Taking a great photo with your phone might sound like an impossible mission, but it’s easier than you think. We often associate “phone camera” with any old camera slapped onto a handset. But phone cameras have come a long way and can be just as capable (if not more) than your standard point-and-shoot. All they need is someone to unlock their true potential.
Whether you’re a pro-blogger, vlogger, seller, or take tons of photos, the way you take photos makes a huge difference. How can you capture the most memorable moments with your smartphone? Here are 8 tips for taking epic phone photos.
Use Both Your Front and Back Camera
The front-facing camera is great for selfies, but the back camera has a broader field of view to capture more of your surroundings. That’s important because a good photo should tell a story about what’s happening at the moment. A selfie can’t do that — but a panorama can!
To take a panorama, hold your phone vertically and move it horizontally as you snap pictures. The app stitches them together into one shot that captures everything around you. If you want to get fancy with your panoramas, try holding your phone vertically and rotating it 90 degrees (so it’s pointing down) while taking pictures.
This creates a vertical panorama that looks like an animated GIF when viewed on its side or in landscape mode on your phone. Don’t zoom in too much. Zooming in on an object can sometimes make it look blurry when you zoom out again because it changes how much light enters your phone’s lens. It’s best to keep your zoom minimum so your photos don’t look fuzzy when viewed from afar.
Clean The Lens On Your Phone
Taking great photos with your phone is more accessible, but the secret is ensuring you have a good camera. If you’re looking for a camera that can produce image quality comparable to a DSLR or mirrorless camera, you need to check out the best mirrorless cameras under $500. As for iPhone owners, here are some tips on how to take better photos with your iPhone:
For starters, make sure your lens is clean. If there are any smudges or dirt on the lens, it will show up in your photos. To clean it off, use a microfiber cloth or lens cleaner spray (which you can buy at any electronics store).
Secondly, turn on HDR mode so that they won’t look dark and grainy when you take pictures of dark scenes. This feature works best when taking pictures outside when there are bright and dark areas in the same image (i.e., sunny and shady areas).
Just make sure not to use this mode all the time because it can sometimes overexpose certain areas of a photo which could lead to overblown highlights or washed-out colors in other parts of the image. It’s best used sparingly when needed (and only if you want the effect).
Limit The Amount Of Crop You Do
When you take photos of your phone, it’s essential to remember that you’re going to be cropping them down. So, if you’re taking a book picture, for example, don’t zoom in on the book and crop out the entire image. Instead, zoom in on the page and crop out just that page.
This is important because when you crop an image down too much, it can make it look blurry or pixelated. The more you crop a picture like this, the worse it will look. So, if you want to take epic photos with your phone, limit how much cropping you do after taking your pictures.
The best way to take photos with your smartphone is to use the camera app’s manual mode. This allows you to control things like exposure time and ISO, enabling you to take better photos in low-light situations.
Using a tripod is also a great way to ensure you get a steady shot without worrying about things like shaky hands or moving subjects. If you don’t have a tripod handy, try using your phone’s timer feature to get into position for the shot, and then press the shutter button on your phone when ready.
Shoot With Great Light
Light is the essential element of photography. It’s what makes a photo look good and not so good. If your photo looks bad, chances are your lighting is off. And if your lighting is off, it’s usually because you’re shooting in poor light.
That’s why I always say that cameras don’t matter as much as lighting does when it comes to taking great photos — because even if you have a fantastic camera on hand, it won’t do you much good if you can’t use it properly because of bad lighting conditions.
There are three basic types of light:
- Natural light (sunlight)
- Artificial light (from a lamp)
- Flash (typically used with cameras)
Natural light tends to be the brightest and most versatile type, while flash can provide extra power in low-light situations. Artificial light is the weakest type but often provides the most control over color temperature.
So what makes a great photo? There are three main ingredients:
1) A great subject. This can be anything from people to objects to nature scenes. But if it doesn’t catch your eye and make you want to take a closer look, it won’t make an interesting photograph.
2) Great light. Lighting is everything in photography — without light, there’s no picture! Natural light is best because it creates natural shadows that add depth and character to your photos, but artificial light can also be used. Just remember that both types of light have different qualities, so try shooting at other times of day and different seasons if possible (see our article on how to use light for more tips).
3) A sense of composition. Composition refers to elements arranged within a scene — such as lines, shapes, and colors — to create an exciting image that attracts the viewer’s attention and communicates something about the subject or the feeling behind it.
Try To Avoid Using Flash, If Possible
You can’t always rely on your camera’s flash to illuminate your photos. If you’re dealing with a subject very close to the lens or in low light, using a flash can make your subject look washed out or leave them like ghosts.
The best way to take photos in dark environments is to use your phone’s camera’s night mode. These modes allow you to take better pictures at night and in low light by adjusting the shutter speed and ISO settings.
Here are a few tips and tricks to help you get the best photos on your phone.
1. Don’t use flash. If you’re taking a photo in low light, it’s best to turn off the flash and let the camera take longer exposures. Flash can make people look red-eyed and washed out, creating harsh shadows that can ruin an otherwise great photo.
2. Use HDR (high dynamic range) mode if your phone has it. HDR mode takes multiple photos at different exposure levels and combines them into one image with better contrast and detail in the highlights and shadows. It’s beneficial for landscapes, where high contrast between a bright sky and dark foreground might otherwise lead to blown-out skies or muddy mountain sides in your photo.
3. Turn off autofocus (if available). Autofocus is excellent when taking pictures of people or moving objects. Still, when you’re trying to take a quick shot of something like a bird or butterfly, autofocus can slow things down so much that you miss the shot entirely — especially if you’re using an older smartphone with slower processing power than today’s flagship devices.
Use a tripod to steady yourself when taking pictures
A tripod can be an excellent tool for taking photos if you want to ensure your phone camera is as steady as possible. It also helps you take longer exposures so that you can capture landscapes and other subjects that the movement of your hand would otherwise blur.
Tripods are also great for shooting video because it allows you to keep the phone steady when moving around. This means you don’t have to worry about holding the phone while walking, running, or even standing still.
You can also use a tripod for selfies or group photos — hold the phone in front of yourself, set up the shot, and then step back from the camera. This allows everyone in the photo space to move around and get into position before taking the picture.
Taking a good photo is not as easy as it sounds. It takes some practice and lots of patience. But with the right equipment and technique, you can take better photos than you ever thought possible.
Use a tripod to steady yourself when taking pictures. If you’re using a smartphone or digital camera, set the timer on your phone so that the shutter opens and closes without you having to touch it, which will help keep your hands steady.
Use natural light whenever possible. Natural light is softer than artificial light and provides more depth and dimension in your photos. If you have no choice but to use artificial lighting, try to diffuse it by hanging up white sheets or paper behind your subject or adding an extra layer of light as an overhead lampshade.
Take notes about how each type of shot looks before moving on to something else so that you don’t waste time trying to replicate something that doesn’t work for you in the first place!
Know your camera and its strengths and weaknesses
Taking photos on a smartphone is an art, and it’s an art that many people have gotten pretty good at. But there are still some ways to improve your photography skills to take better photos with your phone. Whether you’re looking for tips on how to shoot in low light or get more dynamic images when shooting action shots, these tips will help you become a better photographer.
For taking epic phone photos, you need to know your camera and its strengths and weaknesses. The best way to do this is by learning about the basics of photography and the specific features of your device’s camera. For example, not all smartphones have optical zoom capabilities, but many do. If you’re taking lots of photos from afar, it might be worth looking into one with this feature.
The camera in your phone is great, but it’s not always easy to get the most out of it. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to taking better photos with your Android phone. For starters, know your camera and its strengths and weaknesses. Most phones have pretty good cameras, but they’re not all created equal. Some shoot in RAW format, which means they save their images as uncompressed files — so if you want a little more control over how you edit them later, those are great options.
If you use an iPhone, Apple’s new Portrait mode is also pretty cool — but that requires a dual-lens setup (like the iPhone 7 Plus) and works best with people or objects against a solid background like a wall or tree. You can find more details about how it works here.
Find out how to turn off shutter sound on your phone, if applicable
The first thing you need to do is turn off the shutter sound on your phone. This can be done in the Settings app or the camera app itself. If there is no option for turning off the shutter sound, you may need to root your phone and use an app like No Shutter Sound or Camera Shutter.
Your next step is ensuring your camera app is set to manual mode. You’ll also want to go into your settings and enable HDR (High Dynamic Range) to get even more detail in photos of landscapes and other scenes with a lot of contrast between light and dark areas.
If you take photos of people, ensure they’re looking directly at the camera when it snaps their picture. You can do this by having them hold still for a few seconds before taking the photo or asking them to look at something specific while holding still.
When taking photos of moving objects, try using burst mode instead of just tapping on your screen repeatedly. Burst mode allows you to take multiple pictures quickly, so you don’t miss anything important — like a double rainbow!
Taking photos with your phone is awesome. It’s convenient, can be done from anywhere, and is a great way to share moments with friends and family. But taking epic phone photos takes a bit more than just pointing your camera at something exciting. You need to know how to turn off the shutter sound on your phone, if applicable, how to use the correct settings, and what other tips might help you take a fantastic photo.
Where can you post your photos online?
Ishinora is a website where you can post your work and get feedback from others. It’s a platform for artists to share their work, get feedback and improve their skills. The website has been around for almost a year, but it still has many users interested in submitting their work for critique.
The site works by allowing artists to upload their artwork, then inviting other users to comment on it. This creates an opportunity for artists to receive feedback from other professional artists and critics. This feedback is essential for new artists trying to develop their skills and improve their art forms.
There are no restrictions on what types of artworks can be uploaded onto Ishinora, so if you’re looking for some help with your painting or photography projects, this might be worth checking out!