How to Take Pictures with Your Phone

Ever wondered how to take good pictures on your phone? 

Not to fear, here is a comprehensive guide to taking pictures without a professional camera!

You may be wondering, “But Zoey, aren’t you a photographer? Don’t you want people to pay you to take pictures of them?”. While yes, that would be nice, it’s important to remember that I myself am a broke college student trying to make my way without a stable income just like everyone else! Being able to hire a photographer is a luxury that I more than know is not feasible for all. Especially with how high-quality phone cameras are nowadays, there is a plethora of high-quality media you can create with just your phone!

Alright, time for the tips!

Angle

An important aspect of creating a good photo is how you angle the phone itself. A mistake that many rookie photo-takers can make is leaning the phone forward while they are taking the picture. This skews the perspective and often makes the subject look like they have a much larger head/top half on their body than they actually do.

By keeping the phone vertical to the ground, you can maintain a picture that keeps a perspective most similar to how you would see them in real life.

**Note, if you want to get the look of extremely long legs, have your photographer kneel on the ground and tilt your phone back

Height

Another mistake I see! If you are taking pictures of someone who is shorter than you, bring the phone down to their eye level. This works in conjunction with angles, but the best perspective of people is when the camera matches them at THEIR eye level, not yours. Be aware of your size compared to them. This goes vice versa, if you are shorter than them, make sure to find something to stand on to get to their level! This will typically create the most flattering image of them.

Zoom

For most pictures, it’s best to not zoom in because you can always crop images after the fact! This will allow each image to maintain the highest quality. Nowadays, zoom is used to get that candid and very aesthetic look, so while I would say be aware that it does reduce image quality, use zoom how you like! However, if you are taking a more “formal” picture (say, a picture with your family after a performance or event), and ESPECIALLY if you are using portrait mode, there is no reason why zoom would ever be needed.

Lighting 

ADJUST EXPOSURE IN THE MOMENT! Remember to always tap your screen where the subject is and use the little sundial on the side to adjust exposure. This will make for less editing later.

The easiest way to get consistent good pictures is to find a place where your entire body with be in the shade. That way, you will have consistent lighting all over the picture and it will make adjusting the lighting and editing much easier. Phone cameras do pretty well when subjects are in direct sunlight, but make sure to use the live exposure slider to make sure the picture isn’t over-exposed.

Have fun taking pictures on your phone!