Photo by Patrick Tomasso / Unsplash
It’s fairly easy to capture memories because we carry cameras with us at all times with our smartphones. These days, smartphone cameras are powerful enough to capture quality photographs. Social media plays an important role in the way we interact with our surroundings by revolutionizing how we interact with content and media. It’s amazing that many photos on social media are taken on just a smartphone camera.
Want to learn how you can make your photos pop? Here are some simple, but effective ways you can improve your smartphone photography skills.
1. Find a Primary Lighting Source
Although smartphone cameras are becoming more advanced, they still lack the ability to capture light as well as a professional camera. Make sure your shots are well lit, whether that’s with artificial or natural light. You want to ensure that the light hits your subject from the front rather than behind them in order to avoid shadows.
When taking portraits, should a primary light not be enough, add light to the background to brighten the subject and reduce harsh shadows. This is essential whether you are trying to capture a shot of your surroundings or trying to get that perfect #selfie.
2. Adjust Your Focus and Exposure
In case your photo’s composition isn’t perfect, you can use the settings on your phone’s camera to adjust it. Fixing your focus and exposure settings in particular will heighten the quality of your image.
On your smartphone camera, you can tap on your screen to focus on your subject in the frame. Also, you can adjust the brightness in the photo before you take it by tapping on the screen and dragging your finger up or down to fix the exposure. This will brighten or dim your photo which is useful for when you have too much or too little light to work with.
3. Utilize Photo Editing Apps
If you don’t have access to premium editing software such as Photoshop and Lightroom, fear not, because there are many mobile apps you can download, many of them free.
There are apps that can add a portrait effect to your photo and can give a professional feel such as Snapseed and VSCO. You can find filters to layer onto your images to change the vibe and also adjust the temperature of your images. Utilizing editing apps can be used to create a cohesiveness to your photos in your social media feeds.
If you want to learn more about developing your photography skills, whether it’s with a smartphone or DSLR, enroll in the course below:
Camera Essentials
School of Visual Arts