Picture Perfect

How To Capture Picture Perfect Smarphone Photos

Friday, 14 Sep 2012

If you are anything like us, most of our photos are taken on our iPhone… Lazy, we know.

So when Carolyn Soemarjono of Melia Photography Singapore offered to reveal the secrets of how to capture fabulous smart phone photos, we were all ears (and eyes), and of course we thought you might like to listen up too!

1. Light Up.

Get more light, especially when indoors. If it’s dark enough to require a flash, move closer to a window or have your subject facing the window so that light will bounce off their face.

2. Get Up Close.

Don’t rely on the flash. Get as close to your subject as possible instead.

3. Forget the Zoom.

Don’t rely on the zoom. Smartphone images become grainy even with just a small amount of zooming so get as close as you can.

4. Hold Tight

Hold your smartphone very still. If you’re not in bright sunlight rest the phone – or your arm – on a solid object to avoid blurry pictures.

5. Snap Happy

Shoot lots of images at once to capture the moment. This avoids the delayed response between pressing the button and when the camera shoots, which is particularly annoying when taking photos of moving subjects, like kids and pets. You can always delete the bad shots later.

6. Eyes Up

For self-portraits hold the phone as far away from you as possible. Look straight at the lens on the phone (that tiny hole that captures the shot) and not the image of yourself on the screen.

7. Go Artsy

Convert the image to black and white. If it’s blurry, this immediately looks better (and even a little artsy).

8. Touch Up

Photoshop the picture with a free app. You can enhance your favourite pictures by cropping, changing the exposure or adjusting the colours with Photoshop Express for iPhone and Android.

9. Always Backup

Make a habit of downloading your images regularly so they don’t disappear if you lose your phone.