10 tips to dramatically improve your smartphone photography (Topic)

Smartphone owners do not need to carry a bulky camera with them. The number of mobile photography enthusiasts is growing, and along with it is the number of instant sharing and photo editing applications.

Most of us underestimate the capabilities of smartphones, paying attention only to the number of megapixels. In a hurry, we forget about lighting, shooting angle and deep settings that could change our attitude towards a mobile camera.

Read these tips and try to apply at least half. You may not even want to buy a new smartphone with an improved camera.

Understand your camera settings

Don't rely on automatic mode. Different phones have different settings. Most of them give you the ability to control focus, exposure, white balance and ISO.

It's not much, but enough for a start. Some cameras link exposure and focus settings: the lighting of the entire photo will change depending on where you click on the screen.

When it comes to white balance, there are usually four settings to choose from: daylight, cloudy, fluorescent, and incandescent. The first two are suitable for outdoor photography, the last two are suitable for indoor photography.

Set maximum resolution

The higher the resolution of the photo, the better its quality. When shooting, try to get close to the subject: it is better to crop the frame later than using digital zoom, which greatly degrades the quality.

The main camera is better than the front one

Of course, it is more convenient to take a selfie on the front, but the front camera always has a worse resolution than the main one, since it was created for video calls, not for photos.

Don't forget to clean your camera lens

While your phone is in your pocket or bag, many small debris stick to it. One such tiny speck of dust crouching right in the center of the lens will ruin all your footage.

Wipe the lens gently before shooting. It is not necessary to carry a special soft cloth for this, you can wipe it with your sleeve: modern lenses are made of very durable glass, they are not so easy to scratch.

If you want more, try removable lenses. They attach to your smartphone with a clothespin and provide special effects: fisheye, macro or wide angle.

Don't underestimate the tripod and monopod

Have you noticed that when shooting on the go, the video turns out to be shaky, and the photo is blurry? This is because a small hand-shake is transmitted to the camera, and it cannot stabilize the image. Additional hardware may solve the problem.

A tripod is useful for long exposure photography, and a monopod is useful for selfies. Most tripods are small and compact and can even fit in a woman's purse. Moreover, a tripod is not just three sticks spread out. There are models with non-standard mounting methods to help you shoot from unusual angles.

Shoot in the light

Any lighting - daylight, fluorescent, neon - is better than nothing. With the right lighting, your food will look appetizing and your faces will look healthier and more cheerful.

Consider the direction of the light: if its source is behind the subject, you will only see the silhouette in the image. In the case of a person, this will be a dark spot instead of a face. Side lighting will accentuate surface relief and depth.

Do not use flash in low light conditions. The LED installed in a smartphone is only suitable as a flashlight, but not a flash. Better experiment with your exposure and ISO settings.

Learn the rules of composition for a good shot

It is not necessary to enroll in photography courses. Read about the simplest concepts of composition - the rule of three, leading lines, scale, and framing.

Once you can successfully follow the basic rules, break them. Play with lighting and shooting angles. Feel free to climb into a chair or sit down below. This is the only way to find non-standard solutions.

Try panorama mode and burst shooting

The first is great for landscapes, provided you can keep your hand straight. If not, use a tripod to avoid jitter.

Continuous shooting comes in handy when you decide to capture a moving subject. Children and animals will not sit still while you are spinning in search of an angle, so it is better to quickly take a few pictures and choose the best one.

Don't be limited by the stock camera app

Applications installed by default have a very meager set of options. Go to Google Play or the App Store, there are tons of third-party software. Programs such as Camera + (iOS) and ProCapture Free (Android) will give you access to advanced camera settings.

There are also separate apps for specialized functions, for example, Slow Shutter Cam (iOS), Night Cam and Pro HDR (iOS, Android ).

Use editors, it's okay

Not everything can be controlled when shooting. Most of the improvements are related to post-processing: removing noise, unnecessary details, adjusting color balance, etc.

Photoshop Express (iOS, Android) and Pixlr Express (iOS, Android) perform editing functions such as crop, rotate, flip, and red-eye removal. If you are a filter lover, try Snapseed (iOS, Android) and VSCO Cam (iOS, Android).

Need more? Download Spotliter , which allows you to add filters not only to images, but also to videos while shooting.

The Topic of Article: 10 tips to dramatically improve your smartphone photography.
Author: Jake Pinkman