10 Tips on How to Take Good Photos Using Your Smartphone
How lucky are we to be living in this smartphone era where we can just easily take our phones out, snap, and share to the world? Without the need to use digital or film cameras, capturing moments have become very ordinary and effortless.
I've always loved taking photos, and since I cannot afford to purchase a decent camera, I make use of what I have which is just my phone. Thankfully, these days, smartphones now have amazing camera features that make our photographer dreams come true. Hashtag #iphoneography! In this post, I am going to share the tricks and guidelines I follow in order to produce good pictures by only using the essential gadget that we sorta cannot live without - our smartphones.
Just a quick reminder, while I do support taking instagram-worthy shots, I would also like to stress out the importance of really treasuring and living in the moment. It may be nice to have photos to look back and remember, but let us never forget to feel and enjoy the moment while its happening and not to be too caught up trying to get that perfect shot. This is something I try to remind myself everyday! Sometimes I get too busy trying to capture what’s in front of me when I should actually be embracing that moment and paying attention to my surroundings.
Anyway, going back to the real topic. Here are the few tips I live by when taking my photos. These are actually very BASIC rules, but important.
1. CLEAN YOUR CAMERA LENS
First things first - wipe off your camera lens before taking a photo. Ever wonder why sometimes your photos turn out to be foggy or washed-out? Or just something opposite to a clean, sharp photo? In most cases, it's because you didn't wipe off your camera's lens. We use our phones almost the entire day and so the camera lens may be covered with dust, dirt, or hand prints, so it's important to give it a good wipe using a cloth before snapping.
2. TURN ON THE HDR
As per Google, HDR is "a high dynamic range (HDR) technique used in imaging and photography to reproduce a greater dynamic range of luminosity than is possible with standard digital imaging or photographic techniques. This is often achieved by capturing and then combining several different, narrower range, exposures of the same subject matter."
To simply put it, an HDR photo is a series of photos at varying exposure levels (from the over exposed to the underexposed) combined. I like turning on my HDR on my phone as my photos would appear more realistic. See samples below:
As you can see, photos on the left look overexposed and have that flashing light, which doesn't look good in my opinion. When the HDR is turned on, all details of the picture become more visible (like the clouds) and there aren't any harsh light.
I think all smartphones are equipped with the HDR feature. Make sure yours is turned on. However, as an HDR photo takes a series of images, it takes longer to process too, so it's not good to use it when you're shooting action shots or moving images.
3. LOOK FOR NATURAL LIGHT
I bet you know this rule by heart - don't pose against the light if you want clear, bright photos. Also, don't use flash. It makes a photo overexposed, or just washed out.
...Unless you're trying to capture your sexy silhouette against that beautiful sunset. Then you'd have to position against the light to achieve that. But if you want bright, well lit photos, then you gotta chase the light.
Photos above were taken near the window where the light is. Especially when taking photos of your food, I think it's best to use natural lighting as much as possible.
4. LOCK THE FOCUS.
Another basic step that we all should have mastered by now - locking in the focus. Ensure your image has the correct parts in focus by tapping the subject in your screen. That way, the part where you want to emphasize is sharp and not blurred.
5. TAKE MULTIPLE SHOTS/USE BURST MODE
Let's be real. It doesn't take a single shot or two for us to be satisfied with our photos. Getting that perfect candid shot with the right pose and angle is undeniably hard, so having a hundred of photos to choose from would be helpful (Lol! But it's true!). Ask people to take multiple shots or to hold down the shutter button on your phone (burst mode) when taking pictures. And voila, options!
6. USE THE MAIN CAMERA, NOT THE FRONT
It's always fun to take selfies using the front camera, but if you want good pictures with high quality, your front camera is not your best bet. Use your back or main camera which has higher megapixels that will create a much clearer photo.
7. FOLLOW PROPER ALIGNMENT
Make sure the lines are properly straightened whether horizontally or vertically, especially when photographing landscapes and sceneries. However, if you weren't able to achieve this, then simply edit. Thanks to the many editing apps that we can download, we can easily rotate our photos and properly align them.
8. USE THE PORTRAIT MODE FOR A DSLR EFFECT
The newest advancement of a smartphone's camera app is the Portrait Mode, which essentially blurs the background while focusing on the subject, achieving that DSLR effect. The feature is not always perfect, as there are times when it struggles to properly separate the subject from the background, but it does create quite stunning images. I believe this is one of the best advancements of a smartphone's camera, and I have been obsessed of using this!
However, not all phones are equipped with this feature. For the iPhones, the Portrait Mode is available starting from the iPhone7+. I don't even have this feature as my iphone is a 6s! I just use Andy's. Haha. (Another tip is to use someone else's phone lol) For the Android phones, I think this feature is available in some of the latest releases. Just check if you have it!
Zooming increases the noise of the photo making it look grainy and pixelated. If you want a closer angle, then you have to move closer yourself.
Unless you're stalking someone from afar or taking a photo of your crush secretly...then go for the zoom. Lol.
10. LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST, ALWAYS ENHANCE/EDIT YOUR PHOTOS
After following these steps and finally having that instagram-worthy shot, it's time for the final but important step to take your photos to the next level -post processing. Just use your creativity and find your style of editing by experimenting different adjustments to your images, or by using filters. I like my photos bright and saturated!
Editing your photos will certainly make them look 100% better! Plus, your photos become well curated if you use a permanent filter/preset. Some of the editing apps I use are Lightroom, VSCO, and Snapseed. (Let me know if you need tips in editing this time. I'll try my best to help out!)
That's it! I hope you are reminded of these key tricks to make your photos look better. There are still many tips out there, but here I'm sticking to ten! Also, let me just say that I'm not claiming to be an expert in mobile photography. I just like taking pictures and sharing what I know, because sharing is caring!
What are your tips and tricks when taking photos? :)
Happy snapping! :)
1. CLEAN YOUR CAMERA LENS
First things first - wipe off your camera lens before taking a photo. Ever wonder why sometimes your photos turn out to be foggy or washed-out? Or just something opposite to a clean, sharp photo? In most cases, it's because you didn't wipe off your camera's lens. We use our phones almost the entire day and so the camera lens may be covered with dust, dirt, or hand prints, so it's important to give it a good wipe using a cloth before snapping.
2. TURN ON THE HDR
As per Google, HDR is "a high dynamic range (HDR) technique used in imaging and photography to reproduce a greater dynamic range of luminosity than is possible with standard digital imaging or photographic techniques. This is often achieved by capturing and then combining several different, narrower range, exposures of the same subject matter."
To simply put it, an HDR photo is a series of photos at varying exposure levels (from the over exposed to the underexposed) combined. I like turning on my HDR on my phone as my photos would appear more realistic. See samples below:
As you can see, photos on the left look overexposed and have that flashing light, which doesn't look good in my opinion. When the HDR is turned on, all details of the picture become more visible (like the clouds) and there aren't any harsh light.
I think all smartphones are equipped with the HDR feature. Make sure yours is turned on. However, as an HDR photo takes a series of images, it takes longer to process too, so it's not good to use it when you're shooting action shots or moving images.
3. LOOK FOR NATURAL LIGHT
I bet you know this rule by heart - don't pose against the light if you want clear, bright photos. Also, don't use flash. It makes a photo overexposed, or just washed out.
...Unless you're trying to capture your sexy silhouette against that beautiful sunset. Then you'd have to position against the light to achieve that. But if you want bright, well lit photos, then you gotta chase the light.
Photos above were taken near the window where the light is. Especially when taking photos of your food, I think it's best to use natural lighting as much as possible.
4. LOCK THE FOCUS.
Another basic step that we all should have mastered by now - locking in the focus. Ensure your image has the correct parts in focus by tapping the subject in your screen. That way, the part where you want to emphasize is sharp and not blurred.
5. TAKE MULTIPLE SHOTS/USE BURST MODE
Let's be real. It doesn't take a single shot or two for us to be satisfied with our photos. Getting that perfect candid shot with the right pose and angle is undeniably hard, so having a hundred of photos to choose from would be helpful (Lol! But it's true!). Ask people to take multiple shots or to hold down the shutter button on your phone (burst mode) when taking pictures. And voila, options!
6. USE THE MAIN CAMERA, NOT THE FRONT
It's always fun to take selfies using the front camera, but if you want good pictures with high quality, your front camera is not your best bet. Use your back or main camera which has higher megapixels that will create a much clearer photo.
7. FOLLOW PROPER ALIGNMENT
Make sure the lines are properly straightened whether horizontally or vertically, especially when photographing landscapes and sceneries. However, if you weren't able to achieve this, then simply edit. Thanks to the many editing apps that we can download, we can easily rotate our photos and properly align them.
8. USE THE PORTRAIT MODE FOR A DSLR EFFECT
The newest advancement of a smartphone's camera app is the Portrait Mode, which essentially blurs the background while focusing on the subject, achieving that DSLR effect. The feature is not always perfect, as there are times when it struggles to properly separate the subject from the background, but it does create quite stunning images. I believe this is one of the best advancements of a smartphone's camera, and I have been obsessed of using this!
However, not all phones are equipped with this feature. For the iPhones, the Portrait Mode is available starting from the iPhone7+. I don't even have this feature as my iphone is a 6s! I just use Andy's. Haha. (Another tip is to use someone else's phone lol) For the Android phones, I think this feature is available in some of the latest releases. Just check if you have it!
Yep, all these photos were taken with just an iPhone, using the Portrait Mode.
9. DON'T ZOOM.
Zooming increases the noise of the photo making it look grainy and pixelated. If you want a closer angle, then you have to move closer yourself.
Unless you're stalking someone from afar or taking a photo of your crush secretly...then go for the zoom. Lol.
After following these steps and finally having that instagram-worthy shot, it's time for the final but important step to take your photos to the next level -post processing. Just use your creativity and find your style of editing by experimenting different adjustments to your images, or by using filters. I like my photos bright and saturated!
Editing your photos will certainly make them look 100% better! Plus, your photos become well curated if you use a permanent filter/preset. Some of the editing apps I use are Lightroom, VSCO, and Snapseed. (Let me know if you need tips in editing this time. I'll try my best to help out!)
That's it! I hope you are reminded of these key tricks to make your photos look better. There are still many tips out there, but here I'm sticking to ten! Also, let me just say that I'm not claiming to be an expert in mobile photography. I just like taking pictures and sharing what I know, because sharing is caring!
What are your tips and tricks when taking photos? :)
Happy snapping! :)
6 comments
Edit my photos bestfriend! Hahaha 😘
ReplyDeleteHahaha how to edit napud maybe soon! Charot! :D
DeleteVery nice Ms. Inna! ☺️☺️☺️
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ms. Shane!! :)
DeleteVery helpful Inna.. Salamat :)
ReplyDeleteYay! Youre welcome, Ms. Jayz! :)
Delete