It’s no surprise that the seniors at Ardenwoods Retirement Community enjoy staying connected by way of ever-changing technology. Most residents have smart phones and enjoy using them for texting as well as photography. A few will even admit that they play games on occasion.
We sat down with a group who wanted to take more pictures with their phones. They were proficient in the general use of the camera app but a few wanted to get a refresher. They take lots of beautiful photos and we hope they’ll even sign up for Instagram. In the meantime, though, we decided to put together a very simple guide for senior who would like to take photos with their smart phones.
Taking Photos with Your Phone
Note: The steps we show here are for iPhones and iPads. We are happy to work with anyone using an android as well. Some of these instructions were taken from the apple.com support site.
Flash: The LED flash on your phone gives you extra light when you need it. Tap the flash sign to turn it on or off.
HDR: HDR takes several photos as different exposures and automatically combines them to give you a single beautifully lit photo. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range.
Live Photos: Later versions of iPhones have the ability to capture life as it happens in movement and sound. To turn it on or off, tap the live photos symbol.
Timer: Use this button to select a 3 or 10 second delay. Tap the shutter and get into the picture yourself.
Front-facing camera: To take a selfie, just tap this button first. You’ll be able to be sure you’re in the photo before you take it.
Burst: Use this when you’re trying to capture the perfect picture but your subject just won’t stay still. Just tap and hold the shutter button. It takes multiple photos at once so that you have a range of photos to choose from.
Zoom: Use the Camera app digital zoom feature to make something that’s far away seem close by. Before you take the photo, pinch anywhere to make the image in the center of the screen bigger and remove the outside edges.
Edit Your Photos
Auto-enhance instantly improves your picture’s exposure, contrast, saturation, and other qualities. It’s the fastest way to make your photo even more amazing.
You can drag the corners of the grid tool to set your own crop, then move the wheel to tilt or straighten your photo.
Tap to experiment with your device’s built-in photo filters. Give your photo a different color effect, such as Vivid or Dramatic. Or try classic black and white looks like Mono and Silvertone.
Tap Light, Color, or B&W and use the smart slider to find just the right look.