How To Remove The iPhone Look
I love using my iPhone for photography. However, if there is one thing that drives me crazy, it’s the overprocessed, ultra-sharp, HDR look that you get by default. I know many people don’t mind it, but I hate it. Often, it’s very clear which photo was shot on an iPhone and which was shot on my camera.
My aim with this blog is to share some of the ways I remove this iPhone look, so you can get more natural-looking photos, whether you’re shooting in RAW or JPEG.
ProRAW vs RAW vs JPEG / HEIF
Let’s address the formats first, as this matters. ProRAW is Apple’s RAW format that includes computational photography data. This is the RAW format you will get when shooting in the native Camera app.
A regular RAW or DNG file is what you will get from some third-party apps, such as Moment. These are more traditional RAW files and exclude much of the computational processing.
JPEG / HEIF is a final, processed photo, so the editing we can do is more limited compared to a RAW format. However, there are still some things we can do to make it look much better. I personally shoot only in ProRAW.
Clarity
This will be the biggest and quickest lever you can pull to take that harsh edge off the photo. I always add negative clarity of around -20 to RAW files and can even go as far as -30 for JPEGs. This will soften the image and add a nice glow to it.
Drop the Whites
Most editors will have black and white sliders. I always drop the whites slider a touch, maybe around -20. This takes the edge off the brightest parts of the image and makes them feel a little less harsh.
Fade Whites and Blacks
The next tool at our disposal is the tone curve. Here, I would fade the whites and blacks by moving the white and black points to turn pure white into off-white and pure black into a dark, faded grey.
With the whites, you can be more adventurous. With the blacks, be careful, as too much will make your photo look like a 2013 Instagram filter.
Grain
Adding some grain is a good way to diffuse the whole photo and add a bit of texture to it. Be careful not to overdo it, and be mindful of where your photo will end up. For social media, you can go a bit heavier. For printing, you want to be much more careful.
Exposure / Contrast
I sometimes find that overexposing the photo ever so slightly can remove a bit of that HDR look. Dropping the shadows after the boost in exposure can then add back some natural contrast. I would be very subtle with this, especially if you’re editing JPEGs.
Anti-HDR
Part of the fancy computational stuff in iPhone cameras is trying to have everything exposed well. While it can look good to many people, I personally find it unnatural.
Some parts of a scene are naturally bright or dark. Forcing a high-contrast scene into a perfectly balanced HDR image can look a bit off.
For that reason, I always make sure to keep skies bright and shadows dark by using the highlights and shadows sliders. Rather than trying to recover every bit of detail, I’m happy to let some areas of the photo remain bright or fall into darkness.
Remove All Sharpness
If you’re shooting in RAW, some photo editing applications will automatically add sharpness by default. I make sure to either remove it completely or add around a 90% mask. Most software has a masking feature that allows you to apply sharpening only to the highest-contrast parts of the photo rather than sharpening everything. This is very subtle, and you might not see a clear difference, but every little helps.
Colour Density
This one is more on the creative side, but play around with the HSL sliders, especially luminance.
As you drop the luminance of a colour while also reducing its saturation ever so slightly, you end up with a denser-looking colour that feels quite different from the way an iPhone typically captures the scene.
You don’t need to make huge adjustments here. Small changes across a few dominant colours can make the entire image feel richer and less digital.
iPhone Guide & Presets
If you found this helpful, check out my iPhone photography guide which comes with presets to achieve what this blog is about.
This iPhone Photography Guide is designed to save you time and help you get your camera set up and working just like mine.
What’s Included:
Detailed setup guide for the Camera app and settings
Photography guide covering lighting, composition, settings, and more
10 Lightroom presets designed for ProRAW photos
Free lifetime updates as new iPhones and iOS updates are released
What’s Supported:
This guide is based on the iPhone 18 Pro running iOS 27
Most settings and features carry over to other recent iPhones
What’s Not Included:
Dedicated settings for older iPhones and individual iPhone models
Third party camera apps or accessories
The Apple Photos app or other aspects of the iPhone outside of the camera
A dedicated guide to filmmaking. I cover video settings in detail, but this isn’t a “how to make videos” guide
You will learn what the major camera features do and why I have chosen to set them up in a certain way. I also cover photography essentials, so even if you’re a total beginner, this guide will help you better understand light, composition, and storytelling.
Finally, you will get 10 Lightroom presets specifically designed for ProRAW photos. These are the presets I use myself to edit my iPhone photos. They also come with a guide explaining how to get the most out of them.
This is a digital download and not a physical product. The download is approximately 36 MB.
Please note that due to the nature of digital products, refunds are generally not accepted. However, if you experience any issues, feel free to contact me and I’ll review your situation individually. You are welcome to use this product for personal or commercial projects, but you may not copy, distribute, or resell the files in their original or modified form.
Finally, I want to say a massive thank you for supporting me. Buying this guide is the most direct way you can support my work, allowing me to make more videos, photos, and tutorials for you.
Thank you for your support!
Instead of telling you how these will change your life, I would rather be practical and answer the most common questions that people tend to have when buying presets.
What are presets?
They are editing settings that are saved in a file and can be applied to any image.
Why do people buy presets?
Sometimes because they like the work of the photographer and want that style for their own photos. Mostly because they would like to see how other people edit and learn by reverse engineering the presets. Other times it’s just to support their favourite photographers, thank you!
What’s the overall style of these presets?
- Filmic
- Warm
- Soft
- Bright
What are these presets suitable for?
Street & Travel Photography
Some Nature (with further editing)
Some Portraits (with extensive editing)
Do I actually use these?
Yes. This is the same pack I use right now for all my editing. This isn’t a pack made just to sell.
Do these presets get updated?
Yes, as my style changes, these presets will also be updated. Any time a new update is available, you will get a free update via email. Of course you also keep all the old presets in case you prefer the older looks. Only presets purchased from 2025 onwards will receive the updates.
What file types are these presets for?
- All RAW files
- JPEGs & TIFFs (not recommended)
What camera brands are these presets for?
These were designed around Fujifilm, Sony, and Leica sensors. With that said, they will work with all camera brands. While there might be differences due to individual camera colour science, the overall feel of the preset will carry over.
Will these work with JPEG files?
Yes, but you will need to reduce the intensity and make further edits. I strongly recommend editing RAW files.
Are these one click edits?
95% No. You would need to do some basic adjustments as each image is different. These adjustments can include exposure, colour balance etc. In 5% of cases you can just apply and leave it alone.
Do I need to know how to edit?
You need to have a basic understanding of adjusting exposure, highlights, shadows, etc. A more comprehensive editing skillset will let you get the most out of them.
How many presets are included?
10 in the main pack and 24 in the extras pack
Why two packs?
The main pack is what I use for 99% of my edits and is kept small to reduce wasted time scrolling through presets. The extras pack is everything I don’t use often.
What software do I need?
These presets will work with any of the following:
- Photoshop (adobe camera raw)
- Lightroom Classic
- Lightroom Desktop
- Lightroom Mobile
Will these presets work with free versions of the above software?
You need to research and double check before buying. These presets were designed for the full paid versions.
Will these presets work with very old versions of the above software?
You need to research and double check before buying. These presets were designed on and for the latest software.
What file type do I get?
XMP
What else do I get?
- Comprehensive PDF guide
Can I modify these and turn them into my own?
Yes! In fact I encourage you to modify them and play around. Use these to help you get your own style.
I have more questions…. What do I do?
Make a cup of tea and drop me an email on hello@snapsbyfox.com
Please note that due to the nature of digital products, refunds are generally not accepted. However, if you experience any issues, feel free to contact me and I’ll review your situation individually. You are welcome to use this product for personal or commercial projects, but you may not copy, distribute, or resell the files in their original or modified form.
Finally I want to say a massive thank you for supporting me. Buying these presets is the most direct way you can support my work.
Thank you!