I use this quick and simple iPhone photo editing tool to seriously improve my pictures – and it’s easier than you think!

Many people believe that the primary function of an iPhone's crop tool is to remove distractions or alter the shape of an image. However, this versatile tool can offer so much more, especially when dealing with photographs containing significant vertical or horizontal lines. This feature proves particularly useful for those who engage in architectural photography.

Linda Wride, an architectural photographer, finds the iPhone's crop tool to be an invaluable asset. Many buildings possess strong vertical and horizontal features, such as ridge and eaves lines, regular patterns of windows, columns, and cornices. When photographing these buildings from street level, vertical lines may converge, leading to skewed horizontal lines if the camera is not perfectly square to the façade.

Similarly, capturing a building from across the street may result in accidental rotation due to passing vehicles blocking the shot.

To overcome these issues, Wride recommends utilizing the iPhone's camera grid, which can be found in the phone's settings under the Camera menu. Once enabled, a transparent grid will appear on the screen when taking photos. This grid can help align significant vertical and horizontal lines in the subject being photographed. For landscapes or seascapes, try to ensure the horizon is level to avoid the sea appearing to run out of the image on one side.

When photographing architectural subjects, use the horizontal lines in the grid to ensure the roof ridge or window tops are level.

The crop tool offers three main functions: straightening, rotating, and tilting. To straighten an image, look for the circle with a horizontal line through it, which serves as the "straighten" crop tool. Slide the tool left or right to rotate the image clockwise or counterclockwise until the main horizontal line aligns with the grid line.

The "vertical" crop tool, represented by a trapezoid shape with a vertical line, tilts the image forward or away from the viewer when the slider is moved left or right. Lastly, the "horizontal" crop tool, depicted as a trapezoid shape with a horizontal line, can adjust the perceived distance of the left or right side of the image by moving the slider left or right.