New Macro Photography On iPhone 13 Pro And Pro Max Is Tricky — Here's How To Master It

When Apple introduced its lineup of iPhone 13 devices on Sept. 14, the highly anticipated camera features on the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max stole the show. There are plenty of cool features on the tech giant’s latest smartphones, but one of the most unique capabilities is the new macro photography mode. It’s a little tricky to find in the camera, but once you know how to use macro photography on iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, you’ll be taking all the close-ups your storage can handle.

With new camera features like Cinematic mode, Photographic Styles, and macro photography, you might be overwhelmed when you open your new iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max. As you explore make sure to check out macro photography ASAP. Essentially, macro photography allows you to take close-up photos with great detail. It may seem tricky to use, though, because there’s no actual mode in your camera labeled “macro.” Instead, to use macro photography you’ll need to physically move your iPhone really close to your subject.

When you physically move (not zoom in) your iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max camera toward an object, the camera will automatically shift to macro photography by selecting the new Ultra Wide camera and autofocusing on your subject, capturing the smallest of details.

You can take the macro photo the same as you would any other picture: Tap the shutter button or press either volume button on the left side of your phone.

To use macro photography while zoomed in or with a wide shot, first adjust your camera’s zoom to .5x, 1x, or 3x. Once you have your desired frame, physically move your camera close to your subject to activate the Ultra Wide camera, which will bring out all the details in great sharpness — and you can snap your pic.

You can use macro photography in most of the camera modes and in video modes like Slo-mo and Time-lapse. The macro feature isn’t available for Portrait mode (since the subject must be further away to use it) or on the front-facing camera (since it uses the new Ultra Wide camera).

When you do use macro photography, you’ll know it. Once activated, the camera will display crisp, sharp details with a minimum focus distance of 2 centimeters.

Once you know how to activate the macro photography mode with the camera, you’ll be snapping some of the most detailed close-ups you’ve ever seen. If you’re ready to get up close and personal in your photography, you can buy the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max for $999 and $1,099, respectively.

Before heading to an Apple store to get up your photo game, remember to check the CDC guidelines for the most updated health rules.