There is no doubt that the most memorable moments in one’s life happen during family vacations. These moments can be the parties you are a part of, kids being obviously cute or playing games, or a candle-light dinner with your loved one. Capturing these moments is yet another best part of the package. While most of us prefer a trusted DSLR or a digital camera, let us also accept the fact that, unlike smartphones, cameras are not the most-handy gadget.
So, why not use put your smartphone’s camera to the best use during this summer vacation? Believe me when I say this, smartphone cameras are way more advanced and capable than they used to be till sometime back. All you need to do is to follow simple tips that can help you capture memories in a better way.
Before you begin, make sure that you spend some time understanding the limitations and features of your phone’s camera. If your phone has a multiple camera setup, then try to understand the use of different sensors present in this camera setup. There may be a telephoto lens which lets you zoom in closer to the subject. Or a dedicated monochrome sensor for black and white pic or a wide-angle sensor which can bring in entirely new perspective to your images.
Always remember to clean up the camera lens with a clean cotton cloth. Greasy fingerprints and dust on the glass covering the lens may result in blurred and fudgy images. Also, avoid shooting directly against the light, instead experiment with shadows and reflections. Keeping the camera steady is critical to capture a sharp image, especially in low light situations. Try to carry a tripod, even a smaller one works. And last but not the least, always shoot on highest resolution possible.
Now let us see what simple things can make your images stand out:
Frame it right: Framing is the key to any image. Make sure that you spend a few seconds to frame the scene before you shoot. Though this comes with a lot of practice, most smartphone cameras come with assistive grid lines. Always remember to switch them on.
These lines draw a grid on your smartphone display. The four intersection points, in this grid, are the suggestive points where you should try to place the object. Shooting according to this grid will also allow you to follow a basic rule of photography known as the Rule of Thirds.
Follow this rule while capturing landscape images too. If your subject is the sky, then fill three-fourth of the image with sky and the bottom one-fourth with land or vice-versa if your highlight object is on land. Look out for leading lines or symmetry for a better composition.
Focus it right: No, not talking about your focus, but you should know which object in your image needs to standout and remain highlighted. Almost all smartphone camera come with tap-to-focus feature. All you need to do is to tap or select the object that you want to highlight in the photo. Also remember, once you manually focus on an object, the camera automatically adjusts the exposure levels. You can always adjust the exposure by using the slider located near the circular focus icon.
Don't zoom in: Take the camera physically as close to the subject as possible. This will ensure that your object stands out from the background and you can get a DSLR-like depth effect. Use your phone’s zoom only if your camera has an optical zoom capability.
Expose it right: Your smartphone automatically sets the exposure level in the image. This happens every time, no matter if you have manually selected the object or the camera has automatically selected it. The circular focus icon has a slider next to it, you can easily correct the exposure level resulting in dark or brighter images.
Maintain eye level: When you are photographing kids, it is better to sit on the floor or on a low height chair thus keeping the smartphone at kids’ eye level. This will help you capture their expressions and their perspective of the world. Obviously, this will not apply while capturing images of infants.
Edit to perfection: It is perfectly okay to edit your smartphone captures. Cropping off extra elements, colour correction, exposure corrections are some of the easy to implement and yet effective tricks that can bring the maximum out of an image. Apps like VSCO and Snapseed come in handy in correcting the shortcomings of smartphone cameras. These apps can enhance your not so good clicks and make them share worthy within a matter of a few seconds.
