5 Tips for Better Photos on a Camera Phone
Succeeding on Instagram usually means posting lots of beautiful images that you took on a smartphone. It doesn’t have to mean that of course. Some people will have successful Instagram accounts not made up of images at all. Others will use images that they have acquired, or will use a high quality professional camera.
But in MOST cases, it means taking better smartphone photos. Here are some tips to help you do just that.
1 Think About Composition
The composition of your shot means thinking about where the subject is in relation to the other elements. It means thinking about how you’re going to line up the shot, and how you will convey a sense of scale and depth. Don’t just shoot things head on!
2 Add Depth
Speaking of depth, how do you create this? One option is to ensure that you feature something in the foreground, middle ground, and background. These three elements will create that sense of layers. Another tip is to try and ‘lead’ the viewers eye from the foreground into the background, which you can achieve by looking for something like a path or a road.
3 Tell a Story
Telling a story means not necessarily just taking a photo of the thing you want to ‘say’. Leave something for the viewer to figure out. An empty glass speaks to the presence of a person at some point in town. A party, or maybe a sad lonely drink? Think of the Mona Lisa – which has captivated people for generations by being a mystery!
4 Good Lighting
The phone you choose will have a big impact on the quality of the photos that come out, but so too will the lighting. In fact, it’s arguably better to take a well-lit shot on a cheap camera phone, than it is to take a poorly lit shot on a great phone!
Think about the position of the window and where it is in relation to the subject. Think about the time of day. And if possible: invest in lighting equipment.
5 The Right Phone
Finally, do take the time to choose a good camera phone. Know what you’re looking for: while high megapixel counts sound good on paper, they are far less important these days than other features, such as the quality of the lens being used to capture those pixels, the size of the aperture, and image processing.
