Mobile Photography: How to Take Good Photos Using Your Mobile Phone

Smartphones are not only used for connecting to the web or communicating with families or friends. These mobile devices are now equipped with high-tech features that allow us to do so many things, such as shooting smartphone photography. Unfortunately, many of the pictures that were taken using a camera phone are of poor quality. Although the type of mobile phone will be a big factor, sometimes, this is often a result of poor photography technique. No matter how great or expensive your mobile phone is, but if you don’t know how to use it, then you can’t expect to take high-quality pictures with it.  

So check out these top tips on how to take good photos using your mobile phone if you want to learn mobile photography. 

Invest in A Good Quality Smartphone   

Thanks to technical advancements, the quality of smartphone cameras has greatly improved in the past few years. If you are still using an older model, it’s probably time to invest in the more recent model if you want to improve your smartphone photography quality. When shopping for a new smartphone, choose those models that are known to have excellent camera quality.  Some of the best ones are Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, and Google Pixel devices. Try to shop from an actual store so you can test out its camera feature. 

Familiarize the Camera Features of your Smartphone 

The imaging capabilities of some of the latest models of smartphone cameras are truly amazing. However, they can sometimes be overwhelming, so you may have to take the time to learn them. Some models will allow you to blur images in the background, mimic the look of a wide aperture lens, and capture slow-motion videos. Your phone camera may also have a decent quality burst mode. Learn these features and test out a few images. If you have an iPhone device, check out the “Live Photos” feature, which is a combination of images and videos. 

Turn on the Grid 

SLR cameras have framing grids in the viewfinder window that allow you to take better square-up shots and adapt compositional guidelines, such as the rule of thirds. Your smartphone camera may also have the same thing, so take advantage of this feature. Adding a grid line will help you keep the horizon straight, which is a great help when taking portrait photos in front of famous landmarks. Unless you are having your photos taken in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it’s a good idea to keep the structures perfectly upright in your portrait photos. 

Get Close to Your Subject 

One of the most common mistakes people make when taking photos with their cameras is that their subjects end up being very tiny and unrecognizable in the distance. Images taken using camera phones tend to be small because of low resolution. So when taking a shot, fill up your viewfinder with your subject so you will not have to zoom in on the subject when you edit it later. Zooming in will decrease the quality of the photo. 

Experiment With Different Perspectives 

When taking mobile photography of people using a mobile phone, most people would take photos from chest height while the person is in a standing position. But try to experiment with different perspectives. You can get more interesting results if you shoot from different angles. Look for an alternative point of view and don’t just settle with taking photos of people while standing. Have them try other positions too, such as kneeling, crouching, and even lying. Shooting from a low perspective is a great way to make foreground subjects appear bigger. 

Activate Burst Mode 

Taking great photos of moving objects can be a challenge. You could miss the perfect cell phone photography shot simply because you miss pressing the shutter button at exactly the right moment. This is a common problem with mobile phone cameras. However, some models of Smartphones such as the iPhone has a hidden feature that allows you to shoot great action photos. This feature is known as the burst mode. So if you want to take incredible action shots, activate the burst mode feature of your Smartphone camera. 

Try Using the White Balance 

A lot of camera phones these days come with the adjustable white balance feature that allows you to modify the color balance of the images based on shooting conditions. Try to experiment with this feature so you will get a good feel of how this feature can affect the results of your shots. In most cases, the result will depend on the model of your phone, so read the manual of your phone to understand how this feature works. 

Avoid Using the Digital Zoom 

In as much as you’d want to get a closer look at your subject in a cell phone photography shot, you might be better off ditching your camera’s zoom feature. Zooming in before you take the shot could affect the quality of the photo. Digital zoom shots are like the cropped version of an actual image. This could result in a grainy image and the resolution of the overall photo could be distorted. So try to avoid using the digital zoom as often as possible. 

Edit Your Shots 

While it can be fun to use the inbuilt editing features of your camera phone, editing your cell phone photography shots later using a computer can help to improve the overall quality of the images. So always take shots in high resolution and with color, so you will have more options when editing it at a later time. Remember that you cannot make the photos colored when taking them in Black and White mode, but you can turn it to black and white if you take it in color. 

Always Keep the Lens Clean 

We carry our mobile phones with us most of the time. As a result, they tend to get dirty. If you don’t clean the lens well, this could affect the overall quality of your images. So take time to clean the lens of your camera phone. While wiping your lens using your shirt might do the job, the course materials that may have gotten to it could end up damaging your lens over time. It is best to use a soft cloth similar to the ones used for cleaning sunglasses. 

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