How To Take A Great Photo With Your Smartphone

By Author: Nitish Chandra
Total Articles: 4
Comment this article

How to Take a Great Photo With Your Smartphone
Okay, you might be thinking “How am I supposed to capture the perfect, high-quality shot without a high-quality camera?” No worries! The phone camera technology has become so advanced that it now rivals cameras worth thousands of dollars. You no longer have to be a professional photographer to take photos like one. You can take great photos your audience will love using a tool you already have in your hands. Here are some tips to drive follower growth and Instagram engagement:

Follow the rule of thirds
Are you hoping to improve your photo composition? Turn on your camera gridlines. When composing your photo, you should aim to place your subject at the intersection of one set of vertical and horizontal lines. This technique, known as the rule of thirds, was first popularized by painters and illustrators but also applies to photographs. By placing your subject off center, it creates a slight imbalance that will catch a viewer’s eye. To switch the grid on in an iPhone, go to "Settings," choose "Photos & Camera," and switch "Grid" to on.

Focus ...
... on a single subject

It is sometimes said that a photographer’s job is to create simplicity from chaos. A crowded background with multiple subjects in the frame will distract from the focus of your photo and can even confuse your audience. Instead, try to focus on a single subject in each photo and remove distractions by cropping them out or finding a clean background to shoot against.

Take advantage of negative space

Negative space is the empty space around your subject. Allowing for empty negative space around your subject will draw attention to the desired focus of your image and prevents it from looking crowded.

Look for interesting perspectives

People are used to seeing the world from eye level. To create interesting and fresh photos, National Geographic photographers commonly use shots from different perspectives to break up the monotony. Try to shoot from up high to capture a bird’s eye view or from down low to get a worm’s eye view. Experiment with different angles to find new perspectives on common sights.

Symmetry

The human eye is naturally drawn to symmetrical shapes and objects. For symmetrical images, it’s sometimes best to break the rule of thirds and center the scene in your frame so it's a perfect match on each side. Leading lines are another more specific form of symmetry that pulls the eye into the photo.

Patterns

Just like with symmetry, people are also drawn to patterns. Sometimes a pattern could be man made, such as a tiled floor, while other times it could be natural, such as petals on a flower or vines on a wall. To make things really interesting, break up the pattern with your subject.

Use natural light

Overhead electric lighting creates harsh shadows and highlights that can create unwanted dark and light areas in your photos. Try to use soft natural light wherever possible to prevent this from happening. Try taking photos next to a window where diffused light from outdoors spills into a room. For outdoor shots, the half hour just before and after sunset and sunrise often offers the most striking lighting because the sun is low in the horizon.

Adding Filters and Editing Photos

Why do some photos just look so good? Chances are it has a lot to do with the edit. Editing photos only takes a few minutes and can have a huge impact on the quality of your photos. Thanks to Instagram’s built-in tools and filters, editing photos is simple. Be sure to follow these tips to make your homemade lunch look like a culinary masterpiece. Fortunately, you can also start editing like a pro in a few simple steps.

First, start with a great photo. No amount of editing can fix photos if they have poor composition or lighting. Next, try editing in apps other than Instagram. Snapseed is a great free editing app that allows you to apply effects like HDR and tonal contrast as well as pinpoint specific areas of a photo to adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation. VSCO is also a popular editing app with numerous free filters designed to emulate popular film stocks.
When you upload your edited photo to Instagram, the platform will automatically crop your photo to a square. To change it back to the original width, press the “Expand” icon (the two outward facing arrows).

Try adding additional Instagram filters -- but don’t go too crazy. Each Instagram filter has its own personality that can drastically change a photo.

Next, try adjust your photo lux. According to Instagram, “Lux balances the exposure, provides much needed brightness” to photos. This make can make your image more vibrant and bring out details. To do this, press the sun icon at the top of the screen and adjust the level.

Make any final tweaks using Instagram’s editing tools. Press the “Edit” button to adjust your photo’s alignment, brightness, contrast, structure, and more. Press “Next” when you’re done to add final details and publish.

Nitish Chandra is a Web Developer and Digital Marketer. Work as a freelance consultant and also the Founder of Vindhya Process Solutions. He has done B.E. in (Computer Technology) and Masters in Digital Marketing from Delhi School of Internet Marketing and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and . He has been a network administrator. Have also published e-books on (i) Basic Concepts of OMR Technology (ii) The Absolute Guide to Instagram (iii) The Computer Networking (iv) The Google Adwords – Complete Tutorial (v) E-Commerce Tutorials He has successfully developed various websites and have also published many Advertisements of various industries like travel, education, B2C and B2B industry on Google and Social Media Platforms. He has been certified by (i) Google in Analytics and Adwords. (ii) Facebook for Facebook Marketing (iii) HubSpot for Content Marketing, Email Marketing and Inbound Marketing. He have also have been in the field of Competitive Examinations for last 22 years, where OMR related works are involved and has himself designed various types of OMR Sheets and prepared results for various organisations and ministries of Govt. of India.