The cameras on our phones are the easiest way to capture memorable moments now a days.
But how to we take that snapshot from mediocre to memorable?
Here are 5 simple tips to help you instantly improve your phone photography today! Incase you’re wondering, all photos in this post were taken with a phone.
1. DON’T ZOOM!
I know it sounds odd, but don’t do it! The quality (especially on older phones like my iPhone 8) drops drastically as soon as you attempt to zoom in while taking a picture.
Instead, take the photo, open the photo in your gallery and then zoom in on the photo and take a screen shot. Here’s a quick example to show how drastic the difference is:
Cool, right!? Onto the next awesome tip!
2. GET THAT RIGHT ANGLE
No, I’m not talking about triangles here, I’m talking about taking those 5 extra seconds to think about the angle you’re shooting at to improve your phone photography.
The goal here is to make sure your subject is the true focus of the image, so take those 5 seconds to have a look around and remove any distracting elements from your photo. Here’s a few things to think about:
- Is there anything blocking off a section of your subject? Trees are notorious for doing this.
- Is there a random branch sneaking into the edge of the photo, or rock, or dog for that matter.
- is the subject well lit? Often, our eyes will gravitate towards the brightest part of the photo. To help guide your viewers eye to your subject, make sure your subject is well lit. It can be as simple as getting your daughter to take one step over into the sunlight.
To fix issues like this, it can be as simple as taking one step to the left or right and it can drastically improve the impact of your photo. Check out this example here:
3. TAP THAT SCREEN
So, you’ve got your composition lined up perfectly. You’ve taken those 5 seconds to ensure there are no distracting elements and you’ve taken the photo only to come home and realize the subject is blurry!
To avoid the mini Yosemite Sam tantrum that would typically ensue at this point, simply check the photo for clarity before leaving the scene.
If you notice that your subject is blurry, all you do is take another photo, but this time, tap the screen where your subject is and then take the shot. This will ensure your subject is in focus and also properly exposed (not too bright or too dark).
4. USE THOSE VOLUME BUTTONS
I’m not going to even pretend… I didn’t know this until about 2 weeks ago. When taking a photo, you can press your down volume button to take the photo instead of pressing the shutter button on the screen. Life changing (and slow to the party, I know – but I wanted to share it with you just incase you’re like me)!
This especially comes in handy when attempting to take a selfie with your dog who won’t hold still after hiking up to an epic mountain top.
5. GET IT IN SNAPSEED
If there’s one thing you can to do instantly improve your phone photography, this is it.
Take you photo into Snapseed (a photo editing app by Google) for a quick edit to give it just that little extra love. Check out a before and after here:
The best part about Snapseed is that it’s FREE. There are no adds or in-app purchases. All tools are free to use and fully accessible. Full transparency here, I’m not sponsored by them, I just really love their app!
You can even save your own presets. I find this handy when I’m wanting to add my weekend adventures to my Instagram Stories. This way, the edit looks consistent throughout the board!
– BONUS 1 –
Okay, okay, I know I said 5 tips but there’s a really good additional tip that I wanted to share with you guys.
Each generation of phone is getting better and better at bokeh. Just incase you’re wondering what that is, bokeh is the deliciously smooth background blur you get with really expensive DSLR cameras. If you want to learn more about bokeh, check out this post!
What’s amazing is even my old iPhone 8 can get those delicious bokeh shots!
Here’s how:
Make sure you’re standing really close to something you can shoot through, like leaves, or grass, or water drops on glass.
Then, compose your shot with your subject clearly defined but have the leaves, or grass, or whatever you’re shooting through also in the composition. See example of Huckleberry here:
Then the trick is to touch the object on your screen that you want the camera to focus on and presto, anything close to the camera as well as far in the distance will have that bokeh effect.
This technique is great to use when photographing your kids or pets because bokeh shots tell the viewer, ‘don’t focus here, focus on the kid or pet instead.’
BOOM! Next level of phone photography reached!
SUMMARY
There you have it folks, 5 easy tips to improve your phone photography. The best part is, you can apply everything here today!
Here’s a quick summary to help it stick:
1. DON’T ZOOM
The phone zoom in option (especially on old phones) isn’t that great. You’ll often get better resolution if you zoom in to your photo in your gallery and screenshot after.
2. GET THAT RIGHT ANGLE
Spend the 5 seconds to move a step left or right to get the perfect shot.
3. TAP THAT SCREEN
To avoid a Yosemite Sam temper tantrum when your looking at your shots a couple weeks later, just simply tap your screen where your subject is right before taking the shot to ensure your subject is in focus!
4. USE THOSE VOLUME BUTTONS
To avoid taking the most awkward selfies, use the down volume button to take the shot instead of using the shutter button on the screen.
5. GET IT IN SNAPSEED
Throw your photo into the Snapseed App for a two second edit to give your photo some visual impact. Use presets for ease and consistency when uploading to your social media!
– BONUS 2! –
For more awesome tips like this, check out SLR Lounge’s brand new tutorial, Creative Photography 101. It teaches you all about how to get the best images with your phone.
If you’re quick, you might be able to catch their special launch price as well! Don’t delay, check it out here:
SLR Lounge Workshops – Creative Photography 101
Have fun practicing your new tips and thanks so much for stopping by!