iPhone cameras take dramatically evolved in terms of quality since they were first introduced. Today, you no longer need an expensive DSLR photographic camera to take professional person-looking photos. Whether yous're already the go-to person for your friends' Instagram pics or yous're looking to add together "iPhone Photographer" to your resume, there are tons of iPhone photography shortcuts and hacks that every modern-twenty-four hours cameraman should know.


How to use the iOS Shortcuts app

While near iPhone users are well-versed in how the Camera app works, there's another tool from Apple tree that can automate some of your photography processes and elevate your picture-taking skills to the next level.

In 2019, Apple tree introduced iOS Shortcuts, an app that allows you to use "personal shortcuts" by setting upwardly multiple tasks to run automatically by taking a single action. Shortcuts can be used on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod as long as the device is running on iOS 12 or college. This app replaced Apple's Workflow app in the iOS 12 update.

While Shortcuts simplifies a lot of annoying processes, it can't requite you more infinite on your iPhone — only Gemini Photos can. Use the app to quickly detect and delete old screenshots, blurry images, and duplicate photos.

Download on the App Store

Not only can yous use already created shortcuts in the app'south gallery, but yous likewise have the option to create your own. From taking photos while shooting a video to making photo collages, the possibilities this opens up for iPhone photographers are about endless.

The best iPhone shortcuts for photos, videos, and Instagram

While Shortcuts provides a lot of different means to hack your iPhone, some of the most exciting sequences you can create are for your photos, your videos, and, of course, your Instagram.

Nosotros've rounded upwards some of our favorite iOS shortcuts that will turn you lot into a true iPhone photographer.


1. Where Was This Taken?

If you're ever coming across new places to take photos, this shortcut will be a lifesaver. The Where Was This Taken shortcut essentially extracts the GPS coordinates from a picture and displays precisely when the epitome was taken and how far away it is from your current location — and that's non all.

This shortcut also gives you the selection to navigate to the photo'southward location using Maps. You lot tin can customize this hack by adjusting the "if greater than" value so you lot only come across distances for images within a certain radius. The text of the bulletin can also be edited.

If you're a photographer who likes to have designated places to bring your clients, add together this shortcut every bit a widget to make it even more attainable.


2. Photograph Filigree

Do you love creating fun photograph collages just hate how long it takes to do in a third-political party app? Then you'll dear the Photo Grid shortcut.

With this hack, all you have to do is choose the images yous want to include in your collage, and that's it! The rest happens automatically.

After your collage is created, y'all only save it to your device then share information technology with your friends or post it online. You can as well add together the Save to Photo Anthology activity or the Send Message action to this shortcut, so fifty-fifty the concluding step happens without whatever effort on your part.


iii. Video to GIF

This shortcut, created by Matthew Cassinelli, is past far i of the easiest ways to create GIFs out of your personal videos. Video to GIF allows you to trim a video before turning it into a GIF.

You must manually save the GIF to your Camera Coil by pressing the share button at the top-correct corner of the folio. Yous could too cull to add the Save to Photo Anthology activeness to the bottom of the sequence. Either way, this shortcut makes it simple to create your ain GIFs.

However, this shortcut only works with videos taken on your iPhone camera. It won't work on videos taken in apps like Instagram or Snapchat. The video as well has to be longer than i 2d.


iv. Shoot GIF with Camera

Don't feel left out if y'all don't accept any videos on manus that are GIF-worthy. The shortcut Shoot GIF with Camera allows you to practice just that.

When yous start this shortcut, information technology will showtime prompt you to accept a few photos with your camera. Then, information technology automatically stitches together the images and turns them into a GIF. After that, you lot can either save your new GIF manually or add the Relieve to Photo Anthology activeness to the customizable sequence.


v. Mail service Live Photo to Instagram

Live photos represent i of the coolest photo features that Apple has released to date, so imagine the disappointment felt by many iPhone users when they couldn't share their live photos to Instagram without going through the annoying process of turning them into videos starting time.

Delete all of your third-political party video converter apps, because the Post Live Photo to Instagram shortcut does all the legwork for you. Starting this shortcut automatically takes your most recent live photo, converts information technology to a video, and sends information technology to Instagram. All yous have to do is cull the Story or Feed selection, and mail service. The sound of the live photograph is also included.


6. Open Story Camera

Sometimes when that perfect Kodak moment arrives, you lot miss it considering yous're too busy fumbling around on your phone trying to open Instagram'due south Story Photographic camera. IG Story-Camera lets y'all launch the photographic camera in record time from the Shortcuts Widget so you'll never miss a shot again.


7. Copy Instagram Hashtags

What's the point of taking all of these beautiful pictures if no one sees them? With the Copy Instagram Hashtags shortcut, you can choose from your list of favorite hashtags and re-create them to the clipboard — making adding hashtags to your Instagram posts a full breeze.

Later on adding the shortcut to your library, yous'll be prompted to enter in all of your favorite hashtags and press Done. When you're ready to mail service on your Instagram feed, simply go to the shortcut, select which hashtags you want to copy, and so paste them into the post'due south caption.


8. Post to Instagram

If you lot're posting to Instagram on a regular basis, a shortcut like Post to Instagram can salve you some time. Rather than uploading a photo from the Instagram app, this shortcut allows yous to share to your Story or your feed directly from your Photograph Library.

Later you've downloaded the shortcut, follow these instructions:

  1. Select the photo y'all want to share.
  2. Press the share button in the bottom-left corner of the page.
  3. iii. Scroll down and select Postal service to Instagram.
  4. From there, you can cull to add together the photo to your Story or your feed.

While iPhones take already come quite far in terms of camera quality and photo editing, Shortcuts makes it even easier to edit, share, and transform your photography. Download the app — which is gratis on the App Shop — and starting time hacking your iPhone!