Tips in Taking Pictures Using Your Cell Phone [Tutorial]

Your cell phone can produce compelling images. Here are the tips for taking the best shots wherever you go.

1. Avoid direct sunlight
Your subjects will be cooler, happier, and more attractively lit if they don’t have a sunbeam hitting them in the face. If it’s an overcast day, you’re in luck. This is one of the best outdoor lighting situations for photographing people. If it’s a sunny day, have your subjects stand in the brightest patch of shade you can find.

2. Choose the highest quality setting available
Choose the highest quality setting available so you lose less detail and don’t get a muddy photo. If you have to choose between resolution and a quality setting to save space and it’s unlikely you’ll make prints, reduce the resolution.

3. Wait for the “magic hour”
During the times of sunrise and sunset, the sky is colorful enough for even a camera phone to capture land and sky with fairly good exposure.

4. Stabilize your cell phone.
In low light, cell phone's camera slow the shutter speed to let in more light and have a longer opportunity to capture movement. Hold the camera phone with both hands and brace your upper arms against your body when you shoot.

5. Use the rule of thirds
When composing a picture, imagine two horizontal lines and two vertical lines crossing like a tic-tac-toe grid on top of it. Place strong lines and divisions like the horizon on the gridlines and let elements of interest fall on the intersections.

6. Fill the frame of your camera phone
When the background of your picture is cluttered and the lighting is questionable, fill the frame of your camera phone by moving closer to the subject.

7. Mastering the technique of panning
By mastering the technique of panning, you can create some very cool images. To do this, hold the camera phone with both hands for steadiness and frame the approaching subject on the LCD. Move the camera at the same speed as the subject, thus freezing the subject while the background is blurred through motion.

8. Shoot a panorama
Shoot a panorama. If your camera phone doesn’t include a dedicated panorama mode, you can use third-party stitching software on your computer to create panoramas from several frames. A cell phone tripod will help you line up the shots.

9. Anticipate shutter lag
Get used to your camera phone’s timing so when something interesting happens, you’ll have a good feel for the point when you need to press the shutter release to capture the most interesting moment.

10. Get the right color tone
Shooting in black-and-white in any light can help develop your photographer’s eye by letting you concentrate on the relationship between light and shadow without the distraction of color.

11. Put horizons in the right place
Sometimes, putting the horizon down low to emphasize a dramatic sky is preferable.

12. Experiment
When photographing, experiment with both the angle of your composition and the angle of light to see what’s most flattering.

13. Try using a black background to make a subject stand out.
Black velvet material works great because it absorbs any light hitting it. As a result, no shadows or reflections appear in the picture.

nice arigatou for the tips. :Cat Emote4:

Photographerrrrrrr pala to hahahaha!

Sir are you a photographer? BTW sir thanks for the tips! Kawaii  

Tips tips tips thank you for the tips

I like the "Rule of Thirds" :)

Yep! Also, for #1 even if the sun is too bright, no probs for that! Only that you have to make sure your subject (the one that you are taking a photo) must not stand where the sun or certain light (indoor lights perhaps) is behind them. In the rule of photography, you have to provide a perfect amount of light and that is you have to stand where the light is behind you while you are facing -taking your subject/s photos.

Here's the principle:
Light > subject > camera =
Light > camera > subject =
Why? When the light is behind the subject, it gives off shadow and blinds off your camera lenses. The other way around does it perfectly since you only did not blind your lenses but your subject will be provided enough light to be taken picture to.


#5 the rule of thirds is most easiest thing to understand. You won't be needing the grid in any circumstance possible. Rule of thirds are only applicable for 1-5 (or more as long as it won't be too crowded) objects however it does not end there for the whole essence focuses on placing your subject to either right or left.
Here's how it looks like:

Spoiler:

Why is this necesessary? It is to also take a good look on how the background looks like. Applicable also for traveling, tours, etc.


Also, a little photo job would do the image look great!
Here's the website:

Spoiler:

It's a photo editor on-the-go. Which means it's easy, brief, and fast!


Hope these helps!!  

I must say, thank you front camera for I'm able to adjust my self, specially my nose.

"wait for the magic hour"

- I must try this one.

lorenz1012 wrote:"wait for the magic hour"

- I must try this one.

What time it could be?

The Magic Hour is before the sunset.

sunlight is just perfect during these hours. :D