Mobile Photography: 19 tips for success

Low-cost carriers and hostels have given people the ability to travel economically over any distance, and Instagram has allowed them to share what they see in a couple of clicks. More than 80 million photos are uploaded to social media every day, and more often than not, it’s not professional glossy shots that are posted, but smartphone photos. To help you get closer to perfect smartphone photos, we’ve prepared a list of tips to help you improve your skills.

All of the pictures in this article were taken with a smartphone camera.

Comete El Coco photo

1. Get to know exposure better

Exposure is the amount of light that enters the camera’s sensor through the lens. The camera’s aperture opens, like a human pupil, to absorb more light, and narrows when less is needed.

Your phone has artificial intelligence and adjusts its own way to light the scene. But you can argue with his vision by using the exposure slider – it’s a yellow square with a sun that appears when you focus on your subject. Adjust it to get the amount of light you need.

A blown out shot

• By moving the slider down you reduce the amount of light, the important thing is not to darken.

Subjects too darkened

• Optimal exposure:

A frame with the right exposure

Sometimes a little bit of darkening brings depth and volume to a picture, so you can see the undertones, the subtle shadows and the shininess of the highlights. This method is useful for compositions with a lot of light objects.

On the left is the automatic exposure offered by the smartphone. On the right, the exposure is set towards the darker side.

2. Remember the rule of thirds

The image in the camera is divided into nine equal rectangles, and the photographer’s job is to position the subjects along the lines or along them. If you follow the rule, you’ll get a winning composition that will immediately direct the viewer’s eye in the right direction. That said, the composition will also encourage him to consider the rest of the frame. Position the main figure in the frame not in the center rectangle, but closer to the frame lines.

Photo by Lukasz Szmigiel @Szmigieldesign

3. Learn how to work with light

Light is the key component of photography. Kodak’s founder used to say, “Light is what makes a picture. Embrace it and learn how to work with it.”. Experiment with shadows: sometimes they look more effective on a picture than the elements that cast them. Catch the sun’s glare and reflections of light. Try backlighting – leaving light behind the subject. And remember the important points:

• “The golden time for a perfect shot is one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset.

Photo by Daniel Vargas @danielvargas

Photo by Jason Weingardt @jasonw

• The daytime bright sun shines on the frames and creates a strong contrast between the dark and light areas. Putting your subject directly into the sunlight on a dark background can give the effect of a studio shot. By taking the picture against the sun you can catch the reflections of the sunlight that at a certain angle will add to the atmosphere of the picture. Also the contrast of highlights and shadows looks good in landscapes, especially in winter.

Left photo Melissa Askew @melissaaskew. On the right is a photo by Samuel Scrimshaw @samscrim

• Stability is important in mobile night photography – a smartphone camera performs poorly in low light. Use a tripod or tripod to hold your smartphone steady. Don’t press the picture button, because the phone will catch the slightest hesitation and leave you with a blurry picture. Press the timer so you have a few seconds to spare and the phone is still when you take the picture.

Itten’s color wheel

A set of colors of the same hue is a harmonious combination. Take a picture of a yellow cab against a beige building with a brown roof.

Imbalance is a set of bright colors that do not match each other. This is good to use if you want to incite the viewer to a certain emotion.

Remember that contrast is not only about shadows and highlights, but also about color and the mood of the shot. Whether it is a girl laughing with a colorful umbrella in the rain or a melancholic expression on an Indian woman’s face with brightly colored kerchiefs in her shop. If you’re in doubt about your choice of gamma, use Canva’s palette generator. All you have to do is upload a photo and the software will give you a set of colors that will blend in perfectly with the shot.

Photo by Dhaval Trambadiya @dhavaluke

5. Use HDR when you need it

HDR mode takes three shots instead of just one. To convey maximum authenticity, it chooses the best parts in each of the pictures it takes and produces a single finished version. Your phone is a bit slower than usual in this mode, so it’s not suitable for capturing moving objects. When HDR is justified?

• Take a picture of a landscape that shows a great contrast in light and color between the sky and the ground.

• When shooting portraits in the daytime – the mode allows to avoid shining of the face and contrast shadows, which visually age the person in the picture.

• In dimly lit or backlit places, it will brighten dark areas.

Photo by Steve Carter @stvcrtr

6. Work on the idea of the picture

People are spoilt for choice with lots of pictures of beautiful sunsets, landmarks, and nature. The public has become difficult to surprise. Your image should have an idea that’s close to the audience, or it should convey a certain emotion, a feeling.

Before you press the button, ask yourself what the picture is about, what idea or feeling it should provoke in the viewer? That way you’ll know what angle to take the shot from, what lighting is right for the shot, what colors to use, what moment to wait for.

Photo by Ishan @seefromthesky

Photo by Fabio Capello @babacapello

7. Learn from talented photographers

To strengthen your skills in mobile photography, you need to study the work of others. Seeing the accounts of talented photographers not only gives you inspiration for your own images, but it also gives you a taste of their strengths. This is how you gain visual experience, learn to navigate in space, and memorize effective angles and color schemes.

Subscribe to as many different profiles as possible – each photographer has his own style, and it’s important not to copy what you saw, but to interpret his idea in your own way. Like at school, don’t copy off your neighbor, but write the same thing, but in different words.

Linda Stokes

Specializes in sunset shots of landscapes and plants. You can learn from her competent color solutions and work with light.

Ssukris

The unusual portrait photographer. If you have been looking for inspiration for interesting angles in portrait photography, his account will inspire you. Jos&eacute Luis S&aacute ez

Master of B/W. He is an excellent composer with geometry, plays with contrast, and knows how to work with shadows and silhouettes.

Madlen Hjelmroth

Madeleine is a great example of a reportage photographer who knows how to seize the moment. You can get a sneak peek at unusual angles, color schemes and ideas for subjects.

8. Get inspired by all kinds of weather

The sun is the best friend of natural and beautiful photographs. But if you get caught in the rain or fog, think of it as an opportunity for atmospheric shots. Bad weather reduces the number of people on the street, which will allow you to easily photograph many objects without thousands of tourists in the frame, and you will have a better chance to try different angles in the same space.

What’s more, the bright colors of buildings, umbrellas, and signage contrast perfectly with the gray to help capture the different moods of the shot. Some elements even look better in fog or rain than in bright sunshine, like medieval castles or mountain monasteries.

Also, bad weather is very friendly with B/W photos, and that too is an excuse to experiment with different ways of presenting your images.

Photo by Matej Rieciciar @m_riecko

9. When in doubt, take a picture

Capturing the moment is an important element of photography. It’s so much easier to do in mobile photography. Moreover, the memory of many smartphones allows you to take a lot of pictures, and then choose from them the best one. Browsing through the media library, you can examine the images in detail and make sure that in some of them you managed to capture sincere emotions of passers-by, the expression of an animal’s face, an interesting combination of nature and people in the frame.

Holding your smartphone downwind not only gives you a chance to accidentally shoot something worthwhile, but you’re also practicing reportage photography.

Photo by Stevie Cruz-Martin

Photo by Joe Green

10. Use your feet, not the zoom

Mobile zoom is something that is guaranteed to ruin your image. Even if details look sharp when you zoom in, you get a poor quality shot. Get closer to your subjects. That way you’ll save yourself from blurry, grainy images, and maybe you’ll come across some interesting elements that can complement your shot.

Photo by Genie Yakovleva @genie_yakovleva

11. Look for unobvious angles

Look around the area. Climb up high and try to create a bird’s eye view imitation. Approach the subject from the side or behind. Many people see buildings from a recognisable angle and it makes them feel as if they are looking at something new. Go lower, sit down, go into the establishment across the street, catch the object’s reflection in a moped mirror or a clear puddle on the pavement.

Photo by Daniel Vargas @danielvargas

Photo by Daniel Vargas @danielvargas

12. Develop in different genres of mobile photography

Many photographers make the mistake of shooting in the same style and genre. Over time subscribers get bored with monotonous photos, and account activity drops.

Explore your strengths, find the genre you are best at, but keep experimenting. Over time you will develop your own style of style and color correction, but don’t limit yourself to your comfort zone.

Never be satisfied with what you have, always keep learning and evolving. If you’re good at portraiture try your hand at reportage. If you are good at sports and action shots, switch your lens to animals and children. If you’re a master of B/W, play with the color in the frame.

Photo by Martino Pietropoli @martino_pietropoli

Photo by Matthias Schr&ouml der @trancepole

13. Use guiding lines

The world of photography is very fluid and one rule can be the exception to another, but there are some unchangeable things that help to get a guaranteed spectacular smartphone photo.

Guiding lines guide the viewer to the center of the composition. They can serve as an expanse of imagination – a person imagines what is left over the horizon. Lines can add volume to a scene, or make it look flat.

Photo by Yash Savla @yashsavla

14. Don’t go overboard with the subject matter

Don’t over saturate your photos with too many elements. These shots are difficult to comprehend, and the eye always needs something to latch on to. Simple shots have more air to them since they are not constrained by their surroundings.

Explore textures, patterns, colors, symmetry, reflections, contrasting light catch dark shadows on light surfaces, find lonely boats on sea water, notice bright details on pale backgrounds.

Photo by Daniel Vargas @danielvargas

15. Look for dramatic reflections

Nothing is easier than to catch a beautiful reflection on water surface. But there’s still lots of room for experimentation: when it’s raining look for colors in the puddles, watch medieval buildings peeking at you from the windows of business centers, catch the emotions of people in the reflection of transport doors.

Photo by Ludovic Fremondiere @ludovicphoto

Photo by Aditya Chinchure @adityachinchure

16. Practice your imagination

Occupational work often makes us notice something working in non-working moments – an accountant keeps counting numbers, a poet remembers images, a musician hears sounds everywhere with which to replace instruments. Practice this with mobile photography. Use panoramic vision, approach the same objects from different angles, try to catch interesting shadows, reflections of light, silhouettes. Take a few frames at a time and see what’s missing, how you can improve your picture. Notice what you don’t notice at first glance, and think about how you can use these to enhance your scene.

Being curious and always looking for something really sharp sharp sharpens your skills. You will artificially make yourself see things, but later you will have no problem finding interesting subjects.

Photo by Marcus Loke @marcusloke

17. Find symmetry

This is not only a perfectionist’s paradise for the eyes, but also an aesthetically beautiful composition for photography. Symmetry follows us at every turn – perfectly straight lines on the road, architectural structures, cars, ornaments. And if you’re lucky, you might come across a perfectly symmetrical mountain landscape in the reflection of a smooth lake.

On the left is a photo of Jiang Yi @kscc0056998. On the right is a photo by Joe Green @jg

18. Look for framing options

Look for frames for your subjects – this approach instantly focuses the viewer’s eye in the right direction and adds an interesting perspective to your shot.

Left – photo by Ern Gan @ern. On the right is Aditya Chinchure @adityachinchure

19. Process your photo

Processing highlights assets and removes minor flaws. Look at your photo and think about what it’s missing.

With a variety of filters, you can choose the one that captures the mood of your shot. If there are blurry elements in the photo, you can add sharpening – it will noticeably improve the image. Gain saturation when colors are missing. Increase brightness to get rid of darkened areas. Adjust the contrast so the photo looks fuller and more dynamic.

Canva’s filter editor lets you work with your images in a browser and in an app on your smartphone. It also adapts your content to the necessary social media formats.

• Open Canva on your smartphone and choose the format you want to edit. Then select an empty file to process your image.

• Choose the image you want to improve. Pick the filter that best suits the mood of the photo.Click advanced settings to manually apply additional processing.

Put your newfound skills to work and create stunning photos. Develop your mobile photography skills, wow your followers with high-quality smartphone photos, and most importantly, have fun doing it.