Perfecting Smartphone Photography

Greetings fellow photographers and lovely readers! Welcome to our newest blog in which we will be exploring the topic of mastering smartphone photography. The cameras on our devices are only getting better and better so let's learn how to take full advantage of an excellent camera that fits easily into our pockets! We'll be dividing this into a series to keep the reading light and information organized. 

 Understanding Your Smartphone Camera Features 

 In this first part of our series we're going to dive into details of the features smartphones have these days. We'll explore HDR, manual focus, all the different type of shooting modes, and how to utilize exposure compensation. Follow along and by the end of this you'll be well on your way to improving your smartphone photography! 

 What is HDR?

 HDR, or High Dynamic Range, is a powerful feature smartphones have which will enhance the contrast and vibrancy of your photos. It's particularly effective in scenes with an extreme contrast between light and shadow. We recommend always enabling the HDR feature when photographing landscapes with a bright sky and dark foreground. While enabled, HDR works by taking multiple exposures of the same scene at different brightness levels and then combines them to create the final image. Using HDR will preserve details in your composition and reduces your risk of capturing overexposed skies and underexposed shadows.

 Most smartphone have an automatic HDR mode which activates when the camera detects a high-contrast scene, crazy we know, but majority of devices also have a manual control so you can toggle it on/off based on your preferences. While HDR sounds like a perfect solution to your landscape photography issues, you want to refrain from overusing it. 

 If you use HDR in scenes with minimal contrast then it may result in images looking unnatural. In the post-processing options, you'll be able to play around with and fine tune the details of the HDR effects. The best thing you can do is experiment and try new things. Compare images with and without HDR active while you're out taking photos so you can easily start noticing the differences. Once you get more familiar with the HDR tool you'll develop a photographers intuition on using it properly.

 Mastering Manual Focus 

 As a photographer you should strive to have full control over your compositions and by using manual focus you can achieve it. Autofocus may be good for your selfies, but we want to teach you how to utilize your smartphone to capture all your creativity with skillful precision.

 Since there are so many smartphones we won't go into a list of how to enable manual focus for all of them. A quick Google search will give you easy steps to access this tool for your particular device. We'll just dive into the fundamental applications of the technique in this blog.

 Manual focus is essential for many different styles of photography with your smartphone. Especially in macrophotography, portrait photography, and low-light conditions since autofocus tends to struggle in these areas. Applying this technique in macro photography allows you to capture the appropriate details you're looking for and in portrait photography you'll be able to control the depth of field around your subject.

 Another really cool aspect of manual focus is being able to add an artistic touch to your compositions. You'll be able to create a background blur (bokeh) and isolate your subjects so you an draw attention to specific elements in your image. Mastering this method allows you to control the aesthetic of your photos with intentional blurs and selective sharpness. As you experiment with manual focus you'll slowly overcome all the limitations of autofocus. You'll gain more accuracy for capturing your desired shots and gain the confidence to expand your photography portfolio.

 Which shooting mode is the best? 

 The variety of modes we have built into our smartphones is truly remarkable! Each one giving off their own unique capability which don't require much effort to use. Take portrait mode for example; this mode is precisely designed to emphasize your subject by automatically creating a pleasing background blur. All the settings are built in and you can even leverage facial recognition technology to make professional looking results! Of course, you can flip into manual mode as mentioned above and add your own creative twist to these moments.

 One of our favorite modes is the panorama mode. This mode is extremely fun to use for landscape photography or city skylines. You're able to capture entire breathtaking scenes into a singular image, as long as you have a steady hand, with this wide angle mode. Take a look below at two incredible panoramic photos, they look absolutely seamless! 

 Night mode is particularly useful to capture clear and detailed shots in low light conditions. It's another mode with built in capabilities to make your photography life easier because it automatically optimizes exposure settings, reduces unwanted noise, and overall it enhances your image quality. Using this mode will give you confidence to take photos in less than ideal lighting circumstances. On the other hand you have modes like slow-motion and timelapse, which are incredibly fun for creative purposes. You can really hone in on the dramatic effects of your subjects or speed them up into short little clips. It's just a different avenue to explore and experiment with while you're out having fun! 

 A lot of these modes are designed to make your life easier. While fun to use, we really recommend balancing your efforts with these modes and manual shooting. They all serve their purpose and will allow you to become a well-seasoned mobile photographer.

 Exposure Compensation

 When crucial tools are mentioned, being able to adjust your exposure is at the top of the list every time. Let's begin by grasping the fundamentals of exposure, which involves balancing three elements; aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Exposure compensation specifically addresses the overall brightness of your image, allowing you to make adjustments when your smartphone's automatic settings might not accurately capture the scene.

 Now, smartphones are definitely limited in these settings. The camera lenses can only be opened up so much and many smartphones don't have the option to mess with aperture. As for shutter speed and ISO, you'll need to hop into manual mode or live mode in order to adjust any of these settings. There are third party apps you can research to expand into like Focos or Light Room Mobile to assist in getting better control of these elements. 

 So when do you use positive exposure compensation versus negative exposure compensation? Positive will always be used when you're in the need to brighten your images. Incredibly helpful when your subject is in the shadows or against a bright background. Increasing the exposure will allow you to reveal more details and prevent underexposure. Whereas negative exposure compensation needs to be used when there is intense backlighting or very high contrast scenes. Reducing exposure will prevent the overexposed look and start to preserve the details in the highlights while preventing washed-out areas in your photos. 

 Messing with exposure settings either while taking your photos or in post processing helps you navigate dynamic lighting. Exposure allows you to create certain moods and atmospheres in your images by letting you emphasize shadows or highlights based on your artistic intent. Sunrises and sunsets are a tremendous subject to practice because the lighting conditions change rapidly and you can use exposure compensation to adapt to the shifting light to maintain a balance in your overall composition.

 We hope you now have a foundational understanding for your mobile photography! We'll continue expanding on smartphone photography by delving into editing apps and techniques in our next blog. It's truly amazing how much we can do just from our phones while still creating professional looking results. With all these features at our disposal, there's no excuse on why we can't provide our audience with jaw dropping portfolios!

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