So, does any one else get super bummed out when you have a picture perfect moment, but you don’t have your camera? I definitely do. But thankfully we live in a time when our smartphones can do just as well as our regular cameras if we know how to use them correctly! I have partnered up with a super cool company called Aura Frames to give you some of my smartphone photography tips! I’ve given examples of my own phone photography below to show that it is possible to take fantastic photos on your phone!
1. Lighting is everything!
I decided on this one first because I feel it’s the most important! If you are trying to take a photograph of something, but even on the screen it’s blurry, you need more light! To be honest, I am not a huge fan of using flash. Most of the time when you use the flash it’s too harsh on your photo. I suggest natural lighting. Are you indoors? Take your subject close to a window! Now, if it’s crazy sunny, you probably aren’t going to get a good photograph either because now it’s too overexposed! Shaded places are the best places!
Now for night photography, make sure to stand very still and use an image stabilizer (should be under your settings). You also want the subject of your photograph to be well lit, so the camera has something to focus on!
2. Use the Rule of Thirds.
Now you may be sitting there thinking, how am I supposed to use the rule of thirds if I don’t even know what that is?! Let me fill you in! Imagine your frame has two horizontal and two vertical lines spaced in the frame. The goal is to line up the subject of your portrait with the lines or where the lines meet. See the picture below as a reference!
3. Get creative!
I can almost guarantee you that something in your immediate area would make an amazing picture. Say it’s your first cup of coffee in the morning, take a picture of it! Is your cat perched by the window? I bet he wants you to take his picture! One of my favorite things to do is look around at the ordinary and try to make it look extraordinary! I promise that if you start noticing the texture of objects or the way the light hits something just right, it will change your outlook on everything! You’ll start to see things and know what will make a good photograph. Train your eye to see things in a different way!
4. Change your perspective!
Don’t get bummed out if something isn’t turning out the way you thought it would! Change up the shot! Move your phone closer and change the perspective! (This is just a side note: Don’t use the zoom on your phone camera. Get closer to the object! By using the digital zoom your photo will look blurry and pretty pixelated. For a clean photo, get closer!) The picture below was taken by me literally kneeling on the ground and putting my phone about 5 inches away from the flowers. Don’t be afraid to get dirty!
5. Have fun!
Do you know how many times it takes for me to take a picture and find one I actually like?! It takes a lot of pictures! Thankfully we live in a digital time, so if you don’t like the first 10 pictures you take you can just delete them! Just remember to always have fun! Get creative! Expand your horizons by looking at the texture of objects! Change that perspective! Enjoy looking at the world around you and use every opportunity to explore it!
I hope that this guide has been helpful! These are just some of the main points of phone photography (and I guess regular photography, too) that I use on a daily basis! Aura Frames has come up with a handy infographic to help you with your smartphone photography!
Check out their website to see all of their beautiful digital frames that will help showcase all of your fantastic smartphone photography! And friends, they have also partnered up with Charity: Water, a non-profit organization that provides clean and safe drinking water, in hopes to build three wells in developing nations! Be sure to check out this fantastic company and get to snapping some pictures! As always, I hope you have a lovely evening!
❤ Abbie
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