Tips to Generate Photo Like a Professional from Your Smartphone

The camera is one of the features that almost all smartphones have. Now, the smartphone was an option for those who love photography. Only with smartphones, you can still produce photos no less than professional.

Here are the steps to maximize the photos you take with your smartphone camera:

1. Set Focus and Exposure

Most smartphone cameras have the features to adjust the focus and exposure or light levels. Before taking a picture, make sure where the focus of your camera is and how bright the light is needed. Shooting in dark places would require more light. However, it’s back on what kind of photos you want to generate.

2. Take advantage of HDR mode

HDR or High Dynamic Range is now a key feature for smartphone camera applications. Simply put, HDR brings details of the darkest and lightest parts of your image and creates a better overall colour balance.

This mode is perfect for landscape and portrait photos, especially when there is a wide range between the darkest and brightest parts of the photo.

However, when using HDR mode, photos take longer to process, so it should not be used on fast-moving subjects or when you can not keep your phone stable.

3. Use natural light whenever possible

Light is one of the most important factors in any photo. If you can use natural light available, then you do not need to use flash. The use of Flash may give you less than ideal results, especially at some distance.

If you can, position your subject so they are bright enough from the front and not glare with the light from behind. Of course, it’s not always possible to shoot fast, but do what you can.

4. Apply Rule of Third

Rule of Third is a photography technique that has been around for years, but you can still apply it to a smartphone. According to the Rule of Third, a picture is divided into nine blocks as large as the imaginary lines that make up the grid. You must place the focal point or object that is the point of attention to the photo near the intersection of the imaginary line intersection.

To improve your shot composition, give it a third rule to try. Whether you’re taking a photo of a friend at a bar or doing landscape shooting, you’ll find it simple and effective.

You do not have to imagine the imaginary lines you need in the Rule of Third. In the Android camera app, you’ll see a grid icon on the edge of the screen, while on iOS, the grid options are under the Photos and Camera menu in Settings.

5. Avoid digital zoom

The point of digital zoom is when you pinch or shift to enlarge the image you want to photograph. Most smartphone cameras only zoom in and trim the output of the sensor before the photo is taken. Digital zoom often produces images of lower quality than they should.

To outsmart, you can take photos without zooming in first, and edit them later. Taking photos without zoom gives you flexibility if you change your mind later.

Meanwhile, some phones like the iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 are now equipped with the 2x optical zoom that allows zoom without quality reduction.

6. Use additional apps

If you’re still not satisfied with the camera’s built-in camera, you can try third-party apps. They provide access to extra settings, diverse features, and filter sets for your photos

Speaking of filters, Instagram for iOS and Android can be your choice. The app also includes a number of tools and settings for editing photos.