TOP 10 MOBILE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

Published 31/10/2016 Edited 08/06/2022

Mobile photography has made huge strides in a short time. We have this great powerful device in our hands or pockets now with all the extra tools and software needed to capture, edit and distribute our images in an extremely efficient and flexible manner. These devices output high enough quality images for commercial stock applications — provided the person looking through the viewfinder understands the fundamentals of what makes an image work.

1-KNOW YOUR GEAR

Understand how your mobile phone camera works and get familiar with its limitations. Yes, it has limitations. Typically these cameras have a limited shutter-speed range and a fixed aperture, so major in-camera exposure adjustments are made by adapting the ISO. The good news is that there are apps to help get around or hack your mobile camera’s limitations.

2-KNOW YOUR APPS

Editing apps like Adobe® Photoshop® Express, Photoforge, and NIK® Software’s SnapSeed (iOS / Android) give great control and effects.

Slow Shutter can create dreamy long-exposure effects like flowing streams and evening hour light trails, while keeping the high ISO noise to a minimum.

Always save your images at the highest possible resolution and make copies before you apply any filters. Some apps won’t let you go back. Don’t lose good shots to impulsive filter decisions.

3-GET THE EXPOSURE RIGHT

Your final image will always be better if you get the exposure right in-camera: this is just as true with a mobile camera as a DSLR. Even with all the great editing apps and filters available, exposure fundamentals remain the same. Get it right in-camera then play with it afterwards.

Small sensor cameras need light! Use the sun, get in the shade, use a piece of paper to bounce light, wait for the right light, use a flashlight or another mobile phone screen as a light source — make use of your existing knowledge to get the best light. Be patient.

Use your mobile phone camera flash as a last resort — it’s as bad if not worse as the one on your old Nikon Coolpix.

4-COMPOSITION IS KEY

Again, use the knowledge and skills you already have. Mobile photographs are well-composed for the same reasons as any other photographs:

• Get level — keep those horizons and verticals in check. (Many camera apps have horizon levels and grids.)

• The rule of thirds — is still the rule. Don’t always centre your subject.

• Use curves and converging lines.

• Use positive and negative space.

• Know your color! Make use of complimentary colors. Use color patterns and shapes to add compositional interest.

• Watch your backgrounds. Poles growing out of people’s heads or lines cutting through them ruin mobile shots just like they ruin any other shots.

• Direct — Don’t wait around for the perfect composition to happen (or settle for what you’ve got). Move things and people. Arrange your frame so that is makes you happy.

• Break the rules! But know why and when to break them.

5-FRAME YOUR SUBJECT

Use objects in the foreground to frame the main subject and give depth to your shots. Shoot through windows, mirrors, other objects — framing provides context and adds interest.

6-PERSPECTIVE SHOULD BE THE WAY

Look for different angles and viewpoints to add interest to your composition. Don’t be afraid to get down on the ground or climb a ledge for a bird’s eye view. Your camera is way smaller now — take it places.

Get close and focus on the small details, or go wide and give more context and sense of place.

7-PLAY WITH BLACK AND WHITE

Black & White compositions work in mobile for all the same reasons they do in other photography:

• Removing color can add impact by distilling the image down to its essence.

• Eliminate competing colors.

• Take advantage of backlighting and silhouette.

• Use B&W to save a noisy or poorly-exposed image.

Always save the full-color original and re-import a copy for your black & white version.

8-CROPPING THE PHOTO

Sometimes things happen quickly and you need to react instantly to get the shot — without getting quite enough time to compose. So shoot wider than you need and crop. The resolution of phone cameras gets higher and higher with each generation. There are a lot of pixels, so focus on getting the shot using a full-frame app like Camera+, then edit later.

When you have the time for careful composition, the right crop can change or enhance the context of an image.

Try cropping to a square (like Hipstamatic / Instagram) to add focus to the main subject.

9-ACCESSORIZE

If you are a gear-head, there are more than enough gadgets out there to make you happy:

• Get a little mobile tripod with clips for that steady shot.

• There are all kinds of clip-on and magnetic lenses out there: fisheyes, macros, telephotos. Avoid the digital zoom if you can.

• Save money with a little ingenuity and what you have on hand. Shoot through the lens or viewfinder of your SLR or pocket camera — or even a pair of reading glasses.

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10-MORE PHOTOS

The advantage of digital photography is that we have unlimited film and instant feedback and is that the camera fits in your pocket. Just shoot it — happy accidents and defining moments happen all the time