Before the rise of smartphones, it was really tough taking great photos in an effortless manner. You would have to purchase a great camera, an editing software and invest some energy and time to learn how to use these components.
Thanks to smartphones and several photo editing apps that are available to download, we can now edit great looking photos without much effort from one device. But what is the secret of taking great looking photos using your smartphone? Ismail Sirdah recommends the following tips for you to use.
Balance your shot using gridlines
If you want to take the easiest photos on your smartphone, use the gridlines in your camera. These lines are founded on the rule of thirds that says that an image has to be divided into thirds, in both vertical and horizontal planes, so that you have nine different parts.
The theory states that if points you are interested in are placed in the intersection of these gridlines, you will have a more level, and balanced photo that will help your viewers to view it in a more natural outlook.
Switching the grid on
Android: Launch camera>Settings>grid lines on
iPhone: Settings>Photos & Camera>Grid on
Focus on the object
Most photos that look really great are the ones that involve one object. In order to take a great photo of a single object, ensure that you spend some time before you take that shot. When you ask some professional photographers about how you should take a single object picture, you will be advised not to fill the image into the whole frame. To also ensure that the subject stands out, you should have two-thirds of the photo in the negative space.
When you focus the camera on to the subject of the camera, ensure that you tap the phone screen to ensure that the lighting is optimized and focused.
Extra tip: use photo filters to have a more vivid photo. You can also adjust the saturation, contrast, and brightness from your phone.
Use the negative space
The negative space is the area that surrounds the subject. If you ensure that your photo has lots of empty spaces, the object you are focusing on will stand out to the viewer. But what does the negative space represent? It is often the stretch of the blue open sky, an empty playing field, a large water mass, or a huge wall.
Take different perspectives
You can create more memorable photos when you use unexpected unique angles while taking the shots. Different angles usually form an illusion of height or depth with the subjects. It often makes the image stand out because most photos are taken either from a bird’s eye-view or straight on.
You can try to take a photo facing the camera lens upwards to have the sky as the negative space. Alternatively, you can try to take the photo at a slightly down-looking angle.
Use reflections when you can
An image becomes several times interesting when it is reflected on a window or a body of water becomes we are attracted to reflections. Anytime you want to take a photo, ensure that you check out for opportunities to play with reflections.
In summary, Ismail Sirdah would like to remind you that taking the photo is just the first step in making an image more compelling. The next step includes editing your photos. You can use filters when you want to remove blemishes and to make food photos look more appealing. There are mobile apps like Pho.to like can automatically make facial retouches on your images without much effort. There are even apps that are meant for editing food images. Check out more of these apps and make the most out of your camera features and image editing software that you can access.
