Technologies

Take Amazing iPhone Photos With These 6 Pro Photographer Tips

If you’ve ever wondered how a pro photographer takes pictures with a smartphone, I’ve got tips to help you snap great shots.

Today’s smartphone cameras work hard to make it easy for you to capture great photos. Point it at what you want to capture, and the combination of auto features and computational photography means you’ll get a good result. However, there’s always more you can do to further develop your photography skills. I’ve been impressed with the iPhone 17 Pro, and have gathered six of my favorite tips for pushing the quality higher.

Read more: Best Camera Phone to Buy in 2025

As a professional photographer, I’ve been honing my skills for years, elevating iPhone photos from simple Instagram snaps into award-worthy pieces of art. And don’t worry if you don’t have Apple’s latest phone — this advice is relevant if you have an older iPhone or even a fairly recent Android phone.

That said, let’s dive in.

Experiment with the different lenses

It’s easy to stand in front of a picturesque scene and flick between the wide, super wide and zoomed-in views on the phone, but it’s more difficult to understand exactly why one might be better than the other for a particular composition. To figure it out, you need to take an extra moment to look at what’s important in the scene in front of you.

Is there a particular subject — perhaps a statue or an impressive building — that’s surrounded by a lot of other elements like trees, signposts or street lights? Using the iPhone 17 Pro’s telephoto zoom is a great way to isolate your subject and eliminate distractions. You may need to move back a bit and then zoom in to keep it in frame, but simplifying your scene like this will help your subject stand out.

Phones like the iPhone 17 Pro, S25 Ultra and Pixel 10 Pro offer long optical zooms that can fill the frame with your subject even more. I love a longer zoom for taking candid photos without disturbing someone, or for narrowing your composition in an otherwise cluttered, chaotic scene.

But perhaps it’s those extra surrounding elements that really add to the scene and provide context for where you are. In that case, using the standard zoom will allow you to keep those items in the shot. Switching to the super wide view will capture even more of the surroundings. So to avoid your subject getting lost in the frame, you might want to move closer and find interesting foreground objects (a patch of flowers, a cool-looking rock) to add to the composition.

But you also need to…

Concentrate on your composition

While clever editing can help adjust colors or rescue an underexposed shot, there’s no amount of editing that can compensate for poor composition, where the elements in the frame aren’t arranged in a way that pleases the eye. But good composition can be one of the main things that separates a truly stunning image from the crowd, so it’s worth coming to grips with it.

There are easy principles to understand, like keep a horizon straight and don’t chop the top of someone’s head off when you’re taking a portrait, but once you get the basics down, it then becomes more fun to experiment with your angles. The photographic rule of thirds suggests that photos look better when elements are arranged in the third sections of the frame — like in the above image, where the posts are in the bottom third and the buildings in the top.

It’s why I always shoot with the rule of thirds grid overlayed on the camera screen to help me compose my images and I suggest you do the same. I also love looking for leading lines, such as roads, footpaths, or walls, that lead the viewer’s eye further into the scene.

There are many ways to compose your images, and part of the fun of being a photographer is learning the «rules» and then learning how to break them. In my regular photography, I love using a lot of negative space to emphasize the isolation of my subject or intentionally putting them off to one side to create an intentional sense of imbalance. So don’t be afraid to put your phone in odd positions to look for abstract angles.

Revisit at different times of day

There are many things we can control in a scene, like which direction to point the lens, where we stand and what filters to use, but factors like time of day and the weather remain, sadly, out of our hands. Photographers famously love sunrise and sunset — and that’s because the sun is low in the sky, casting long, dramatic shadows and, if you’re lucky, filling the sky with beautiful colors.

Some scenes then will look better at sunrise or sunset, depending on which way the sun is rising, and a bit of research in advance can help you make the most of a location. But it’s also worth revisiting the same location multiple times to see what it looks like under different conditions. Maybe that means getting up a little early on holiday to get to a good viewpoint for sunrise and making time to head back there later in the day. And while many photographers hate harsh mid-day lighting, it can often produce great shadows and contrast in urban areas that can be great for street photography

Don’t think that a good photo demands a blue sky sunny day either — a rainy day can often mean moody skies and dramatic lighting while rain-soaked streets reflect the lights of the city around them, especially at night. Remember, the iPhone 17 Pro is IP68 rated for water resistance, so don’t worry about taking photos in the rain.

Don’t be afraid of the dark

Don’t think that once the light goes altogether you need to stop shooting. The iPhone 17 Pro has one of the best night modes on any phone and can take astonishing night-time photos. City scenes, with car headlights, vibrant shop window displays and even festive holiday decorations can provide superb fodder for night shots. And don’t worry if it rains. Those wet streets will now reflect all of those lights, which can look amazing.

Check out our tutorial if you want to get even better results from your night-time phone photography.

Learn to take control

While the iPhone is great at automatically using settings to take a ‘correct’ image, what that really means is that it’s trying to balance all the tones in your image to avoid having dark shadows or bright highlights. Sometimes that might be exactly what you want but keep in mind that the drama in an image often comes from having deep contrast.

Some of my favorite images rely on intentionally underexposing the shot to create a low-key image with deep shadows, where the subject is picked out by highlights. You can achieve this effect on your iPhone, too. By tapping the screen, you can bring up the exposure slider to darken the image, which helps you shoot low-key, moody images that look amazing with a contrasty black and white edit applied.

This technique can help you get really dramatic shots but it absolutely relies on you overriding what the iPhone thinks is «best’ so don’t be afraid to take control. Remember: You’re the photographer. You’re in charge.

Add extra flair with editing

While the iPhone can take great, natural-looking images straight out of camera, for me that’s only half the story. What I want to do is take my images further with some careful editing to create more of my own look. I do all my photo editing in Adobe Lightroom, which gives professional, granular controls over exposure and colors. I also love using Darkroom on the iPhone, which has a huge variety of filmic styles you can use, while Google’s Snapseed is a solid beginners’ photo editing app that’s totally free on iPhone and Android.

I don’t like to go wild with my editing. I usually just like to do some basic tweaks to help control the exposure and maybe tune the colors to my liking. I might also play with some punchy black and white looks. Or maybe try and go all retro with some film looks.

Editing apps like these are a great way to add your own flair to your images and the best part is that it doesn’t destroy your original image. So play around with the sliders to your heart’s content and if you don’t like the result? Just go back to the original file and try again.

Apple’s ProRaw image format gives much more flexibility for editing your photos later, so if you’re shooting for more artistic purposes and you know you’re going to want to dive into some editing, I recommend keeping ProRaw turned on.

Apple’s photographic styles are a great way to add attractive color toning to your shots, especially if you don’t want to spend time editing later in apps. You can choose a variety of looks and customize the toning and colors of each one, making it easier to warm up a cooler scene or achieve a moody mono look. Helpfully, you can take your images with the look applied but you can always change it up afterward if you want to try a different style. Remember: there’s no right or wrong way to edit your image. It’s all down to what you think looks best.

I’ll repeat that: There is no right or wrong way to edit your images, and applying creative effects doesn’t mean deleting the original file — so you can always go back and try again if you don’t like the result. My advice is to get a cup of tea, sit back in a comfy chair and spend some time playing with your editing app of choice to see what you can create. You may be surprised at what you can come up with, even from images you took some time ago.

Technologies

Prime Video Hits Pause on Error-Filled AI Recaps

People reported the AI tool struggling with interpreting key scenes properly.

Amazon launched a limited beta of AI-generated Video Recaps for selected in-house Prime Video shows last month — titles like Fallout, Jack Ryan, The Rig, Upload and Bosch. But now the feature has made a generative AI about-face, with reports of it being removed from the app after fans found errors in the Fallout recap and posted about them online.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

The Video Recaps feature stitches together video clips, audio effects, snippets of dialog, music and an AI-generated voiceover narration. According to Amazon, it «analyzes a season’s key plot points and character arcs to deeply understand the most pivotal moments that will resonate with viewers as they enter the next season.»

But as reported earlier by GamesRadar, a viewer recently posted in the r/Fallout subreddit that the season one recap incorrectly dated Cooper Howard’s flashbacks to 1950 when they were actually set in 2077.

«‘Cooper offers Lucy a choice in the finale: die, or join him’ phrased as if he’d be the one to kill her,» another viewer posted on X, describing one of the other AI errors in the recap.

Several outlets then noted that the recap option in the app seems to have disappeared. CNET Senior Editor Corinne Reichert’s app still displays the recap option, but nothing happens when it’s clicked.

As someone with a terrible memory, I would really, really like these types of features to work. Hope springs eternal, I guess.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Dec. 13

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Dec. 13.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s so long, it’s almost not a mini version today. Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Field trip vehicle
Answer: BUS

4A clue: Peter’s antagonist, in a musical tale
Answer: WOLF

8A clue: «Keep me posted,» in texts
Answer: LMK

9A clue: Opera solo
Answer: ARIA

10A clue: ___Pen (emergency device)
Answer: EPI

11A clue: With 12-Across, gets in order
Answer: SETS

12A clue: With 14-Across, what a tennis champ might win a match in
Answer: STRAIGHT

14A clue: See 12-Across
Answer: SETS

15A clue: «A long time ___ in a galaxy far, far away …»
Answer: AGO

16A clue: Shy and gentle
Answer: MEEK

17A clue: Prefix with apology or answer
Answer: NON

18A clue: Comes to a close
Answer: ENDS

19A clue: Have to pay
Answer: OWE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: «Goodness gracious!»
Answer: BLESSME

2D clue: Indefinitely many, informally
Answer: UMPTEEN

3D clue: Avoided, as an issue
Answer: SKIRTED

4D clue: «Now, where ___?»
Answer: WASI

5D clue: Green topping at a pizza parlor
Answer: OREGANO

6D clue: John who played Churchill on «The Crown»
Answer: LITHGOW

7D clue: Sneaky trick to «pull»
Answer: FASTONE

13D clue: Doesn’t just assume one has permission
Answer: ASKS

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Series 10: Are the Differences Enough to Justify Upgrading?

At first glance, the new Apple Watch Series 11 looks a lot like its previous-year model. We compare the specs to see what’s changed.

If you’re looking at getting an Apple Watch this holiday season, you have a tough choice: Should you buy the latest Apple Watch Series 11, or find a Series 10 that has most of the same features at a lower cost? Apple made incremental changes to its flagship smartwatch, while also introducing significant improvements to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3.

There are still enough differences to make you look twice at moving up (especially if you’re coming from an older model). Let’s compare the models side by side and tease out the finer details.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Pricing the Apple Watch Series 11

The Series 11 has kept the same price as the Series 10. It starts at $399 for the model with an aluminum body or $699 for one made of titanium.

Add $30 for the larger 46mm case size in aluminum, or $50 for titanium. Opting for a model with a cellular radio that connects independently to networks adds $100. And if you choose a band made of something other than rubber or textile — a stainless steel link bracelet, for example — the price climbs further. Unfortunately, you can’t order just the watch case; you have to select a new band, even if it ends up in your drawer in favor of one you already own and prefer.

There’s also a titanium Apple Watch Hermès model available in silver titanium in both sizes that starts at $1,249.

Apple no longer sells the Series 10, since the Series 11 replaces it, but you can still find refurbished Series 10 models for less from Apple, and new models from other retailers while supplies last.

Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Series 10: Outward design

The Series 11 and Series 10 share the same case design and materials. The larger model measures 46mm tall by 39mm wide, while the smaller comes in at 42mm by 36mm. (Kudos to Apple for continuing to offer two sizes to accommodate people with different-sized wrists.) They’re also both 1mm slimmer than the Apple Watch models that came before, at 9.7mm.

Despite being mostly the same in dimensions, the Series 11 is slightly heavier than the Series 10. For example, the 46mm aluminum GPS Series 11 weighs 37.8 grams, up slightly from 36.4 grams for the Series 10. The 42mm versions come in at 30.3 grams and 30.0 grams, respectively.

For colors, the Series 11 adds a space gray aluminum option to go along with rose gold, silver and jet black. Both models are also available in titanium finishes of slate, gold and natural.

The physical controls are unchanged: the dial that Apple calls the Digital Crown and a side button (that Apple cleverly calls the «side button»). Only the Apple Watch Ultra includes a third physical control: the Action button.

Also noteworthy: The titanium Series 11 is made of 100% recycled titanium, up from 95% recycled material in the titanium Series 10. The display glass is made of 40% recycled glass in the Series 11; no amount is listed for the Series 10. And the battery in the Series 11 uses 100% recycled cobalt and 95% recycled lithium. (The Series 10 lists only 100% recycled cobalt.)

Series 11 vs. Series 10 screens

The screens on both the Series 11 and Series 10 watches have a wide-angle LTPO 3 OLED display. That means it’s easier to see the contents from an angle, and the always-on display refreshes once per second, allowing the seconds counter to move even when the watch is in inactive mode.

LTPO3 screens are also more power efficient. The screens reach up to 2,000 nits for clear visibility in sunlight and dim down to just 1 nit in darkness.

The key difference between the Series 11 and Series 10 screens lies in the glass covering. On the Series 11 aluminum models, Apple uses Ion-X glass, which it claims is twice as scratch-resistant as the glass on previous aluminum versions. The titanium Series 11 uses a sapphire crystal display.

Apple Watch processor and chips

Normally we’d highlight how the new processor improves on its predecessor, but for 2025 Apple stuck with the same S10 processor found in the Series 10. That also means the other chips remain the same, too: the W3 Apple Wireless chip, the second-generation Ultra Wideband chip (for precise Find My location tracking), a four-core Neural Engine and 64GB of storage.

Battery power: Series 11 vs. Series 10

Battery life is where the two models get really interesting. Apple doesn’t reveal how large the built-in lithium-ion battery is or its capacity, but it is claiming up to 24 hours for the Series 11 compared to 18 hours for the Series 10. In Low Power Mode, that’s up to 38 hours for the Series 11, up from 36 hours in the Series 10.

It’s not entirely clear where Apple squeezed an extra six hours of battery life out of what appears to be mostly identical hardware. Both phones use the same S10 processor, though there are likely software optimizations in WatchOS 26. CNET lead writer Vanessa Hand Orellana found that, at least initially, Apple may be undercounting the battery performance, writing in her review, «With notifications turned on (heavy Slack-ing and texting), at least one 30- to 45-minute outdoor workout a day, a full night of sleep tracking and some mild flashlight use, I’ve consistently managed to squeeze between 27 and 32 hours per charge.»

As for charging the watches, both the Series 11 and Series 10 can be charged up to 80% in about 30 minutes. Apple says that with a 20W power adapter, 15 minutes of fast charging provides up to 8 hours of regular use, while just five minutes is enough for eight hours of sleep tracking — thanks to the watch’s much lower power demands while you’re asleep. Apple’s comparison information for the Series 10 doesn’t list those last two metrics, but that seems more due to it being a marketing point last year versus a new capability in the Series 11.

Comparing the sensors of the Series 11 and Series 10

The Apple Watch’s sensors power health features that range from heart-rate monitoring to depth sensing to precise location tracking. That said…

They’re identical in the Series 11 and Series 10. No changes here.

Another change: Connectivity in the Series 11 and Series 10

One of the more notable changes in the cellular models of the Series 11 is support for 5G networks, specifically a power-efficient type called 5G Reduced Capacity (or 5G RedCap). That allows it to connect to both 5G and LTE networks without having to go through a connected iPhone, and the 5G speeds should be better. By comparison, the cellular Series 10 supports LTE and UMTS (3G).

Part of incorporating 5G into the Series 11 models is a redesigned cellular antenna and an algorithm that «simultaneously engages the two system antennas when needed, significantly increasing the signal strength,» according to Apple’s Series 11 press release. That algorithm is exclusive to the Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3, per Apple.

Both Apple Watch models support Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) at 2.5GHz and 5GHz speeds. (Apple’s comparison page only lists the speeds for the Series 11, but an Apple Watch Wi-Fi support page notes 5GHz has been supported since the Series 6 watches.)

Both watches talk to the iPhone and other peripherals using Bluetooth 5.3.

WatchOS 26 on the Apple Watch Series 11 and Series 10

The new features of WatchOS 26 come to both watch models, including hypertension notifications, Sleep Score and the Blood Oxygen app (making its reappearance in the US amid an ongoing legal dispute). Apple’s comparison page lists the new Wrist Flick gesture for the Series 11 but not the Series 10, but that must be a typo because I can confirm that it works on my Series 10 watch.

Apple Watch Series 11 vs. Apple Watch Series 10

	Apple Watch Series 11	Apple Watch Series 10
Design & sizes	Rectangular, 42mm, 46mm	Rectangular, 42mm, 46mm
Display	42mm: 446 x 374 pixels, LTPO3 OLED Retina display, Wide-angle OLED 46mm: 416 x 496 pixels, LTPO3 OLED Retina display, Wide-angle OLED	446 x 374 ppi, LTPO3 OLED Retina display, Wide-angle OLED
Brightness	Between 1 and 2000 nits	2000 nits
Thickness & weight	46mm size: 9.7mm; 37.8g (aluminum), 36.9g (aluminum GPS+Cellular), 43.1g (titanium) 42mm size: 9.7mm; 30.3g (aluminum), 29.7g (aluminum GPS+Cellular), 34.6g (titanium)	9.7mm; 30-41.7g (46mm titanium model)
Material & finish	Aluminum: jet black, rose gold or silver finish; titanium: slate, gold or natural finish	Aluminum: jet black, rose gold or silver finish; titanium: slate, gold or natural finish
Durability	5ATM Water + IP6X (dust)	5ATM Water + IP6X (dust)
Battery life	Up to 24 hours, up to 38 hours Low Power (always-on) + Fast charge: 80% in 30 min, 100% in 60 min	24-30 (always-on) + Fast charge: 80% in 30 min, 100% in 60 min
Sensors	ECG, 3rd-gen optical heart sensor, skin temp, depth gauge, SpO2, Noise monitoring, water temperature, compass	ECG, heart rate, skin temp, depth gauge, SpO2, Noise monitoring
Emergency features	Satellite SOS, Emergency SOS, Fall detection, Crash detection, Check in and Backtrack	Emergency SOS, Fall detection, Crash detection, Check in and Backtrack
AI & coaching	Siri (voice assistant); Workout Buddy	Siri (voice assistant); Workout Buddy
Processor	S10 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor, W3 Apple wireless chip	S10 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor, W3 Apple wireless chip
RAM/Storage	64GB (storage)	64GB (storage)
Payments	Apple Pay	Apple Pay
Price (US)	$399-$750 (titanium)	$399-$750 (titanium)