4 Creatives share photography and videography tips for the best Raya content
iLearn from the pros
The holy month of Ramadan has just begun and Hari Raya will soon follow. As Malaysians, we all know what this means—kuih raya, hearty feasts, and festive OOTDs await, along with plenty of moments to capture and look back on. Now that we live in the age of social media, content creation is definitely a skill that you’ll want to hone to create better photos and videos, especially for special occasions like this.
In time for the festivities, four creatives have shared their top tips to help you get the perfect shots this Raya (and beyond) using only an iPhone. Psst, we gave their tips a go too, check out our sample shots ahead!
*Note: Some of the following features may only be available on the iPhone 15 models.
PHOTOGRAPHY
For fashion moments
When not using one of her heavy-duty professional cameras to capture sports events and award-winning portraits, photojournalist Annice Lyn (@annicelyn) trusts her iPhone 15 to do the job. “Next-Gen portraits and the 48MP Main Camera enable the capture of spontaneous and intimate moments effortlessly, without losing detail, giving your portraits a more elevated touch,” she says.
Annice’s tips:
- Next-Gen Portraits: To create more depth in your photos, remember the foreground and background rule. This is created by positioning one subject in front and another further behind. For individual portraits, you can experiment by using props or inanimate objects to create a foreground and achieve that bokeh effect. Plus, you can also change your focus subject under settings later.
- High-definition: Under Settings > Camera > Formats, ensure your camera is set to High Efficiency and 24MP, and that the ProRAW & Resolution control feature is toggled on with the Pro Default set at HEIF Max. This allows you to maximise the iPhone 15’s capabilites and get the highest resolution for your photos.
- Zoom in: Don’t be afraid to get upclose and personal with your subject! Annice prefers using the 2x telephoto lens to enhance perspective and connect deeply with subjects, conveying authenticity and emotion in a more intimate and closer manner.
- Post-editing: Another reason to make sure you’re taking photos in the highest resolution? It allows you to easily crop landscape images into portrait for social media, without losing detail. With iOS 15, you don’t even have to enter settings to crop an image in Photos—simply pinch the image to your desired framing, then tap on the Crop button that appears in the top right corner and voila!
For family portraits
Known for his captivating photos that tell a story, Muhd Hidayatullah (@muhdhidayatullah) is one of KL’s well-respected photographers and filmmaker. When it comes to his advice for taking family portraits for Raya, he offers, “Familiarise yourself with your subjects, highlighting their best features to achieve the perfect shot. Ensure your phone is held steadily and your subjects are well-framed in the centre for a clean portrait.”
Hidayatullah’s tips:
- Arrangement: Start by positioning the “king of the house” (which he believes is the mother or maternal figure), followed by the rest of the family based on their best angles or preferred features. Also, feel free to switch up the number or position of chairs according to what’s comfortable for everyone.
- Framing: Be sure to turn on Grid and Level under camera settings to help you align subjects. For full body shots, make sure the subjects’ feet are near the bottom of the frame to make them look taller. Ensure your phone is held steadily and your subjects are well-framed in the centre for a clean portrait.
- Timing: Be in the right place at the right moment to capture genuine emotions and reactions. Focus on framing these key elements to truly immortalise the moment, such as the act of asking for forgiveness from your parents—a key tradition during the Raya season.
- Trends: Don’t be afraid to experiment with new trends and have fun! For example, try out the current “Gen Z” selfie using the 0.5x ultra-wide camera to fit the whole family into the frame.
VIDEOGRAPHY
For food prep and plating
“For me, shooting on my iPhone feels like second nature; almost like an extension of my eyes. I love to focus on dynamic movement to tell a story, capture memories or create art in video,” says video content creator Umar Naqshbandi (@umarnaq). His secret to achieving smooth, slick transitions is the Action mode feature, which allows him “to focus on composition and movement rather than being worried about stability.”
“Continuous zoom with Cinematic mode is another incredible subtle feature to help add dynamic elements to your simple subjects. What once required expensive camera equipment to move, zoom and pull focus, can all be done with my thumb,” Umar adds.
Similarly, William Seng (@williamsengg), a videographer and content creator with 1.3 million followers to his name, often uses the Cinematic Mode to reveal the contents of the mouth-watering dishes he posts online. Meanwhile, the slow-mo function is great for giving a dramatic effect to simple actions. Further, he shares the best settings for creating video content: “4K HDR allows the best quality and further adjustment in edits while remaining high resolution while filming or creating in camera transitions.”
Umar and William’s tips in a nutshell:
- Colour and contrast: For true-to-life videos, be sure to set your camera to 4K HDR.
- Movement or dynamic shots: Whether you’re making Raya cookies for your family or entertaining your nephews and nieces, Action mode allows you to take smooth, stable shots while running or moving around. Remember to toggle it on before pressing the record button and you’ll see the difference.
- Continuous zoom: To help add a dynamic touch to simple subjects, use Cinematic mode to focus on the subject, then gradually zoom in (swipe left using your thumb) from 1x to 2x.
- Slow-mo: For a creative perspective, place your camera underneath a piece of glass and record a slow-motion video as you sprinkle ingredients over the iPhone’s lenses. You can also adjust the exact moment when the effect kicks in later under settings.
- Focus: Can’t seem to set the camera’s focus on an inanimate subject? Make sure there are no visible faces in frame as your iPhone will automatically focus on that by default.
- Focus tracking: When taking dynamic videos in Cinematic mode, tap once to lock the focus on the subject, then tap again to enable autofocus tracking. This will ensure that your subject remains clear as you move around it.
For more Apple content, click here. Browse other Raya stories here.
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