Not too many years ago the cameras of mobile devices did not allow us to take high quality images, however nowadays the camera of smartphones are cameras of enormous quality that allow us to take photographs that sometimes have little to envy those we take with compact or reflex cameras. Learning to handle the camera of our mobile is not too difficult a task, although we do need to know four or five basic things.
It is also not bad to know some tips, very basic in photography, to get almost perfect photos with our mobile device. Today in this article we are going to offer you 10 of the many tips we could give you to get a high quality image and extremely sharp.
If you want to become a great photographer or at least learn how to get the most out of your mobile device's camera, take out a pencil and paper, take note and, above all, pay close attention to the advice that we are going to give you. continuation.
Clean the lens frequently
We know this is a bit of an absurd advice, but many users do not clean or care for the lens of their device too often. Being an external part of the terminal, it can pick up dirt or even scratch itself if we are not careful, which can end up being a big problem.
You should often clean the lens and its surrounding area with a cloth or tissue. Make sure you choose something to clean it that doesn't damage the lens or scratch it, as the remedy will then be worse than the disease.
Learn how to use manual focus adjustments
Most of the mobile devices that we can currently buy on the market have an automatic focus, which in most cases can get us out of any trouble. Nevertheless when we want to get high quality photographs we must use manual focus, which we also usually find in all current smartphones.
Manual focus allows each user to choose what is important in each photograph and not leave the software to act freely focusing automatically. And is that despite the fact that the automatic focus is usually quite reliable, sometimes it fails and spoils our dream photography. For all these reasons, the best option is to learn to make use of manual focus adjustments in order to achieve perfect, almost perfect images.
Why do you only use one hand to take pictures?
My mother always asks me why she can't take images with a quality similar to mine, even though we have the same smartphone. One of the main reasons is because he does not take his time to shoot and because when he does, he uses only one hand to hold the terminal, with the consequent problems that this entails.
If we want to achieve clear and stable images, it is essential that we hold our mobile device with both hands. In the event that we want to go one step further and be true professionals, the ideal would be to place our mobile on a rigid surface, as this is sometimes impossible, what we should never do is take pictures while holding the smartphone with only one hand.
Use both hands always and without exception to get the best photos.
Please don't use the zoom
Unlike the zoom of a compact or SLR camera the zoom of a smartphone camera is not something we should use frequently if we want to get high quality images for a simple reason. The only thing that the zoom of the camera of almost any smartphone does is enlarge the pixels that the scene that is a bit far away occupies. This makes the image look worse and worse and the final photograph is of very poor quality.
If you want to take a picture of a scene that is a bit far away, do not use the zoom and use your feet to get closer because with this you will get a high quality photograph and an image, in most cases very bad, if you use the zoom.
Follow the rule of thirds
La rule of thirds It is really old and was already used by some of the best painters in history. For a long time it has moved to photography and of course if we want to achieve a perfect photograph, taken with our mobile device, we must apply this simple rule.
Explain in a simple way is to divide the image by four imaginary lines vertically and horizontally, resulting in a total of 9 squares. The most important objects should preferably be placed along the intersections of these lines to get a perfectly ordered image.
Of course, it is not necessary to divide the image exactly into the 9 squares since just having it more or less controlled will serve to get a good photograph. In addition, in the latest generation mobile devices they already allow us to divide the screen into squares that will be of great help to us to be able to follow the rule of thirds in a fast and above all simple way.
Close-ups will give you great results
In this small course on photography with mobile devices, we must give you advice and it is that whenever you can use a close-up in your photos. This makes photography win whole and it is that an object or person in the foreground will always give more life and especially greater depth to the final image.
Light is not only important, it is essential
The light in a photograph is very important and we would almost say fundamental, but you also have to be very careful with her as she can be very treacherous. A photograph without light is something that in most cases does not look good, but if we take a photograph against the light or with a very hard shadow it can be even worse.
If you want to get a perfect image, keep an eye on all occasions where the light comes from, the shadows that may be produced and it is also important that you activate the flash to use it whenever it is necessary.
Make sure the horizon line is straight
When I started taking photographs, I was never careful to place the horizon line completely straight, until someone one day told me that if I didn't see how to place that crooked line, everything would move sideways. If you don't know what I'm talking about, take a picture of the sea and If you do not put the horizon straight, you will see how everything leans to one side leaving a very bad visual sensation.
For all this it is important that in all photographs we try to place the horizon line completely straight. In addition, it is also important that if there are vertical objects such as buildings or streetlights, we align them in a perfect vertical way to avoid negative visual effects.
Choose the ideal time of day
The best time of day to take perfect photographs is without a doubt and according to all experts at noon, since the sun is highest in the sky and therefore is when there is better light. However and depending on what we are going to photograph there are better or worse moments throughout the day. For example, to photograph a landscape the best moments are in the morning and in the afternoon.
Watch what type of photography you are going to take and take into account the lights, shadows and play with perspective to try to get the best image. Remember that getting a perfect photograph is hard work and it may take several tries, at different times, to get it.
Flash? No thanks
If you have taken an image with your smartphone using the flash, you may have realized that the results are far from what was expected. In most cases, the flash of the cameras of mobile devices does not help us much and they only manage to "annoy" the photograph by illuminating it in the foreground and leaving it totally dark in the second shots.
For all this the best choice is not to use the flash unless it is absolutely essential. In addition, our recommendation is that to get a perfect image it is better to do it in daylight and not in full darkness.
If you still need to take a picture in full darkness or in low light situations, look for other methods to get the scene illuminated without having to pull the flash that can end up spoiling your perfect photograph.
As we told you before, these are just 10 of the many tips that we could give you to take almost perfect photographs, but we are sure that if you put these that we have given you in practice, the quality of your images will improve very much.
Have you managed to take an almost perfect photograph thanks to our advice?.