5 steps to taking professional photos with your Smartphone

Almost everyone has a smartphone today, and one of the many benefits of these devices is their ability to capture moments on the go. While professional photographers still exist, most people tend to only consult them when there are special events or a photoshoot.

Have you ever taken a picture with your smartphone and it just did not look as well as you thought it would? Perhaps it does look good enough to stay in your gallery but not dope enough to make it to your Instagram page.

This article is to help you take better and more professional-looking photographs. Whether you are an aspiring photographer or not, you can turn your smartphone into a powerful tool for capturing stunning images.

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Hold your phone right before taking any photos

Most people think photography is “point and click,” but they do not pay enough attention to how they hold their phones when taking pictures and this can result in blurry photos. You could get an image with your finger blocking the lens if you are not careful. Taking the time to get the position of your phone correctly slows you down, steadies your hands and makes you pay attention to the details.

To take a picture in portrait mode, cradle the phone in your non-dominant hand. Push one bottom corner of the phone into the fleshy area at the base of the thumb. The bottom of the phone can rest in your palm. Fingers hold one edge, thumb holds the other. Your index finger will add stability by pressing on the back of the phone.

Now rest that hand in the palm of your other hand, and your thumb is free to tap and control the camera. Keep your elbows close to your body for better stability.

The horizontal hold requires that you rest the bottom of the phone against your pinky finger (or pinky and ring finger). The top edge is held tight with your thumb. Rest that hand on your other hand and use your dominant thumb to control and tap the shutter.

It is important to add that you can use tripods specially designed for phones to provide stability that would help take better pictures. In all fairness, there are several other makeshift ‘stands’ that can help keep the phones steady if a tripod is not available. You just have to be creative enough.

Lock the exposure 

Normally, a smartphone camera will automatically meter a photo to get the whole frame properly exposed. The HDR function lightens shadows and brings down bright, blown-out highlights to reveal details.

You will have to do spot metering if you want an artistically exposed photo with black shadows or bright whites, or if you want to expose something in the shadows or against a bright sky. Spot metering works in conjunction with spot focus. Where you tap to focus the camera will also be how it determines the exposure.

An easy way to expose the subject you are focusing on is to use the slider with a sun next to the focus box. Drag the sun upwards to make the photo lighter and down to make it darker.

But what if you want the camera to focus on one area and expose it to another? Use the exposure compensation in the hidden menu. Swipe up on the photo to reveal the hidden icons, and tap on the +/- icon. Slide up to +2 stops for lighter and -2 stops for darker.

Focus 

Now that you are holding your phone, you can work on getting the photo in perfect focus. Your smartphone will automatically search the frame and choose where to focus—usually the closest or brightest subject or in the centre of the photo.

But placing a subject off-centre is a more interesting, better composition. You will need to focus on the main subject by tapping on it. A yellow box appears over the new spot. If you hold your finger in that spot, the yellow AE/AF Lock banner (auto exposure/auto focus lock) is displayed.

With the AE/AF Lock engaged, you can move your camera laterally to recompose the shot and take several photos without the iPhone changing focus. Be careful not to move the camera closer or further from the subject, or you may lose focus. Tap elsewhere on the screen to cancel the exposure and focus.

While an object that fills the frame can make a great photo, you may not be able to focus if you get too close. Back up from the object until it is in focus, you can crop the photo in editing if you want it bigger in the frame. This works best in photos shot in RAW that have better detail.

Use portrait mode at the right time

Portrait Mode is an excellent way to create an interesting composition and lead the viewer’s eye to the main subject. Use it in the natural light mode to blur the background, so other elements in the photo don’t draw the eye from the focal point.

Another advantage of blurring the background is that it creates depth in the photo. It is important to draw the viewer into the photo by taking it beyond a two-dimensional plane by adding interest in the foreground, mid-ground, and background.

Create drama through composition 

Good composition relies on techniques like the rule of thirds for where to place the photo’s main subject. Be sure to turn on the Grid overlay in the iPhone camera settings and position your subject on one of the intersections. And while you are in the settings, you can make other iPhone camera settings adjustments for better photos.

To switch the grid on:

• iPhone: Go to “Settings,” choose “Camera,” and switch “Grid” on.
• Samsung Galaxy: Launch the camera app, go to “Settings,” scroll down and switch the “gridlines” option to “on.”
• Google Pixel: Launch the Camera app, then tap the down arrow. Go to “More Settings,” then “Grid type.” Finally, choose the type of grid you want.

Simplicity creates drama. Look at what is in the frame and get rid of anything that is not necessary. Change your angle, or zoom to eliminate anything that leads the eye away from the focal point. Better yet, moving closer to the main subject will cause the background to blur and help draw the viewer’s eye to it.

Check around your main subject to ensure that there are no poles, tree branches, or other dominant lines around them that will look like they are growing from their head.

Lines in the foreground can lead the eye into the photo (called “leading lines”). Look for a path, road, river, row of trees, or anything that makes a line for the eye to follow. However, not all photos need to follow the rule of thirds. 

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Some other tips to improve your smartphone photography

Practice makes perfect, so to improve your photography skills using your smartphone, take as many pictures as you can. This will help you understand your camera better, and the right angles, and help you discover your own skills as a photographer.

Your smartphone is probably with you most of the time. This means that you can take great photographs anywhere and at any time. Also, if you want to take any pictures, take as many as possible so that you have different options to choose from.

Do not be afraid to use filters and edit your photos. Be careful when using flash, because if you do not use the flash expertly, it can make a photo look overexposed and make human subjects look weird.