Grab your phone and start taking better photographs today.
1. Look for the Light!
Graveyard in Derry, Ireland 2017 iPhone 7 Plus
In photography, light is your medium. If you ever took a film or even digital photography class you know that light is what you are capturing. The same can be said for phones.
I encourage you to ask yourself the following:
- Where is the light coming from?
- What type of light is it? (Bright and Direct, Diffused and Soft or blessed Golden Hour light)
- Where is my subject ?
- How can I move or adjust to the light in my surroundings?
Once you put this practice into place, you will be noticing the light everywhere. This can not only change the quality of your shots, but also create mood and other artistic flare.
2. Use the Exposure Option on your Camera
Most of you know to tap the screen of your phone in order to get it to focus, but this also offers you another feature: exposure adjustment. Tap the screen and a yellow box will appear, if you tap elsewhere in the frame it will adjust the exposure for that portion, BUT this will also adjust the focus.
Auto Exposure- Over exposed for the darkest portion of the image- leaving the white washed out.
Change where I place to exposure by tapping and it will adjust. Drag you finger where the yellow “sun” is to adjust further.
In order to avoid this, tap where you want to focus, then drag you finger up and down with the mini “sun” to change the exposure. This allows me to get the following image with definition on the widow and portions of the room, without it being blown out.
Kilkenny Castle Ireland 2017
3. Hold your Phone in Landscape Mode
My Neighborhood 2016
Landscape means you would hold your phone on its “side”, rather than the way you do to text and call etc. This will dramatically shift your photos from looking like obvious phone snaps to a professional and sleek look. This also means you are paying attention to a bit more within the frame.
4. Remove Distracting Backgrounds
Petra House in Vancouver WA 2016
I cannot stress how important this is. Often it can be so easy to focus on the subject, and forget all about the background. The background should give context, add to the look and point the viewer to the subject. The less busy the better. This can be done by finding a different Point of View (POV) like shooting from above or below like I did in the picture above. If I had shot this “straight on” you would have seen a packed restaurant and my boyfriends belly. Not cute.
5. Activate the Edges
Galaway Ireland at Ard Bain 2017
Activating the edges can add interest and variety to an image. This means have some portions of the image going off the edge of the frame. I know, I know, I just said the less busy the better right? Well, it really comes down to purpose. Next time you pick up the phone and use the camera think about what it is you want to say or capture with your photograph. In the case above, we were sitting in a small little cafe with cramped yet cozy seating and a fresh rustic meal. All things that I wanted to show.