Mobile photography has since evolved over the recent decades considering the great improvement in camera technology of the modern smartphones. If you are a young photographer, just want to use your smartphone for taking pictures, and you want to take better pictures, then, mastering the basic smartphone photography techniques will improve the flow of your photography and lead to better pictures. Below are some basics that can enable you to maximize the use of the smartphone’s camera.
1. Understand Your Camera Features
Explore Camera Modes
Lately, most brands of smartphones come with multiple camera options among them are portrait, panorama, night mode, among others. It is time to be acquainted with these modes and the periods when it is possible to apply them. For instance:
- Portrait mode is perfect for people and objects pictures, where details warping out of focus is the best result.
- Night mode assists in taking pictures in the low light and increases definition and decreases the amount of electronic noise.
- Panorama mode: it is ideal for shooting large scenes, especially the landscapes.
2. Utilize Manual Settings
All modern smartphones give the option to have the ISO, Shutter speed exposure control and WB in their cameras as many of them have the Pro or Manual mode. Experimenting with these settings can help you capture images that are closer to your vision:
- ISO is used to adjust the camera to the amount of the received light. As a result of using a low ISO number, the images will have more contrast in equal to bright conditions while a larger number like 800 ISO will be useful in low light conditions but the images will have more noise.
- Shutter Speed relates to the amount of time for each frame exposure. A shutter speed of a higher number is used for actions that need to be frozen while a lower number will cause motion blur.
- White Balance is used to set the tone of the picture to be shot. This is one trick in smartphone photography that can be used to remove some color cast to make your images look more as they are.
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3. Composition Techniques
Rule of Thirds
Among the basic guidelines for smartphone photography, the rule of thirds can be mentioned. Suppose your frame of reference for the of time is a 3 x 3 matrix. Positioning your subject in such a manner or on these points of intersection helps develop an equilibrium that would hold the audience’s interest. Many modern cameras of smartphones have HDR and you can turn on the grid in settings which will help with this.
Leading Lines
Position the subject in such a way that the line created by the environment will lead the viewer’s attention to the subject or focus area. Anything that will guide your subject through a path could act as leading lines such as roads, rivers, fences and even a subject’s shadow.
Symmetry and Patterns
Pattern and symmetry could make perfect pictures. Specifically, try to find such things as mirrored images, buildings and structures with accents in geometrical shapes, or natural shapes and forms with geometrical patterns. These elements may enhance your photos by giving the photos an esthetically pleasing, balanced appearance.
Framing
The techniques include framing and this usually involves using items within your scene to form sort of a box around your subject. This is one smartphone photography tricks that can be done with the windows or openings of rooms, gates or doors, trees, or any object that leads the viewers’ eyes toward the main figure of the picture and gives the context of the shot.
4. Lighting Essentials
Natural Light
Oh, natural light is the best when it comes to smartphone photography. The largest warm up light illuminations and soft, diffused light is available with the early morning and late afternoon light which is popularly referred to as the golden hour. Do not photograph in the middle of the day as this will cause unwanted shadows and light reflection.
Use Artificial Light Creatively
In bust or in low light conditions methods like using lamp, street light, or flashlight of an adjacent phone may be employed to provide a good light source on the subject. Ensure that flow and lighting is correct to avoid uncomfortable direct light/frontal lighting with big shadows.
Avoid Using Flash
However, the built-in flash fills the purpose of capturing the shots and sometimes causes the photo to look harsh. This is why it is advisable to adjust for other sources or to use the flash only in an emergency.
5. Post-Processing Tips
Editing Apps
Indeed, the editing process can make a huge difference to your pictures. Freeware Adobe Lightroom, Snapseed or VSCO are the apps, which contain professional tools for edits. The simplest tools are rotation, contrast, saturation and sharpness can make a wonderful impression. Here are some tips:
- Exposure and Contrast: Though increase the brightness of your image and add depth, use these settings.
- Saturation and Vibrance: Intensify the colors but at the same time ensure that they do not appear to be very artificial.
- Sharpness and Clarity: Skin your photos to make them look more professional but do not go overboard.
Filters and Presets
If you’re trying to establish a mood, setting or overall theme to an album, then filters and presets can help to keep all of the photos looking and feeling alike. Make them to set the desired mood or style, yet they have to be used sparingly. Using too many filters can at times affect the original look and feel of the pictures.
Crop and Straighten
Applying cropping may help to enrich your composition, and using a straightening tool will help to correct the horizons that are depicted crooked. Crop and straighten tools are almost always present in most editing apps and are easy to use.
6. Practice and Experiment
Try Different Perspectives
Do not only shoot through the eye view. Do not always look at things from the same level or at the same angle. Crouch down to take a shot you will have a different viewpoint or climb higher to get an aerial view of everything.
Capture Candid Moments
Nothing can beat those unexpected moments that reveal much more than forced smiles or professional postures do. Be ready to shoot without interfering; focus on facial and body language of the characters.
Learn from Others
Consult social media and look for photographers whose work inspires you to create various pieces of art. Here, one needs to focus on their formation, illumination and various mechanisms of smartphone photography. That is why it is useful to study great photography – observing and analyzing it, so as to be able to create perfect shots.
Conclusion
Learning how to take good photos using a smartphone is not easy and it requires one to practice with the phone. With knowledge of your camera features, proper composition, correct use of light and post-processing skills you can improve your smartphone photography and take awesome pictures. Do not forget that the best camera is the one that you have with you, right now, so turn on your smartphone and start taking stunning pictures right now.
Happy shooting!