There was a time when to take good photos we had to use our parents’ reflex camera, or the one that you had bought after a lot of effort and saving for months.
And, to be honest, this is still the case, since the quality of compact cameras or SLR cameras is well above the mid-range and high-end smartphone.. But over the years cell phone cameras have been improving to a level we never imagined.
With a good phone, a few good ideas, and ideal conditions, the photos we can get ourselves can rival those of any hobbyist with a professional camera.
And the best thing is that Improving the quality of the photos you take with your mobile is very simple, so you only have to strive to have good ideas with the photographs you choose to take.
As for the quality of the image, don’t worry, because right now we are going to give you 11 simple tips to follow that promise instant improvements:
- Cleaning the lenses
- Focus manually
- Get closer to the object to be photographed
- Don’t use digital zoom
- Look for good lighting
- Use tripods or support the phone
- Experiment with white balance
- Use the orientation grids
- Select the highest quality photos
- Explore camera options
- Use photo editing apps
Cleaning the lenses
This may sound like a joke, but it is a drastic improvement in many situations. The usual thing is to use the mobile throughout the day and that means that we are continuously touching the phone. This turns into fingerprints and grease, which gradually causes the lenses to fill up with dirt.
Just by using a little steam and a cotton t-shirt, we can leave the phone’s cameras spotless., both the rear and the front. Of course, refrain if you wear thick or rigid clothing, since you could scratch the lenses and this does not have a solution.
Despite the fact that more and more phones incorporate the warning that the lenses are dirty (Samsung example), their thing is to check it ourselves, since the warnings appear when the dirt was already evident for a long time.
Focus manually
One of the secrets that cell phone cameras have improved so much is that autofocus has evolved to the point where it almost always knows where we want to focus with the camera.
But, as with these technologies, it is not quite perfect. Therefore, just by pressing on the screen the objective we want to focus on, the phone will do the job. necessary for the snapshot to be the way you want it.
Of course, be careful with overexposures, that when we focus on a person and there is a lot of light behind, photos tend to burn and phones can do little in those cases.
Get closer to the object to be photographed
Do you want to take a picture of your new PS5 controller or your new motorcycle? Well, come closer, nothing to throw him from a distance and then start expanding on WhatsApp to send the photo to your friends and family.
Phone cameras usually have very good close-ups, and up close they do a good job. Test in your next photo how the level of detail improves.
Don’t use digital zoom
At first the increases of mobile phones were only digital, but over time they were adding optical zooms, which do a much better job since they put less noise and less grain.
Now, there are many people who do not detect the difference, until he looks at the picture and thinks it looks terrible for his good cell phone. In that case, the safest thing is that you have used the digital magnification, the most common among mid-range smartphones.
As it is difficult to know which zoom we are using while taking pictures, since many applications do not specify which magnification is optical and which is digital, it is best to follow the advice above: get closer to the object instead of zooming in.
Look for good lighting
It is true that asking you to look for good lighting may not be easy or fair, because sometimes we have the situation we have and little else we can do. But there is almost always a solution.
If the photo is indoors, raise the blinds well and give the ceiling light; If the photo is on the street and at night, go to a streetlight or advertising pole; If instead you are with the sun on your back, turn to your side / front, so you will take advantage of a better light without burning the background and without people having their eyes closed, etc.
You can almost always do something with lightingYou just have to think about it and pull your imagination. And, in case there is no light source, use the mobile flash. It is true that it loses depth and sometimes burns the image a bit, but in that case there are not many more options.
Use tripods or support the phone
One of the most common reasons why photographs do not turn out well is involuntary movement of the photographer. Many of us have very little pulse and when it comes to shooting the camera we move the phone too much.
Although good smartphones have image stabilizers, it is not normal and they do not work as well as we can. We do it using tripods (very cheap) or leaving the phone resting on a bench or a nearby wall.
A photograph taken with a stable phone is really easy to take advantage of, even for professional settings.
Experiment with white balance
More and more phones are incorporating an adjustable white balance that allows you to modify the color balance depending on the conditions you have when shooting.
Experiment with this feature to see if you can improve your photos at the color level. This option is more advanced, so you may need to watch a video on YouTube to learn how to use it well and take advantage of it.
Use the orientation grids
Among the most common problems in amateur photography is that the photos are crooked. The absence of references usually means that our images of Burgos cathedral are great but totally rotated. And that is fatal.
To solve this problem, the solution is very simple, since you only have to activate the orientation grids in the camera options, which give us a perfect reference so that the frames do not fail and the lines are straight.
Select the highest quality photos
When we see that our sensor is 64 Mpx this does not mean that this mode is selected by default. The complexity of modern cameras makes it possible to choose between megapixels and qualities within the app options.
Therefore, if what we want is to make the most of our phone as a mobile as a camera, what we must do is maximize the quality of the photos and select the largest Mpx option to use. You will notice it a lot if you transfer the photos to a computer to retouch.
Explore camera options
Phones have been perfecting their photography options within the application, being able to apply filters, beauty modes, long exposure for low light and other style customizations.
Therefore, before we start taking photos it’s worth spending a while exploring what options can help usWe have already reviewed some of them in the councils, but as each company is different, it is best that you test yourself empirically.
Use photo editing apps
This is already optional, as it requires more time and knowledge, but there are several mobile options for editing photos that do a very good job. Or, at least, they make them more shocking up front.
Adobe Lightroom, Polarr, Canva, Photoshop Fix, Snapseed … The options are varied and many free if you are not very demanding and your goal is to give your photos a little life.
As you can see, improving our photographs is possible with just a little effort and desire on our part, some of the tips being as old and basic as analog photography itself.
The quality of mobile camera sensors is increasingly high, so as soon as we become interested, we are sure that We get the most out of that new iPhone 13 Pro that some of us already have in the cart.