You do not need to fine-tune every setting before taking a photo. In my own shooting, I usually focus on three things first: file format, exposure, and composition. These are the decisions that have the biggest impact on how much flexibility I will have later in editing—and on whether the photo already feels strong before any post-processing begins.
Shoot in RAW or Apple ProRAW When Editing Matters
For casual snapshots, JPEG or HEIC is often perfectly fine. But if you care about photo quality, plan to edit your images, or are shooting in difficult light, it is worth checking your file format before you press the shutter. On a camera, that usually means RAW. On a supported iPhone Pro model, that means Apple ProRAW.
The reason is simple: a RAW file keeps much more visual information from the scene. That gives you more room later to adjust exposure, color, white balance, highlights, and shadows without the image falling apart too quickly. It does not mean you can be careless while shooting, but it does mean you are giving yourself a stronger starting point.
In the blossom photo below, the flowers were hit by direct sunlight while the corridor underneath fell into deep shadow. Because I recorded enough information in the original file, I was able to bring down the bright areas on the flowers and lift the darker architectural details afterward. That made it possible to keep the blossoms as the visual focus while still preserving the atmosphere and texture of the scene.
Get the Exposure Close Enough in Camera
Even if you shoot in RAW, exposure still matters a lot. A good RAW file gives you room to adjust—but it is not magic. If important highlights are completely blown out, or dark areas are crushed with no detail left, editing cannot fully rebuild what was never recorded in the first place.
That is why I always try to get the exposure reasonably right when shooting. On a camera, that usually means balancing shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. On a phone, it often means simply paying attention to the exposure slider and making sure the image is not obviously too bright or too dark before you take it. It does not have to be mathematically perfect. It just needs to protect the important parts of the frame.
The Tokyo Tower photo is a good example. The tower itself was very bright and warm, while the city around it was much darker and cooler. When shooting, I made sure the bright tower still kept detail and the darker surroundings were not lost completely. Later in editing, I could push the contrast further and strengthen the warm-versus-cool color contrast, which helped the tower stand out more clearly as the subject.
Decide the Subject First, Then Build the Composition Around It
Composition can sound intimidating because there are so many named techniques—rule of thirds, centered composition, symmetry, and more. But for beginners, I think the most useful starting point is much simpler: before taking the photo, decide what the image is really about.
Once the subject is clear, composition becomes easier. You can use the grid in your camera or phone as a guide and arrange the frame in a way that supports that subject. The point is to make sure the viewer knows where to look, and that the rest of the frame helps rather than distracts.
In my Mutianyu Great Wall photo, I already knew what I wanted before shooting: I wanted the archway to work as a natural frame, and I wanted the curve of the wall to pull the eye deeper into the image. So when I took the shot, I made sure those two elements were both clearly included and roughly balanced in the frame. Later, I only needed a small amount of cropping and alignment adjustment to refine the center and make the composition feel cleaner.
And that is also why I think these three things matter most at the moment you shoot: format gives you editing room, exposure protects your details, and composition gives the image its structure. If the base file is already solid, post-processing becomes much easier. For the editing side of that workflow, you can continue with my post How to Edit Photos in Lightroom for Beginners: 3 Essential Steps That Make the Biggest Difference.