Key Takeaways
Many smartphone photographers choose up dangerous habits that want unlearning.
Overdoing Portrait Mode can lead to a few of your photos trying worse than they need to.
Keep away from over-reliance on filters; use them sparingly to boost, not masks, your pictures.
With only a few changes, you’ll discover taking higher smartphone pictures a lot simpler. From failing to regulate your lighting to over-reliance on filters, listed here are among the major habits you could unlearn if you would like higher photos—I’ll additionally present you what to do as a substitute.
1 Not Manually Adjusting Your Lighting
Though smartphone cameras have restricted lighting customization instruments, you need to nonetheless alter what you’ll be able to. Even probably the most primary smartphones usually have some type of brightness meter you’ll be able to flip up or down.
To regulate your brightness, transfer the slider after holding your display for a number of seconds. Manually altering your brightness is very vital when taking photos in conditions the place you have got an excessive amount of or not sufficient mild, as that is when your digital camera is especially prone to dangerous pictures.
You may as well use mild modifiers, however there’s no have to go to these lengths as a hobbyist.
2 Taking Pictures From the Similar Angle as Everybody Else
Probably the greatest issues about smartphone pictures is that you just all the time have your digital camera with you. When you see one thing you want, you’ll be able to merely snap it and proceed together with your day. Nevertheless, if you would like your photos to look distinctive, that you must assume in a different way.
There’s nothing mistaken with taking photos in your smartphone together with your regular standing stance, however don’t restrict your self to that. Search for distinctive views, reminiscent of holding your digital camera increased or decrease. You may as well strive certainly one of my smartphone pictures tips that really work, like photographing behind partitions.
When you plan to make use of your smartphone for pictures in your travels, it’s additionally value testing this information on taking distinctive pictures in standard areas.
3 Solely Capturing in Portrait Orientation
Regardless of my historic love-hate relationship with the platform, I nonetheless assume that Instagram is probably the most enjoyable place to share your pictures. Most of us optimize our photos for the 4:5 format, which signifies that photographing in portrait orientation is usually the default.
However whether or not you’re photographing for social media or some place else, all the time holding your smartphone upwards will restrict your creativity. Panorama mode has a number of benefits, particularly whenever you’re making an attempt to seize cityscapes and expansive pure surroundings. So, shoot whichever manner feels essential relying on the state of affairs.
If you wish to share your landscape-orientation pictures on Instagram, you’ll be able to all the time use a free graphic design device like Canva or Adobe Categorical so as to add borders or frames the place essential. And if you would like higher panorama photos, see my important smartphone panorama pictures information.
4 Ignoring the On-Display Grid
You might need heard of pictures ideas just like the rule of thirds, and these strategies don’t simply apply to mirrorless or DSLR cameras. You may get glorious outcomes together with your smartphone, too, by listening to the grid on the display.
Utilizing the on-screen grid, you’ll be able to body your picture extra successfully. It’s additionally an awesome device for figuring out whether or not you need to look forward to one thing to boost your picture, reminiscent of an individual or bicycle owner.
Most smartphone cameras allow you to use a grid, however it might not be switched on by default. If it isn’t, you’ll be able to flip it on by way of your Settings app. Here is how one can allow grids in your iPhone and how one can use the digital camera in your Android telephone.
5 Solely Taking One Image of the Similar Factor
Smartphone cameras are defacto point-and-shoot units, which is nice for comfort. And whereas off-the-cuff snapshots can work out amazingly for motion scenes (e.g. avenue pictures), you need to assume exterior the field when photographing inanimate objects or portraits.
Some folks advise towards snapping a number of pictures of 1 factor, however I disagree (except you begin overthinking and subsequently miss different picture alternatives). There are two causes I like to recommend you’re taking a number of photos:
If certainly one of your photos is blurry, you have got different decisions. You may discover an angle that you just in any other case wouldn’t have.
Strive photographing totally different angles and going again in several lighting situations. When you’re photographing folks, get them to carry out totally different poses. You may as well seize the identical factor in portrait and panorama mode.
6 Relying Too A lot on Filters
I maintain my fingers up right here as a result of I like picture enhancing and am typically responsible of this. If you take numerous pictures and begin utilizing instruments like Adobe Lightroom or VSCO, you’ll be able to shortly fall into the entice of considering that each picture is fixable with a filter. The identical goes whenever you’re posting on social media, particularly when there are such a lot of superb filters in your Instagram pictures.
However the reality is that filters ought to improve your pictures, not make them. Relying too closely on filters can result in complacency creeping in, leading to worse pictures over time. You additionally threat overdoing your edits, which is without doubt one of the greatest errors that almost all photographers—beginner or skilled—make.
Use filters sparingly and concentrate on crucial smartphone pictures facets like lighting and composition. And for those who like a photograph straight out of your digital camera, don’t fear about posting it with out enhancing.
7 Overdoing Portrait Mode
Smartphone pictures has advanced considerably since Apple first launched Portrait Mode in 2016. It’s superb you could now management the aperture without having to purchase an costly digital camera, and newer smartphones even have a number of modes that alter lighting for you. Nevertheless, this doesn’t imply that that you must use Portrait Mode on each picture.
Lots of people assume {that a} blurry background robotically means the image is sweet. This, nonetheless, is just not all the time true. I’m not going to police when you need to use Portrait Mode in your digital camera, however I do suggest that you just ask whether or not it’s actually essential for the picture you’re taking.
One of the simplest ways to find out if so is by taking the identical picture in Portrait Mode and together with your regular digital camera settings, and evaluating them. Be taught extra about utilizing Portrait Mode on iPhone right here.
Taking nice smartphone pictures is extra easy than you assume, and the best manner to enhance your pictures is by doing much less of the dangerous stuff. None of those are hard-and-fast guidelines, however you’ll discover a big distinction for those who implement a minimum of a few of them.