Smartphones are our constant companions. They’re with us at all times and can capture moments that other cameras might miss. That said, many of us don’t take full advantage of the camera on our phones. A recent survey found that only 12 percent of respondents think they take good photos with their phones. In this post, we’ll cover some helpful tips and tricks to improve your smartphone photography skills. Whether you’re a novice or intermediate photographer looking to advance your skills, you won’t want to miss these tricks and tips!
Know your phone and its camera settings
The first step to getting better photos with your phone is to know its camera’s settings. Every phone is different, so you’ll want to do a little research before diving in and starting to mess with settings. The two main camera settings you’ll want to know are the ISO and shutter speed. ISO refers to how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to light. A low ISO will be more sensitive to light and let you take clear shots in dim lighting. A high ISO will be less sensitive to light and let you take clear shots in bright lighting. Shutter speed is how long your camera’s shutter is open when taking a photo. A fast shutter speed will let in less light, so you can take photos in bright conditions. A slow shutter speed will let in more light, so you can take photos in dim conditions.
Use the right lighting
The best way to improve your photos is to start by learning some photography basics. The most important is to use the right lighting. When taking photos indoors or in low light situations, you want to use either artificial or natural light. For artificial lighting, you can use lamps, overhead lights, or even flash if your phone has a built-in flash. Using natural light is more challenging and might require you to change your shooting location slightly to get the right effect. When taking photos outside, you want to look for open shade areas that are not in direct sunlight. This will give you a nice, even light without harsh shadows. You can also use reflectors to bring light back into shaded areas to help fill your scene with light.
Learn to use your phone’s built-in features
Smartphone cameras are packed full of great features, but many people don’t know how to use them. To get started, you’ll want to experiment with the three most important settings on your phone’s camera. You’ll want to start by playing with your camera’s white balance. White balance is a setting that will help you get the best color from your scene. You can experiment with your scene’s default setting and adjust it based on the type of lighting you have available. You should also experiment with your exposure. Your phone’s camera will try to do a good job of this automatically, but you can also do it manually if you want to get really creative with your photos. You should also experiment with your camera’s focus mode. On many phones, you can choose between an automatic setting or a manual setting.
Stay away from digital zoom
The worst mistake you can make when using your phone’s camera is to use its built-in digital zoom. This will just crop your photo and make it look blurry, so you should always try to zoom in with your feet instead of your fingers. If you do need to zoom in, try to use optical zoom. If you have a zoom lens (like a telephoto lens or a zoom lens) with a mounting ring, you can use that to zoom in and get a better shot. You can also try to move your body or the subject of your photo closer to you to get a better shot.
Try tripod-based techniques
If you have access to a tripod, you should try using it to improve your smartphone photography. Using a tripod will help create a stable platform for your camera, which will help you get much sharper photos. You can also use the tripod to experiment with longer shutter speeds. This will let you create some really cool effects, like showing flowing water as a smooth line instead of as a messy splash. You can also use your tripod to do cool things like create time-lapse videos or hyper-lapse videos. These are videos where the camera is moving but it looks like it’s standing still. You can even use a tripod to do long-exposure photography, like capturing the night sky as an amazing swirl of stars.
The bottom line
As you can see, there are many things you can do to improve your smartphone photography. Start by knowing your phone and its camera’s settings, and then experiment with different settings to see what works best for you and your scene. If you have been taking mediocre photos, there’s no need to feel bad. With these helpful tips and tricks, you will be able to take better photos with your smartphone.