Apple has updated the iPhone's Maps system, the Apple Music Store and so on, but it hasn't made any noticeable changes to its smartphone's picture mode.

While this may change a little with the iPhone 2.0 firmware update due for release in June, the camera, the photo libraries and related elements have remained the same since the beginning. This may be for the best, at least for now, as the picture setup can be a little complicated to the uninitiated.

In this article, we explain everything you'll need to know to get the most out of your iPhone's camera and photo management system—from taking, e-mailing, and syncing pictures to setting a image as wallpaper, associating a photo with a contact and more.

Wallpaper
One specific iPhone trait that hasn't been updated is the wallpaper function.

Unlike its computer namesake, which stays static in the background, the iPhone wallpaper is more like a PC screensaver, if only in design (not in purpose)— it pops up when an active iPhone goes dormant. The default wallpaper on the iPhone is a picture of the Earth from space.

To change the default wallpaper, go to the main menu screen and tap the Settings icon. You'll find the Wallpaper icon six lines down, right below the Brightness setting. The main Wallpaper page will list three potential items: Wallpaper, Camera Roll and Photo Library.

The first item, Wallpaper, shows the nineteen images available from Apple. They range from a blooming roses and butterflies to Mona Lisa and A Starry Night. To select your favorite, tap the image.

The iPhone will then show a full-sized preview. Press the Set Wallpaper icon to keep the image or just press Cancel to keep your current wallpaper and return to the previous screen.

Snapping Pictures for the Camera Roll
The second item on the main Wallpaper page, Camera Roll, is based on your own iPhone pics. Before you can use the Camera Roll, you would have to had akeady taken some pictures If you haven't yet, press the Home button (the physical button, with a square, right below the iPhone screen), press the Camera icon and do a few shots.

The iPhone screen become a viewfinder and, remembering the lens is on the back of the device, aim at your picture subject. Press the little camera icon at the bottom of the screen to snap a shot. Any pictures will be put into the Camera Roll, which you can reach by tapping the multi-box icon in the lower left-hand corner.

The Camera Roll shows all the pictures you've taken. Tap on one of the thumbnail photos and the iPhone enlarges it to full size.

Along the top you'll see an icon to return to the Camera Roll, the photo number (for instance, photo 5 out of 12) and a camera icon to get back to taking pictures. Along the bottom you'll see a Wallpaper button, which resembles a window, a left arrow, a play button, a right arrow and a trash can.

The left and right arrows pan to the previous and upcoming picture in the camera roll, respectively. The play button does a slideshow of all your photos—starting with the one you are currently on (it stays on each photo for about two seconds). The trash can, of course, deletes the current photo.

Press the Wallpaper button and the iPhone will give you three options: Use As Wallpaper, Email Photo or Assign To Contact.

Press the first icon, Use As Wallpaper, to make it your default picture. The second option, Email Photo, will automatically transfer the picture to the Email mode and attach it to an outgoing document. Fill in the "To:", "Cc:", and "Subject" as you would any other iPhone email. Finally, the last option, Assign To Contact, associates the photo with the contact of your choice. Press Assign To Contact, then select the contact or contacts and approve.

Now the picture will appear on your iPhone every time the person calls. (It is a great excuse to take pictures of your contacts with the iPhone.)

Managing & Syncing Photos from iTunes
Going back to the initial Wallpaper screen, the third and final item is the Photo Library. It features photos from your computer not taken with the iPhone, but with a digital camera or some other device. These digital photos are from your PC or Mac.

To transfer photos to your iPhone from your desktop, first determine which computer file folder holds the photos —where the pictures are saved. You can create a unique folder called, say, "iPhone Pics" and stick your pictures in there, but your previous, regular photo folder works fine, too.

Next, open up iTunes, plug in the iPhone and wait for the device to be recognized. Click on the iPhone icon, then on the Photos tab. Here you can select the specific folder for the iPhone to take the pictures from (technically the iPhone makes its own duplicate, so the original photos will not be altered or taken).

Click picture to englarge

You can then select "All photos" to bring everything to the iPhone or "Selected folders" to choose specific file folders if you happen to have photo folders within photo folders. Keep an eye on file size, as photos can quickly fill up your iPhone.

Press the Sync button, located in the lower right-hand corner, once you're ready to transfer.

The Photo Library itself is accessible two different ways: by pressing the Photos icon on the main iPhone screen (which can always be reached by pressing the physical Home key at the bottom) or, as said above, by going to Settings, and then Wallpaper. (This applies to the Camera Roll, too, though it can also be reached by going to Camera, and then pressing the icon in the lower-left hand corner.)

Once you enter it, Photo Library operates the same way as the Camera Roll: information at the top, Wallpaper, slideshow and trash at the bottom. The only difference is that Camera Roll pics were taken with the iPhone, while Photo Library pics were taken by another device and transferred onto the iPhone manually.

About the Author
Damon Brown wrote the "Pocket Idiot's Guide to the iPhone" (Alpha/Penguin Books). Available on August 7, you can preorder it at Amazon or your favorite online bookstore. Damon also writes for Playboy, SPIN and The New York Post.