Smartphone photography, mobile photography or whatever you want to call it, it's clear that taking great pictures with a phone has become a thing now.
What does that mean, exactly? It means that folks are creating works of art using their smartphones, and those pieces also go up in galleries or are made into prints. That's the extreme end, of course, but on the other we have Instagram photos that look totally killer.
If you own a smartphone made in the last couple of years, chances are it has a pretty damn good camera on it, too. And if you're reading this article, perhaps you're curious about taking better pictures with that smartphone.
Before we dive into it, just know this: learning and knowing how to do it is the easy part. The hard part is creating something magical with that knowledge, but by knowing how to get there, your chances of making pretty pictures improve.
Your phone isn’t as clean as you think
Having your smartphone in your pocket or handbag will keep it clean right? WRONG! Grime and dirt will still collect on your phone and lens. If little ones have been using your phone to make their important calls there are bound to be plenty of prints all over your phone. A dirty and smudged lens will result in lackluster images. Images will be hard to enhance too. Before shooting give your lens a good wipe down. The base of your shirt will do the trick.
Know your phone camera settings
First off, don’t rely on your phone’s default auto mode. Of course, tapping on where you want the phone to focus on will give you a sharper focus on the subject. However, you can improve the overall quality of your images by tweaking the other aspects in an image. Although different phones have different settings, most should be able to let you control the focus, exposure, white balance and ISO.
Note that some cameras lock both the exposure and focus together so depending on where you focus, you may change the lighting of your photo. As for white balance, there are four settings to choose from. It is best to match them according to the environment you are shooting to light up your photos better.
For example, Cloudy and Daylight are more suitable for outdoor shoots whereas Flourescent and Incandescent are used indoors. That said, you can choose to mix them up to create different tones and moods.
Get up close and personal
Ditch the zoom and don’t be afraid to get near your subject (what you are taking a photo of). The closer you are the higher the quality your photos will be. Cut out unnecessary space around your subject, and get more of the good stuff in each image.
Cropping is your best friend
If your subject doesn’t appreciate you getting nice and intimate you can still get a great shot. Cropping your images allows you to create the image you want, without jeopardizing clarity. Don’t resort to exhausting the zoom capabilities on your phone, go one better, crop out the unwanted space on your image.
Go towards the light
One of the biggest problems with taking photos indoor is the lack of natural lighting. The right amount of lighting can make food look more appetizing, facial expressions more cheerful and environments more welcoming. As much as possible, try to take your photos under natural lighting. You can do this by going near windows or doors when taking photos indoors, and to sources of light like neon signs or street lamps when snapping photos outdoors.
Photo-Editing Apps
Sometimes there is only so much we can control when taking a photo. A lot of the enhancement has to come from the use of photo-editing apps after the photos are taken. Some apps like Camera+ and Camera FV-5(Android) come coupled with a photo editor.
Photoshop Express (iOS, Android) and Pixlr Express (iOS, Android) perform editing functions like crop, straighten, rotate, flip and removing red eye. If you’re just into filters, you can try Snapseed (iOS, Android) and VSCO Cam (iOS, Android). Want more? Take it up a notch with interactive filters with Spotliter, which lets you add filters not only to pictures but also to videos, as you take them!
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