these pro settings for the best results.

Maximize Night Mode Duration on iPhone for Better Photos

iPhone’s camera takes one to thirty seconds to take a picture, when you put it in night mode. Your iPhone automatically modifies exposure duration by default according to the lighting. For even better outcomes, you can manually increase the capture time to Max. More light can be captured by the camera with longer exposure times, producing images with more vibrant colors, finer details and less noise.

To set the Night mode capture time to the maximum on your iPhone:

1. Open Camera app and tap arrow at the top of the screen.
2. Tap Night mode icon (crescent moon) at the bottom.
3. Use slider to set duration to Max.
4. Hold your iPhone steady and take shot.

Remember that the maximum exposure time can change based on your camera’s stability and the lighting conditions. You can get even longer exposures for more in-depth nighttime photography by using a tripod.

Manually Adjust Exposure on iPhone for Better Photos

While the iPhone’s Night mode does a great job of brightening dark scenes automatically, it can sometimes overcompensate. Grainy grays and blacks can be seen, and bright spots may appear washed out. A more balanced image can be achieved by manually lowering the exposure which also enhances contrast and lowers noise.

How to Manually Adjust Exposure on iPhone:

1. Tap the part of the scene you want to focus on.
2. A small sun icon will appear next to the focus box.
3. Swipe down to lower the exposure and darken the image.
4. Take the shot once you’re happy with the lighting.

Lowering the exposure slightly helps prevent bright areas, like streetlights or neon signs, from being blown out while preserving details in the shadows. To avoid making the image too dark & losing clarity in the darker sections, take care not to lower it too much.

Turn On Apple ProRAW for High-Quality Photos

If you have an iPhone 12 Pro or a later Pro or Pro Max model, enabling Apple ProRAW can improve your night photos. This format combines the rich detail of a RAW image with Apple’s advanced image processing, giving you more control over exposure, colors and noise reduction.

ProRAW keeps features in highlights and shadows by capturing more image data than conventional JPEG or HEIC photos. This is especially useful in low light conditions since more information produces images that are crisper and more detailed.

How to Enable Apple ProRAW on iPhone:

1. Go to Settings > Camera > Formats
2. Turn on Apple ProRAW
3. If you have an iPhone 14 Pro or later, set the resolution to 48 MP

Once enabled, a RAW button will appear at the top of the Camera app. Prior to taking night photographs, tap it to turn on ProRAW. To improve details and the appearance of your nighttime images you can use applications like Lightroom to edit the image later.

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Turn Off ‘Prioritize Faster Shooting’ for Better Photo Quality

By default, your iPhone captures photos as soon as you tap the shutter button, thanks to the ‘Prioritize Faster Shooting’ feature. This isn’t the best for night photography, but it works well for daylight and fast photos. This setting reduces iPhone’s capacity to record more details in low light which may lead to nighttime images of worse quality.

To get better night shots, it’s best to disable this feature:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Go to Camera.
3. Turn off Prioritize Faster Shooting.

Your iPhone will take longer to capture more details if you disable this setting, which will result in crisper, more detailed nighttime images. In other contexts, it can also enhance overall image quality.

Although changing these parameters will improve your night photography, keep in mind that technique is just as important. High-quality night photography can be achieved by using a tripod, cleaning your lens and maintaining camera stability.