Photography basics – Take out your phone and begin today!

Sitting by the window of my bus, staring outside at the chaos on the road, I pulled out my phone and swiped the camera icon to open the camera. I captured a few shots of a cute kitten sitting by the footpath. For the next few minutes, I was browsing through my gallery, looking for the best shot and then cropped it to adjust the frame, edited it a little and posted it on my social media profile. As I put my phone down, I witnessed another beautiful moment outside. An old man wanted to cross the road and a child came forward to hold his hands. Between all the chaos, that moment didn’t even seem that extraordinary but it really touched me and I immediately wanted to capture a picture again. This time, as I was editing the picture, I suddenly realized how blesses I am to not just be able to witness such a scene but also to capture it with just a few taps on my phone.

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I started thinking about how blessed our generation is. We have seen technology take over the world and we have grown up with the concept of smartphones as something so extraordinary. It wasn’t long ago when smartphones were just a concept. Today, it is seen with almost every middle-class person and higher. Not only does it offer ease to stay connected with the world, but also a lot of other features, including a camera. Smartphones have made access to cameras easier for people who don’t want to carry a professional camera with them around. In fact, now phone cameras are offering such amazing features and for some moments, one doesn’t even need a professional camera to capture it. it has become so popular that now phone photography competitions are being held worldwide in which people are participating to show their creative skills. Some of the winning shots are so amazing that one cant tells that the pictures are taken with a phone. So how is it that some people capture some amazing shots while some get pretty average shots from their phones? Well, lens and camera quality is definitely a factor. However, some people really take it seriously and actually practice manual settings as well as experiment with angles and frames to get the best shot. You can also capture some beautiful shots with your phone camera. Here is how:

Balanced Composition:
Just because you can take unlimited shots without running out of reel doesn’t mean that you take meaningless and poorly composed pictures. Every picture you take should have a meaning behind it. It doesn’t mean that you have to think of a reason to capture it. it means that you should be clear on what you want to capture. Everything that you see and that appeals you should be taken in such a way that your thought is delivered through the shot. One of the most important factors is to compose it well. Don’t rely on editing and cropping. Open your camera and try to frame the scene as you see it. Try a few angles that seem interesting to you and make sure that it looks visually balanced.

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Analyze the lighting situation:
Not everytime are you going to get that perfect daylight for crisp and vibrant photos? Sometimes what you see won’t come in the camera as you see it. Colors might come out dull and pictures might seem dark. This is where you need to start playing with the settings on your phone. It's not as technical as it may seem. Its simply about adjusting the focal point, exposure and a few other factors. Some phone cameras also offer filters. I don’t like to use filters as much but sometimes, filters do enhance the subject of your photo. Even if you want to use a filter, make sure it does take the picture in another direction.

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Keep your lens clean:
Since we use our phone for different purposes and use it most of the time of the day, the lens might get scratches or dirt due to which your pictures won't come out very nice. So every time you take a photo, clean the lens and try to protect the body of your phone with a cover.

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Try not to use Zoom:
Zooming feature only helps in situations where it is absolutely necessary to zoom in to capture a photo. If you are at a distance that needs zooming in onto your subject, then try to get closer to it instead of using the zoom. The reason is that your picture might get pixilated and the quality might out come out to be as good.

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Try not to move the camera while shooting:
Not everybody is used to of taking pictures with the phone. So a lot of people face this problem when they first start photography from their phones. You need to keep your hand steady and firm while capturing a shot. Some phones are a little slow and you need to keep your hand steady for some time even after tapping the capture button. You can get good at it by practicing daily.

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A background check is more important than you might think:
A lot of time we capture photos and when later we open them up to see, we end up spotting something in the background that simply looks either too distracting or inappropriate. So when you spot something to capture, don’t just focus on the subject, take a look at the background as well.

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