A Guide On Controlling The Exposure In The Iphone’s Camera App

By Author: Stephanie Ellison
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A new feature, Exposure Compensation, was introduced along with the latest iOS 14 update of 2020. The settings only work for iPhone 11 and newer phones. Thus, if you’re looking forward to using the same feature on older iPhones, you’ll need a third-party application to do the same.

Enabling the Exposure Compensation Feature

The steps to enable the Exposure Compensation feature on your iPhone 11 and newer iPhones are:

Go to the ‘Camera’ app on your Apple device.
Locate the arrow icon at the top of the window and click on the same.

Note: If the arrow icon is missing, make sure you’ve updated your iPhone to the recent iOS 14 version.

A new menu will appear above the shutter button consisting of various buttons. The ‘plus/minus’ icon is the Exposure Compensation feature. ...
... Thus, tap on the same.
A slider will open on the screen. Move the slider to the right or left to increase or decrease the light, respectively.

To get back to the menu of buttons, tap on the ‘plus/minus’ button again. To close the menu, tap the arrow icon at the top of the window. Notably, when you set the Exposure Compensation value, your Camera app will continue to use the same until you change it again.

How to Take Better Photos Using the Exposure Compensation Feature?

Once you’ve manually set the value for the Exposure Compensation, a small meter icon will appear on the top-left corner of the screen. The icon indicates the exposure of light as you move the camera around. In simple words, it’ll indicate if the image is too bright or too dark.

Ensure that the meter highlights in the middle as too right indicates that the image is overexposed or bright. On the other hand, too left will suggest that the image is underexposed or dark. Notably, the meter will appear in yellow if it’s neutral; however, it’ll turn red in case of other situations. In case the view is too dark, you may enable the ‘Night Mode’ to click some great pictures.

It is essential to mention that the feature added to the new version of the iPhone doesn’t completely work manually. As you move your camera to take pictures, it adapts according to the light conditions until you lock other settings like focus and exposure. Therefore, it helps in controlling an image in a better way.

Controlling the Exposure and Focus by Locking 

The new Exposure Compensation feature enables you to fine-tune an environment for better pictures. However, the Camera app on your iPhone also enables you to lock the exposure and focus according to your preference. Thus, to do the same, click and hold any space on the viewfinder you want to lock. Next, an ‘AE/AF’ lock button will appear on the screen. By doing so, the focus gets locked.

Now, you can increase the exposure by dragging your finger inside the yellow box. It’ll allow you to control the lighting conditions of an image. Also, because it being a manual process, the image can be over or underexposed if you’re not careful.

Additionally, if the Camera app has the ‘AE/AF’ lock button enabled, it cannot refocus or readjust itself.

As mentioned above, if you’re using an iPhone older than the iPhone 11, the feature doesn’t come in handy. Thus, you’ll have to rely upon third party applications like VSCO, Manual, or Camera+ 2.

Are you a photographer and want to work with these minute details on your iPhone? There is no better way than using the Exposure Compensation feature on the newer phones and third-party apps on the older ones.

Source: https://nortoncomsetupsecurity.wordpress.com/2020/11/20/a-guide-on-controlling-the-exposure-in-the-iphones-camera-app/