Learn your camera
Practice with all the buttons and options, including the different modes and filters. Know what each one does, how it works, and how it affects the image. Know what it’s good at and what it’s not good at – many mobile cameras aren’t good in low light, for instance. Take a lot of silly pictures to learn your camera and you won’t be fumbling to take the good ones.
Practice good composition
That said, don’t fuss with settings too much at first – practice taking pictures.
- Move around and try different angles. Take a few shots from each spot.
- Sometimes an image wants to be centered, sometimes off-center is better.
- Get close to your subject – your camera does best at close distances.
- Don’t zoom. Take the biggest picture you can and edit it later.
- For well-focused shots, use a tripod or brace your arms/camera on something solid.
- Use natural light when you can. Everything looks better in natural light.
- Don’t use flash, unless you really need to. Turn the flash off when it will distract performers, speakers, or musicians. Usually, if it’s too dark to take a picture, it’s too dark to take the picture.
Don’t take a picture right away…
When you see something that might be a great photo, look first with your eyes to compose the shot. Move around, try different spots. Last, pull out your camera, look through the lens and shoot.
…but don’t wait forever for the ‘perfect’ shot
Especially for fast-moving subjects like children or animals, it’s better to get a bunch of blurry shots in the hope of a good one than miss the moment entirely. If your camera has Burst Mode (hold the button down to take many shots quickly), use it and select the best one later.
Breathe
Yes, really. If you hold your breath, your hands will shake. Breathe in, and press the shutter as you breathe out. It will help you relax your hands and take a better shot.
Put the camera down at some point
Don’t take a picture of everything – remember to enjoy what you’re looking at through your own eyes, and use the camera to capture moments. Also, if you’re only looking through the camera, you might not see other possible shots next to or behind you.
Do post-production on your best photos
After you’ve taken a picture, go to the Photos or Gallery app and open that image, then tap on Edit or a pencil icon. Crop a cluttered image to highlight the most interesting part. Change the exposure, color, effects, tinting, and more. Some photos that look boring in color will look amazing in black and white or a different effect/tone. Apply different filters to the same image and see what each one does.
Useful Terms
Auto – usually for a flash or focus, allows the camera to do the work for you
Brightness – how light or dark an image is
Contrast – the difference between the light and dark parts of an image; high contrast looks very ‘hard’, low contrast looks very ‘soft’
Exposure – how much light your camera captures; changes how bright or dark the image is
Filters – settings on your camera that change the lighting, color, and focus of your photos
Hue – the colors of an image
HDR mode – in High Dynamic Range mode, your camera takes two photos at different exposures and merges them to create one clearer shot; useful in high contrast, static scenes
ISO – film speed; faster film captures more light, and is better in low-light situations; a higher ISO # means faster film; in digital cameras, the sensors do this
Resolution – the number of pixels used to capture or display an image
Saturation – depth or richness of colors in an image
Spot metering – tap the screen to force your camera to change the exposure or focus to what you want to highlight; know your device – some Android and Windows devices will take a picture when you tap on the screen, but they will auto-meter your shot as well
Resources
Two excellent articles on smartphone cameras, how they work, and how to use them well:
- www.techspot.com/article/879-smartphone-photography-tips/
- www.techspot.com/guides/850-smartphone-camera-hardware/
One from LifeHacker: http://lifehacker.com/5662812/how-to-take-better-pictures-with-your-smartphones-camera
Any article on taking better photographs in general can work with mobile device cameras:
A glossary of digital photography terms from B&H Photo in New York: www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/buying-guide/glossary-digital-photography-terms