Photography is a combination of the technical and artistic both are needed to make a successful picture
As we all know there has been a revolution in digital photography. Every new generation of mobile phones makes it easier to take pictures in more difficult circumstances. Photography is a combination of the technical and artistic, your phone cannot help you with the artistic part of photography. Your phone does not know you or love you, it is not a mind reader.
Every mobile phone and camera app are different even on the same operating platform therefore it might be a good idea to go online to see if there are any operating instructions for your phone camera.
Technical
1 Smartphone photo tip: clean the lens
Have you thought about cleaning the lens of on your phone camera before you use it?
6 Avoid using the Digital Zoom
Your phone potentially has two forms of zoom, optical and digital. The optical version is preferred because you’re not losing pixels. Find out how to zoom in before you take the picture. Ideally, the subject matter is not a small dot in the background.
2 How to release the shutter
There are always a number of different ways to release the shutter every phone will be different. Here are a few examples of you might try on your phone
1 the on-screen shutter
2 the volume switch
3 an iPhone headphone cable’s volume control
Artistic
7 Keep Still
Camera shake can ruin a great shop particularly indoors without flash so be careful try to keep the phone still.
3 Smartphone photo tip: finding the right exposure settings
By default the exposure will be automatic. In some difficult lighting conditions the phone may get it wrong. Find out how your phone does exposure compensation. With my android, if I hold down the focus point, I will then get a rotating scale to increase or decrease exposure. Is always a good idea to preserve the detail in the highlights. If in doubt keep taking pictures because you cannot wear your pixels out.
8 Get Close to Your Subject
Fill the picture frame with the subject matter. Don’t leave the viewer to try to work out what the picture is about. Exclude all you do not need in the picture.
4 Smartphone photo tip: set the focus manually
Again by default your phone camera will focus automatically on the distance at the centre of the screen. If you want to be sure that your camera’s focusing on the subject matter, drag the focus point onto the subject.
9 Smartphone photo tip: ensure elements in the foreground
Ask yourself what is going to dominate the picture space?
5 Smartphone photo tip: two-handed use
Try to keep the phone a steady is possible as this will help with picture composition.
10 Smartphone photo tip: Rule of thirds
The rule of thirds is a way of composing or designing a picture.
– It is based on the golden ratio
– loved by many camera magazines
– used by many
– ignored by those who have a personal style.
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The free Texture Checker File as a download
