Fond of taking photos using your smartphone? This Mobile Mondays installment is right up your alley.
We’re now at a time where phone cameras get better exponentially as years go. So it’s not surprising that many photographers of all skill levels now use their phones more often to document everyday life. No budget for a camera yet? As Sean Tucker said in his video, if your smartphone has a decent camera, you already have more than enough to start learning how to take good photos.
As Tucker also noted, getting better at photography is a numbers game to some extent. The more photos you take, the better you get at it. Your phone camera, by sheer virtue of always being with you, can help you rack up those numbers. To encourage you even more, he added that some photographers already produced entire bodies of work using their phone cameras only. That includes photo books and exhibits!
That said, Tucker also gave some practical rules of thumb that he follows when he taking photos on his phone. Whatever smartphone you’re using, he also suggested checking out camera apps that may be better than your phone’s default camera app. But if you’re happy with the results of your default camera app, that’s also fine.
Now, on to some quick tips. Having a Pro mode available on your phone camera app, for example, will help you take advantage of full control over your camera settings. Some phones will also give you the option to shoot in RAW. Next, he also suggested checking out the specs of the camera if your phone has multiple lenses. This will allow you to determine which lens gives you the maximum resolution. He also discourages against zooming in on your phone camera’s screen. It just crops the sensor, so you’re essentially discarding information and resolution in your images when you pinch in.
Finally, Tucker also discussed some limitations of the small sensor of your camera phone, and how to work around them. This next set of tips also come in handy if you want to make prints of your camera phone snaps.
Have you already tried any of Tucker’s tips? Share your thoughts and results in the comments below!
