The 4 Best Mobile Phone Photography Tips

The 4 Best Mobile Phone Photography Tips Reviewed

1.      LIGHTING: It doesn’t matter how awesome the subject of your photo is, if the lighting is off, people won’t look at it. Yes, we have filters on almost any application or camera these days, but do not rely on them. Do the best you can to get the lighting right before you take the photo, and then if needed you can edit it to perfection after the fact.

·        Natural Lighting is your best friend. Flashes can wash out your photos and create unnatural looking images. Try and take photos outdoors, and when inside, take them near open windows, at a well-lit time of the day, without the sun shining directly through the window. If shooting at night, try and find sources of ambient lighting before relying on your flash.

·        Have you heard the term Golden hour? This is the time frame when the sun is rising or setting and is low on the horizon. If you want to take photos when the sun is directly overhead, your photos will be overexposed, and that is hard to correct. When the sun is low, the lighting is wonderful. If you can’t shoot during that time, try and find a place where the sun is not directly overhead.

2.      Depth: Consider the items around your subject that add interest to the photo. For example, when taking a picture of your kid on the beach, sure you could just zoom in and get the picture of your kid but consider the following that might add texture and depth to the photo.

·        Are they sitting in the sand? Some of the texture and color?

·        How is the water behind them? Are there waves? What would those add to the picture?

·        Are there any interesting buildings behind them?

All of these things can add interest without taking away from the main subject of the photo.

3.      Rule Of thirds: This helps guide your eye to the subject in a natural and pleasing way. Beginners often tend to center their subject in a photo, but this is not what is most pleasing to the eye. Think of your photo as a 3x3 grid. When taking a photo of your subject, or editing it later, consider putting the subject along one of those grid lines. It will look more natural and be a more balanced photo. This can be done in editing after the fact, but only if there is enough in the photo to edit. If you take a photo that is already zoomed in, you will not have enough material to work with, so keep this in mind.

4.      Perspective: When taking a photo, we tend to stand where we are, and snap the photo. Most photos are taken this way. Consider a new perspective.  Crouch down to get a different angle of the subject. Maybe get up higher, on a roof, or a ladder and look at your subject from above. Instinct is to take a photo at eye level, but try getting out of the box, and looking at it from a different perspective. You will be surprised at how your photo changes.