How To Take Great Cell Phone Pictures

Hello Everyone!

Spring and Summer are quickly approaching and this means trips, vacations, and traveling for most. I know those are some of my favorite things to do when it’s warm and sunny!

I want to share with you, 5 steps to getting great pictures with your cell phone.

Decided what app to use.

When taking a picture you can choose to use your camera app or a social media app like Instagram.

If you are taking the image just to document your trip then the camera app works great, cause you can take multiple pictures at a time like using a camera. Then you can go back later and use them on social media.

If you are taking the image specifically to post to Instagram you can open the Instagram app and take the image from there. The image will be taken as a square instead of being cropped down later when you go to post. I have also noticed the color is a little different when you take images in the app. See Below: Left image taken with Instagram app; Right taken with camera app set to square mode.

Photo taken with Instagram app

Some Camera apps have to option to take square images, I know my iPhone does, so if you like using the camera app you can take square images for Instagram. Which means no cropping of your image when it’s being posted!

To Flash or not to Flash

This is the next question to answer. I know most cameras have auto flash, so the camera decides for you if there is enough light to capture the picture or not. Sometimes the camera chooses wrong. So I’m here to help you!  Is there enough light outside, is the area you are in well lit, if so then you can turn the flash off. I personally keep my flash turned off cause my camera flash doesn’t help my images. I’m sure the age of your phone will also make some difference on how well the flash works, I have an iPhone 5. See Below: Left without flash; Right with flash. The flash actually made the dimly lit room worse.

Choosing Composition

Next step is to choose what and how you what to take the picture. What do you want to take a picture of. What angle or view do you want to capture. Do you want to wait for people to move so you can get a clear shot or do you want them in their as part of the image. Do you want to be closer so you can see more detail in your image. It’s completely up to you!

Focus

Once you have decided which app, the what and how of your picture. Focus the camera on that thing. Do this by clicking the screen on the spot in the image that you are capturing.   For instance, if someone is standing in front of a building and you are trying to take the picture of them, click on the screen on the persons face that way the camera know what’s most important. This will help the camera to focus on that spot and to auto adjust lighting. You can play around with this and see what you like best!

Take The Picture

This is the final step! You are ready to take the picture, so try not to move too much now that you have it just right and click to capture.

Editing

I know I said 5, but this one is just extra for those of you who want more!

All images can be enhanced with a little editing. So go for it if you choose, but stay tuned to learn some editing secrets in the next how to post!

I won’t lie to you, I love taking pictures with my phone! It is just so easy and it’s always with me! Don’t get me wrong, My professional camera is amazing, and takes much better pictures than my phone. I just don’t always have it on me.

I hope you found this helpful and will be on the look out for next weeks how to post on editing your cell phone pictures.

Here are a few Images I have captured on my phone while exploring For Macon State Park!