A picture has the magic to make a moment last forever. Thanks to the invention of smartphones, photography has become a favorite pastime for many smartphone users around the world today. However, if you’re a newbie, you need to learn some tricks to better your chances of coming up with great pics. Here are some tricks and tips that will help you capture great pictures with your smartphone.
Don’t Cover Your Lens
The very first step to taking a great picture with your smartphone camera begins with holding your phone appropriately while clicking the picture. This is because, unlike a normal digital camera, the lens of a cell phone is located at the top corner. So when you take a picture, you might end up covering a part of the camera with your fingers if you do not really care about it. As a matter of fact, taking good pictures with your smartphone takes a bit of regular practice or getting used to until you become fully aware of the position of the lens in your camera.
Think about the Background
One of the most important principles of photography is defining the subject. This essentially means positioning the subject in a way that becomes the point of attraction for the viewer. Technically, this can be achieved by allowing the subject to position itself against the background that complements the subject. As a thumb rule, if you’re taking a picture of a person, you need to ensure that they must be standing against a background that doesn’t have too many distracting elements such as people moving around. By having a clean background, the focus can be greater on the subject.
Be Creative with Composition
Taking a picture is like penning poetry or writing stories – each picture has the ability to tell a story or give a message. Likewise, before capturing a picture, you must conceptualize a story or message that you want to tell to the audience or viewers. This is where composition becomes extremely important. Like a story, a picture begins with and revolves around a central character or protagonist – in photography parlance, they call it “the subject”. As a photographer, you must establish your subject and then build a story around it. It doesn’t matter if the subject is a living being or a non-living being, but it should be defined beforehand.
The art of composition is looking at the surrounding elements that are going to influence the subject. If you’re going to focus on only one subject, you should remove any other elements that might clash with your main subject and add other elements that complement the subject. For example, if you’re going to shoot your photos at a sea beach, you need to make sure there are no other beach tourists behind the subject. However, having the rising or setting sun behind the subject can actually complement your subject. Clear background with a calm sea couple with a setting/rising sun can add depth to the story and help the picture come off really well.
Take Care of Your Source of Lighting
The basic rule in photography is controlling the lighting since photography is all about playing with the light. Assuming you’re taking a photo in the broad daylight, make sure the subject is facing the source of lighting. However, if the subject is facing the sun, you might want to diffuse the light a little bit by using an umbrella or some other properties that can offer controlled lighting. Over-exposure to lighting can affect your photos in a negative way. Similarly, too little light may result may lead to poor results in your photography.
Have a Pair of Steady Hands
Many photography enthusiasts find it difficult to steady their hands while taking pictures. The steadier are your hands, the better the results. This is the reason why professional photographers use a tripod while taking pictures of subjects that are likely to move during the shoot. However, a smartphone doesn’t require the use of a tripod when you’re clicking photos. It’s recommended that you should focus on the frame of your smartphone making sure the composition is right while clicking the button of your cell phone camera. Moreover, it’s a good practice to click the button a couple of times to secure your chances of coming up with good photography.
Post Process Your Pics
Post-processing is a technique to polish your photos before you can share them with the world. It may be possible that some pics may need minor treatment in terms of cropping for better composition or reducing the overexposure.
Photography is an art that is best learned with gradual exposure, observation, and practice. Smartphones offer plenty of opportunities for us to click many photos during the day and learn from our mistakes from time to time. Happy clicking!