How to Master Phone Photography
Are you looking to improve your phone photography skills?
You don’t need to be talented or creative to take great photos!
Photography is an easily learnable skill.
Once you master the techniques, you’ll take better photos with your phone just like with a camera. Keep in mind that having a good phone camera alone won’t make you a better photographer.
Practice is key, as with any other skill. Also, taking a great photo with your phone requires more than just pointing and shooting.
So, make sure to shop around for a phone with a good camera.
Similarly to using a DSLR, knowing your camera phone well will make taking photos a breeze.
It's important to become acquainted with the different modes on your phone.
As you become more familiar with using your phone camera, don’t hesitate to experiment with the various settings and modes offered in your Camera app..
*With your phone, you get options like Auto, Pro, Live Focus, Food, Panorama, Slow-motion, single take and Hyperlapse. While not all of these will take better photos, settings like Pro allow users more creative control and professional editing power while shooting.
*With Pro mode, you can control various aspects of your camera settings such as white balance, ISO, focus, contrast, and more.
Learn how to apply the rule of thirds like your camera.
To make your phone photography stand out a bit more, try using the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds means that an image should be divided into nine equal squares and that nothing should be in the middle. By doing this, it draws your eye around a photograph.
With the grid on your phone, you’ll be able to line up and take shots using the rule of thirds.
If you place points of interest in these intersections or along the lines, your photo will be more balanced, and level, and allow viewers to interact with it more naturally.
**One of the easiest and best ways to improve your mobile photos is to turn on the camera’s gridlines.
*SamsungS23 Plus: Open your camera app, go to “Settings,” scroll down and switch the “gridlines” option to “on. “The information here is from my phone”.
Check your settings on your phone to see what you have.
*For other phones look in your camera setting.
Mira was”not” left outside in the snow …She did not want to come inside, she loved the snow and the cold.
Use HDR mode
High dynamic range or HDR, is a camera app feature that helps balance the light and dark elements in a high-contrast photo. HDR prevents this by retaining both the details in darker areas and shadows and bright areas. The iPhone takes photos in HDR by default. For android phones, you may need to adjust HDR settings manually.
HDR photos sharpen the details in the light and dark parts of an image, as well as make colors look richer; make sure it’s enabled.
* Forget the flash.
I never use my flash and I always get good pictures.
Using a flash can be a good thing in some low/dark lighting situations, but it’s hard to control.
If you use flash, only do so during the day.
Your camera’s flash rarely works at night, because dark shots reveal a much sharper contrast against your phone’s flash.
In well-lit spaces, however, a flash can help to soften some dark shadows behind or beneath your main subject.
Consider the importance of flash for enhancing or hiding certain lines and features the next time you’re shooting.
* The use of natural light.
Take advantage of the natural light, even after dark. While not on vacation, play with all kinds of “light” situations. So, when you go on your next trip, you will know how and when to use natural light.
* Set your camera app’s exposure manually.
Another feature you’ll want to set manually is your exposure. To adjust where you want your camera lens to focus, open your camera app and tap the screen where you want to sharpen the view. A yellow square should appear on your screen.
Today’s phone cameras automatically focus on the foreground of your frame.
Some phones have a line through the screen with a 
Yellow dot.
* Use optimizer to improve your photos,
The optimizer uses artificial intelligence(AI) to improve your photo. Look in your camera APP for scene optimizer.
* Use night mode for better low-light shots.
Night mode takes long exposures in low light and automatically switches on.
* Mobile tripods.
Some will use it, I don’t bother to lug around much stuff with me. Consider buying a mobile tripod. They are barely bigger than your mobile device and can bend to any angle.
*Hold your phone still.
While smartphones have given us the benefit of taking pictures on the go, the cameras on our phones are still sensitive to movement. You can lean on a wall to prevent your arms or hands from moving.
* Freezing Temperature – How To Prevent Freezing Shutdown.
Just in case, you notice the battery drop from 80% to 15% in what seems like seconds outside in the cold weather!!
Freezing temperatures are common in the United States and Canada during the winter months.
Outside of those temperatures, some features might not work as expected, so it’s important to keep the temperature in mind during the winter. Just like your camera.
Smartphone manufacturers warn that phones in extreme temperatures could have permanent damage !!
Keep your phone in your pants or jacket pocket. It will help keep internal temperatures higher since it is kept warm by the user’s body heat.
* Avoid zooming in.
I use my canon M50 camera for zooming, but I am not a fan of using it with my phone.
But it’s better not to zoom in — doing so can make the photo appear grainy, blurry or pixelated.
* Clean your phone’s lens.
A smartphone camera might be more convenient to carry around than a big camera, but you have to take care of its lenses also. Be sure to clean this lens with a soft cloth before taking a photo.
* Attach an external lens.
Want to get really fancy? TRY External lenses. I did not like them. But you might try it !!!
Gadgets.
When it comes to phone photography, gadgets can be just as important as learning.
One such gadget is a phone camera grip handle, which can make holding your phone feel like holding a camera. Additionally, a cord around your neck can make it easier to hold onto your phone.
Don't be afraid to edit.
Composing and taking your photos is just the first step to making them visually compelling. Editing your photos is the next step — and a very critical one, at that. Filters can be a valuable tool, particularly when it comes to *Removing blemishes from a picture, and/or erasing photo-bombing people or objects in the wrong place.
But there are many other great photo and video editing apps out there for mobile devices — check out the one I use.
Play around with the filters for more effects.
Once you’ve taken the photo, use your tool in your photo editing app to see if you can make the image slightly brighter. One of the latest apps available is Foodie, which comes with its own set of filters optimized for different types of food.
** Photoshop Express ( Free/IOS/Android)
**Snapseed ( Free/IOS/Android)
** Live Collage ( Free/IOS/Android)
** Foodie ( Free/IOS/Android)
**IMGMI (not free, and not expensive) This is new for your phone and very practical to fix your photos before putting them online. I use this one on my phone and iPad Pro
**See examples Of IMGMI on this blog
The enjoyable aspect of taking phone photography is:
There truly is something quite special and wonderful about the experience of capturing moments through photographs. It can be an immensely satisfying and fulfilling activity that brings immense joy and pleasure.
By artfully composing an image and deftly adjusting the lighting and settings, one can create a unique and memorable snapshot of a specific time and place. Whether it is a breathtaking landscape, a candid moment with friends and family, or an artistic expression of one’s innermost thoughts and feelings, photography offers a limitless range of creative possibilities to explore.
Capture small details.
Close-up images that capture small, intricate, and delicate details can make for really compelling visual content.
Take candid photos.
Posed photos can be great for the sake of memories — happy moments with friends, family.
Be unconventional.
Have fun, look for cool and unique ideas. .
Find different perspectives.
Since most mobile photos are taken straight, taking photos from a unique, unexpected angle tends to create an illusion of depth or height with the subjects. It also makes the image stand out .
Look for symmetry.
Symmetry can be defined as a proportion and balance.
This is some pretty great info. I struggle with taking good pictures. Am certainly going to try a few tips from here.
I am glad it will help you. :O)
These are some great tips and my dog enjoys being out in the snow as well.
Thank you.
These are great tips. I use my phone to take pictures of everything, but I always forget about using the settings. In fact, I didn’t even know that a lot of the settings existed so this helped immensely. Thank you!
I am glad it will help you.I usually use my camera,but sometime it is faster with the phont lol..