Phone Photography Basics: Make your shots stand out
The dawn of new technology phone photography has allowed us all to become photographers in our own right. It’s been thoroughly simple to capture any subject that catches our eye anytime, anywhere, using a little handheld device that could fit right inside our front pocket.
Ultimately, capturing any subject into a still image takes a certain amount of skill for it to stand out. In this article, we will be giving you a few tips to enhance your smartphone photography techniques to provide you attention-worthy snapshots.
It’s all about perspective
It’s one thing to find a subject to shoot at, but it’s another thing to get the best angle to tell a story visually. It’s what separates the best photographers from the rest.
By default, photography entails the use of creativity and thinking outside of the box, and that very much applies to this concept. Try to find the unique ways of seeing your subject before clicking that center button just yet.
So instead of going for the standard close-up or flat lay angles the next time you take food photos, try flipping the camera a few degrees away. You will see that it will make quite a noticeable difference, which can be an eventual gamechanger for you.
The Gridlines feature is your best friend
If you’re entirely new to the phone photography game, chances are you aren’t aware of the concept of the “Rule of Thirds.” Simply put, it stipulates that an entire image must be divided into nine equal parts, spaced by two vertical and horizontal lines. It also helps to place the subject correctly into the frame.
Most smartphones come with a Gridlines feature that provides these lines you’ll need. Utilize it to your advantage and see how balanced and professional your photo will turn out to be.
Natural lighting is the best way to go
While professionals commonly use flash photography, the final product doesn’t always turn out great. In many cases, that burst of white light tends to overpower the photo after shooting, which is not always desirable.
Especially for phone photography wherein using the flash may render a more washed-out image, using natural light would be the best option. Even if you’re shooting at night, make do with the illuminations around you. If needed, position yourself at an angle where the subject is the best lit.
Avoid zooming in as much as possible
Phone photography basics include knowing your limitations. In this case, you’re restricted to the stock functionalities of your gadget like the zoom feature, which is not precisely of excellent quality.
Zooming best works when a separate lens is used, like how safari photographers take snaps of the predators and prey at the Serengeti. But for phone photography, it would be best to get closer to your subject, then make the necessary crops afterward. Doing so helps avoid a grainy photo, which is usually the outcome when using the zoom feature.
Find the mood
A great photograph can ideally captivate beyond the visual. If you do it right, you can evoke a particular emotion just by the image you’ve taken, based on a specific mood you’re exuding.
Just like how it is when finding an angle, try to feel the current mood before taking that photo. If your subject is a person, what is his or her facial expression? If you’re taking a landscape photo, how is that current setting making you feel?
Once you’ve answered these questions, it would be a lot easier to pick out the subject and convey a particular emotion through your final photo.
At the very least, phone photography can be of great help in improving your overall photography skills. You are made to work with the limitations you have, as opposed to a professional camera that gives you many other options and lenses, which helps you focus more on the composition of the shot.
Phone photography may be simple in theory, but making your shots stand out is another story. Your shots may not look as visually pleasing at first, but by following these tips and putting them to practice, you will see notable signs of progress as you go along.