Step it up

Years ago as a cub reporter for a local newspaper, the staff photographer gave me the best ever advice I’ve ever gotten about taking better photos.

To whit: Fill the entire frame with your subject, and make sure they are facing toward the light source.

Whatever it is you are photographing, he said, get close enough so that the subject (a person, animal, building, etc.) fills the entire shot. So if it’s a person, ensure their head is at the top of the picture, not in the middle — which is how many amateur photographers frame their portraits.

In addition, try to shoot with your back to the sun, or window, or whatever the light source is. That way, the subject is facing toward the light and should be well-lit.

Now, I’m no Ansel Adams, and of course, some of the greatest photos in history flout these rules entirely. But over the years, this advice definitely helped me take better pictures.

These two tips form the basis of today’s top post about taking better pictures with your iPhone. But there’s one more tip that’s definitely worth knowing — and it concerns the different lenses on the back of your device.

Also in today’s newsletter:

• Back in 2010, Apple signed an exclusive deal to be the only electronics manufacturer allowed to use Liquidmetal, a futuristic alloy with near-magical properties — it’s super-light, crazy-tough and scratchproof. Over the years, the alloy has regularly popped up in rumors about indestructible iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and even fuel cells. But to date, the only known use has been comically modest — the SIM tray eject pin that shipped with several generations of iPhones. You likely have one in a junk drawer somewhere. But now Liquidmetal is rumored to be a crucial component of the upcoming folding iPhone.

• Good news for Severance fans: The hit show — the most popular on streaming — has been renewed for season three. And no, this time it won’t spend several years in production hell. And, here’s our recap of the explosive Severance season two finale — which keeps some of the show’s secrets intact.

• Renowned headphone manufacturer Sennheiser has a new set of open-back cans aimed at gamers — and audiophiles! For high-end headphones, they seem very well-priced. As are these Beats Studio Pros — one of my personal favorite sets of headphones — which are on sale for nearly half off.

• You must check out the great Mac mini mod that turns the dinky desktop into the cutest Mac Pro ever in today’s featured setup. There’s a bunch of other crazy stuff going on, too.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

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One more thing ...

Today’s poll

Results from yesterday’s poll: How do you charge your iPhone?

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