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Smartphone Photos | 5 Ways To Take Better Pictures

Smartphone photos aren’t always the best.  You can get some really crappy images with some of the lenses and sensors that are out there.  Even the fabled iPhone camera can mess up and take a bad shot.  It’s completely absurd to think that all of the images that are taken with a smartphone can even compare to those of a DSLR, SLR, Range Finder, etc.  I’ve always been a fan of Android, and I’m sure that some people reading this can attest to that, but Android has the double edged sword of having Android Open Sourced.  What I mean by that is that any company can take up any piece of hardware and install Android.  They build their phones the way that they want to.  With that being said, the cameras that come out on some of these phones simply such when given a somewhat difficult photo situation.  So what do you do to make sure that your smartphone photos come out awesome?  What do you do in order to make things not get too crazy in the back end?  Here are some tips to get the best smartphone photos.

Smartphone Photos

Better Smartphone Photos Tip #1: Turn your Flash off

Do yourself a favor and turn off the flash on your phone.  What will end up happening is you’ll get an image that will be poorly exposed.  The one thing that sucks is that sometimes you need flash, and I get that.  Sometimes you’re in a bar or night club and they’re not really well known for being well lit.  Smartphone photos don’t have to be that bad.  Go to a spot that has good light.  It’s more flattering, trust me.  All the flash will do is create harsh shadows that will make all those features you’re not phone of stand out.

Better Smartphone Photos Tip #2: Don’t Zoom

In a world of point and shoots, we’ve gotten really used to just standing still and zooming in.  I’m guilty of it too.  When I got my first DSLR, I was using a zoom lens.  I would sit still, zoom, set up, and take the shot.  The beauty of shooting images with fixed lenses (lenses that don’t zoom in or out) is that I see the image before I take it.  The best thing about applying this to smartphone photos is that it’ll prevent you from getting a pixelated piece of…art on your phone.  There is no lens that will zoom in or out, so your phone will digitally zoom in in order to compensate for the fact.

Better Smartphone Photos Tip #3: Use an Editing App

I’d be lying to you if I told you that my images that came out of my phones camera were awesome straight from the get go.  A little extra time in post production goes a long way.  It makes your Instagram account look more artistic and sophisticated.  I personally use VSCO from Visual Supply Company.  I’ve grown fond of the film emulation in LightRoom and was excited when they released an app on the Play Store.  That being said, there are other editing apps out there.  Instagram is becoming more elaborate and deep when it comes to their editing features.  Snapseed‘s parent company Nik Software was bought by Google and has played a big part in Google+ and how images are “Auto-Awesome”.  That’s just naming a few though.  On the Play Store, I found an app called Vignette that I used for years before VSCO came to the Android side.  I’m sure there are more out there.

Better Smartphone Photos Tip #4: Learn about Composition

Composition, simply put, is the layout of an image and how that layout makes it interesting.  One of the most popular techniques used is called the rule of thirds.  Instagram has a feature that implements the rule of thirds straight into the camera in the app.  If an image is taken and the subject is in the center, then, typically, it will look plan and boring.  If the images composition is changed and the subject is moved to anywhere the lines meet in the rule of thirds, then the image naturally looks more intriguing to the viewer.

 Better Smartphone Photos Tip #5: Lighting

Consider where your light source is.  I know that most people probable won’t give a damn, but it’s important when taking a picture (even if it’s a selfie).    Without getting too technical, the light source should typically be at a 45 degree angle from the subject.  Most of the time, it’s not that easy, but getting at least somewhere near that area would be helpful.  Unless you’re looking at getting a picture of you’re silhouette, then don’t have the camera facing the sun.  Your camera will go nuts trying to figure out on what to expose to: you or the sun.

I hope that helps out with getting better smartphone photos for some of you out there.  I know that sometimes even the simplest of things can help in making some awesome memories.  Don’t let something small like an auto exposure on a camera screw things up for you.  Now go out there and take some selfies!

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