Technology
3 Mobile Photography tips every mobile photographer should know.
I was on the bus the other day going through my Youtube Recommendations when I saw something that blew my mind.
The Huawei’s P30 Pro Ten times Optical Zoom and its outstanding Night sight.
Image credit: Tom’s guide
I sat there staring at my phone and I thought to myself;
“Now there’s a picture worth a thousand words!”
The mobile phone race isn’t just about style and speed anymore, it’s about the camera.
Don’t believe me?
Take a look at these crazy statistics ;
In 2017, more than 1.2 trillion digital photographs were taken. Mobile cameras grabbed an 85% share of that pie.
Digital camera sales have dropped from about 121.5 million to 13million in a period of six years, that is, 2010- 2016.
It’s not a surprise that mobile is winning, with the rise of social media Giants Like Instagram, SnapChat and Facebook you prefer to choose a device that;
1.Can quickly take a photo and still retain quality no matter the conditions.
2.Can be carried around easily in your pocket.
3. Won’t destroy your bank account just for the sake of capturing beautiful moments with the family even though you’re not a pro photographer.
Mobile cameras are also uniquely positioned to be the preferred choice because photos taken with them can easily be shared with the world with just a touch.
And as the popular saying goes, the best camera is the one you have with you.
Today you will learn how to use your smartphone to take picturesque photos and show the world that the Smartphone camera can compete with the digital camera market.
Let’s get started on 3 mobile Photography tips every mobile photographer should know
1. THE LIGHT IS YOUR FRIEND
The Golden Hour
Good lighting is an absolute must for great outdoor and indoor photos.
Light determines the brightness, dimness, quality, mood and the atmosphere of a photo.
Learning the basics of light manipulation will take you from amateur to pro-grade photography in weeks.
I want to let you in on a little secret; The best time to take photos is on a particular period during the day called “The Golden Hour”, this period comes usually after sunrise and before sunset.
You can observe the way light bounces off objects in the surrounding area to judge which position will achieve optimal results.
Most Photos which are taken in the day, generally, don’t have issues with poor lighting conditions, except in special cases like a rainy day.
On the other hand, night photography can be a little bit of a snag.
Most Flagship smartphones like the Google Pixel 3 and the Huawei P30 pro are on the ball when it comes to night photography.
Image credit: DigitalTrends
Google Pixel 3-night sight
They achieve this by keeping their shutters open longer than usual, this lets more light and information into the camera and in turn, produces much brighter photos.
Hey! This shouldn’t be so serious. Try to keep it Light-Hearted. No pun intended.
2. VIEW THE WORLD FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
In Life, we learn that keeping a cool head during a problem and observing the situation from a different point of view most times leads us to a positive answer.
Photography works the same way, kind of.
Theoretically, perspective in creative arts and photography is the art of representing a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional surface.
To cut the science talk short, perspective is all about adding depth to photos and shooting your photos from different angles instead of just one.
You can apply the principle of perspective in photography using various methods such as; moving up and down, move left and right, moving to an angular position- whatever produces the best image.
Bottom line, try and exploit various angles to achieve success.
3. APP! APP!! AND AWAY!!
Image credit: Google
One of the perks of mobile photography is that it lets you optimize and tweak your images right off the bat.
The smartphone world is teeming with applications that can help you turn a not so great photo into one that’s remarkable.
Most of these apps are available for free while some require you to make in-app purchases before you can access their full capabilities.
Some features featured on these apps are;
1. Advanced exposure and white balance configurations
2. Depth of field modification
3. Ability to export your photos in various formats such as RAW, HEIF, and JPEG.
4. Radial filter features as seen in Adobe Light-room
5.Development of custom presets
And I’m sure you all have heard of Retouching. With retouching, you can edit skin tones, remove acne, clone, dodge and burn-basically cheaper plastic surgery.
To be honest, most of these apps achieve spectacular feats, I think they deserve some appreciation, don’t they?
Here is a list showing the top free mobile photography editing apps you can use to make your photos look outstanding, you’re welcome.
1. Adobe Photoshop Express
2. Foodie
3. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC
4. Visage
5. Prisma Photo Editor
6. VSCO
7. Snapseed
8. Enlight Photofox
9. Instagram
10. Adobe Photoshop Fix
The list goes on.
Find the right app, watch some tutorials and become a master of your craft.
CONCLUSION
Today, we’ve learned;
1. Good Lighting is your friend.
2. Sometimes all we need is to view the world from a different perspective.
3. Appreciate mobile photography applications
Which phones do I recommend?
I took some time out to do research and came up with a bunch;
High Budget smartphones
1. Google Pixel 3
2. Huawei P30 pro
3. Samsung Galaxy S10+
4. iPhone 10 S max
Mid Budget smartphones
1. One plus 7
2. Samsung Galaxy Note 9
3. Xiaomi Pocophone F1
Do you have what it takes to turn your smartphone into a Digital Camera?
