Control brightness and focus by hand: tap to focus, the exposure slider, and AE/AF Lock.
Lesson rule: touch the screen and take control of the shot
Focus and exposure with a tap
By default, your phone's camera decides for you what to focus on and how bright to make the shot. But you can take control with a single touch.
Tap to focus. Tap the spot on the screen that should be sharp — the phone will focus right there. This matters most for portraits (focus on the eyes) and for shooting nearby objects. If you don't pick a point, the phone may focus on the wrong thing.
Exposure = the brightness of the shot. After you tap, a slider usually appears next to the focus point (often shown as a little sun). Drag it up and the shot gets brighter; drag it down and it gets darker. This saves you in tricky light: against a bright background, raise the brightness to bring out the face; for a silhouette at sunset, lower it instead.
AE/AF Lock. If you press and hold your finger on a point, the phone locks focus and exposure (the label AE/AF Lock appears). Now, however you move the frame, the brightness and sharpness won't “jump around.” This is handy when the scene changes but you want a consistent result. To unlock, tap the screen again.
The main idea: your phone can't read your mind. One tap in the right place and a nudge of the slider solve most problems with a shot that's “too dark” or “focused on the wrong thing.”
Lesson notes
Focus and exposure with a tap
By default, your phone's camera decides for you what to focus on and how bright to make the shot. But you can take control with a single touch.
Tap to focus. Tap the spot on the screen that should be sharp — the phone will focus right there. This matters most for portraits (focus on the eyes) and for shooting nearby objects. If you don't pick a point, the phone may focus on the wrong thing.
Exposure = the brightness of the shot. After you tap, a slider usually appears next to the focus point (often shown as a little sun). Drag it up and the shot gets brighter; drag it down and it gets darker. This saves you in tricky light: against a bright background, raise the brightness to bring out the face; for a silhouette at sunset, lower it instead.
AE/AF Lock. If you press and hold your finger on a point, the phone locks focus and exposure (the label AE/AF Lock appears). Now, however you move the frame, the brightness and sharpness won't “jump around.” This is handy when the scene changes but you want a consistent result. To unlock, tap the screen again.
The main idea: your phone can't read your mind. One tap in the right place and a nudge of the slider solve most problems with a shot that's “too dark” or “focused on the wrong thing.”