Tips for Phone Photography

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Anyone can pick up a phone and take a photo. However, there are many things you can do to create a fantastic photograph and stand out from the crowd.
 
Disclaimer: all example photos are from an iPhone as I own one, however all the tips apply to most phones.

​1. Clean the lens!
  • Your phone spends a lot of time in your pocket, if you don’t clean the lens, chances are the photo will come out blurry.
i.When you clean the lens use a soft cloth to avoid scratching the lens.
  • It will also block out the light trying to enter the camera’s sensor leaving dust stops, blurs or smudges.
2. Set the focus
  • When taking a photo, it is key to make sure the subject is sharp in focus.
i.To set the focus simply tap the screen where you want to focus.​
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3. Set the exposure manually
  • When you tap the screen, the camera will not only set the focus, but also adjust how much light goes into the lens, meaning it is ‘perfectly exposed.’
  • Most photographers would leave it at that but playing around with the exposure can really help.
  • When you tap the screen, a little sunshine will appear. Swiping up that sun will brighten the photo and swiping it down will make it darker
4. Don’t use the zoom
  • On a phone, the zoom isn’t an optical zoom, but a digital zoom. This means that the image is cropped when zooming in, resulting in a loss of image quality.
  • Instead of zooming in, either move closer to the subject or crop afterwards in the editing process. By doing this, you have more control over how much of the image you lose.
5. Keep your camera steady
  • Keeping your camera still is important especially when taking photos in low light or at night.
  • When you take a photo in these conditions, the camera will need to use a slow shutter speed to allow light to hit the sensor.
    1. Therefore, if you do not keep it still, the photo will show up significantly blurry.
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6. Use rule of thirds
  • The rule of thirds is one of the most useful composition techniques in photography. It’s an important concept to learn as it can be used in all types of photography to produce images that are equally balanced while in shot.
  • You can turn the grid on for your photos on in your settings.
  1. You should try and put your subject in line with one of the vertical lines. If there is a horizon in your photo, it should be in line with one of the horizontal lines. The idea behind the rule of thirds is that the off-centre composition makes for a more interesting shot.
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7. Shoot from a different perspective
  • It is always good to experiment with different levels, although eye level is the normal perspective for photo taking.
  • Birds eye view is a photo taken above.
  1. Worms eye view is a photo taken from below.

8. Watch out for distracting backgrounds
  • If you have a cluttered background in your photos it can distract attention away from you intended subject.
  • Either blur out the background during the editing process or keep it simple and less distracting.

9. Take multiple shots
  • If you see something that catches your eye don’t just take one shot and  hope for the best. The chances of getting a good photo with your first shot are very slim so you should take various shots with different angles and distances.


Now using these tips, go out and have fun taking those fantastic photos!