How to photograph Christmas lights with your iPhone

Tap on the lights to focus, then drag the sun icon down. The bulbs get their color back and the night around them turns dark again.

The main 1x camera handles low light best. If you want the lights bigger, walk closer instead of zooming.

Flash lights up only what's in front and kills the glow. If Night mode turns on, brace your arms on a railing or wall and hold still until the countdown ends.

In the first half hour after sunset the sky is still deep blue, so you get both the lights and a sky with some color instead of pure black.

If faces come out dark, have the person stand close to the lights and tap on their face to set the exposure. For blurry lights behind them, use Portrait mode and keep as much distance as you can between the person and the lights.

Bokeh is out-of-focus light that spreads into soft circles. Focus on something close (a person, an ornament, a glass) and keep small lights far behind it; the farther they are, the rounder and bigger they get.

With a camera with a bright lens, you can tape a black paper card with a small heart cut-out in front of the lens; the out-of-focus lights take the shape of the hole.

On iPhone, Powapowa Camera turns small lights into heart or star shaped bokeh live in the viewfinder, so there's nothing to edit afterwards. It works best with rows of small bulbs; big signs and neon may not turn into clean shapes.

Powapowa Camera on the App Store (free, optional PRO)

• Washed out? Lower the exposure.
• 1x lens, flash off.
• Shoot right after sunset.
• Focus close, lights far, for bokeh.
• Hearts: a paper cut-out on a big camera, or Powapowa Camera on iPhone.