7 tips every mobile travel photographer must know

J.G. Taruc

February 17, 2016

• Mobile photography has now become a trend and it’s all because of the birth of the very efficient and sophisticated smartphones.

  Smartphones have the ability to shoot DSLR quality photos and you can even edit it by using different photo editing apps right after taking it.

  Here are some tips if you want to indulge yourself to mobile photography for your next travel:

  A clean lens is a photographer’s bestfriend

  Taking photos with dirt, dust and fingerprints on your phone’s lens will make your time pretty wasted because it will block the light from entering the camera’s sensor causing it to have smudges or blurs on your shot.

  Always clean the lens of your phone each time you will be taking a photo. Just remember to use ONLY a soft lens cloth.

  Set the focus and exposure manually

  

  Photo credit: citymac.com

  A good point of focus and exposure is what makes a photo stunningly beautiful.

  If you’re using an iPhone camera, you can manually select the focus point by tapping the screen where your subject is and small yellow square will appear to the focus point. Meanwhile, you can adjust the exposure by also tapping the screen and moving the sun icon from up (high exposure) and down (low exposure).

  Don’t use your phone’s zoom function

  You want to know why? Zooming will affect the image’s quality. It will make the photo grainy, and or worse comes to worst, the photo will turn into a pixelated nightmare.

  If you are taking a photo from a distant place, don’t zoom in but instead walk closer to your subject or just crop the image in the process of editing to bring the subject closer.

  ‘Keep calm and hold still’

  

  Photo credit: macworld.co.uk

  It’s not your favorite cheesy punch line but a reminder for the photographers.

  Any unwanted movement would result to a blurry photo so keeping your camera still is a very big factor in taking an image.

  When taking a photo, you should hold the phone tightly with both hands, rest it on a solid surface or use a tripod (yes, there are tripods for mobile phones such as the Gorilla Pod by Joby).

  Light up those grids

  

  Photo credit: iosguides.net

  The rule of thirds is one of the most basic and useful composition techniques in photography. When you are able to grasp its concept, you will be able to produce eye-catching travel photos.

  The rule of thirds is a method wherein you position the important elements in your scene using imaginary horizontal and vertical lines.

  If you’re just starting with this method, you can place a grid over the camera’s interface to help train your eye.

  Take multiple shots

  

  Photo credit: iphonehacks.com

  The chances of getting a good photo on your first shot are very low.

  If you see something that’s worth capturing, you don’t just take a shot of it and hope it’s the best.

  Take multiple shots from various angles and places to find which one fits for your subject.

  You don’t need to worry if you’ll be able to take 100 pictures of the same subject because we’re living in a digital world, you can easily delete a photo with a single swipe or tap.

  Don’t ‘cook’ your photo too much

  

  Photo credit: thesweetsetup.com

  Post-processing –  the phase where the magic happens, believe me.

  Just a tip for you, resist the urge of using too many apps or strong effects when editing your photos. Don’t fell in the mistake of turning your good photos in one of the worst.

  Edit your photos with restraint and concentrate on enhancing the natural beauty of your photo.

   

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