Smartphone Photography

Photography is the art or process of producing images by the action of light or radiant energy (X-rays, etc.) on a sensitive surface (as film or an optical sensor) (Merriam-Webster dictionary).





Photography is light. Without light in your photographs, there is nothing to see. Being aware of the light in the environment in which you are shooting will improve your photographs.





To take great photos with your smart phone camera, you don’t have to concern yourself about the manual adjustments which photographers using digital cameras make, such as for ISO (sensitivity to light), aperture (size of the lens opening to allow light), and shutter speed (how long the light is let in).





What is the best time of day to shoot outdoor photos?

If you are outdoors, try to take your photo in the early morning or late in the day. Photographers often look for the “golden hour” or “magic hour,” which occurs roughly after sunrise during the first hour of light and before sunset at the last hour of light, although the exact length of time varies between seasons. This time of day produces a soft, diffused light that is much more flattering than the harsh midday sun that so many of us are used to shooting in. This type of light produces less contrast, reducing the chances of losing parts of your subject in strong shadows or blown-out highlights. The warm glow adds a pleasant feel to the scene, and you can see texture and depth in these images without unpleasing hard shadows on your subject.





Smartphone Photography basics - LIGHTING





What are the secrets to mastering lighting in my smartphone photography ?





Being aware of the importance of light in your photo, you will begin to automatically analyze where the light source is coming from before you even take a photo. You will see a dramatic improvement in your photographs.





Most photographers do agree that natural light is the best source of light for photography. Natural light refers to using the sun as your primary lighting source. Once you start surveying your scene for the best use of natural lighting in your photographs, you will be doing what professional photographers call “stalking the light.” Knowing how to set up your photo for natural light is very cost-effective.





Sometimes you do not have an option for using the best natural lighting in your photos, particularly if you are in a low-light situation, so you will have to learn to modify the light, which will make you a master of lighting in your smartphone photography .





To better control light in your photographs, you will probably have to do it outside of the camera, which means being aware in advance of lighting conditions you will be met with, and any means you might have to improve the lighting with light modifiers.

Smartphone Photography basics - DEPTH OF FIELD

Depth of field is the area surrounding the object you want to focus on, in front of it or in the background. If you want to make only one part of your photo sharp, and soften the rest to avoid distractions, you need to control the depth of field. When you sharpen only one part of the photo, this is called a “shallow depth of field (DOF).” If you want the entire photo to be sharp, it is a “deep depth of field (DOF).”

Smartphone Photography basics

The depth of field is controlled by the camera’s focus aperture, which, in most smartphone cameras , is done by tapping on the screen in the native camera app to tell the camera where to focus. If you want something in the foreground to be sharper than something behind it, simply tap on it. If you want the background to be sharper, tap on the background.

Smartphone Photography basics - COMPOSITION





Composition is crucial in creating an engaging photographic story for your viewers. Photo composition is the placement of objects and elements in your photo. There should be enough elements in your scene to draw attention but not so many that they become distraction. For example, if you are photographing food, you want to arrange the objects on the plate to be attracting and appealing to the viewer’s eye, but you don’t want so many props in the photograph like pants and glasses to distract the viewer’s eye from the most important part of your photographic composition – the food . It’s a matter of balance. You want the viewer’s eye to be directed to the most important element, your subject.