Camera Phone Tips for Telling a Great Story

All the smartphone brands are racing to make the best camera phone whether it’s the ability to shoot in low light, have more blur in your background, or capture 4K video. Yet, if you don’t know how to find the story like a photographer does, you end up with a thousand photos of nothing.

How do you develop a photographer’s eye?  Follow these 7 fun, camera phone tips!

This helps you begin to discover your own photographer’s eye.

1. Use the Grid

Explanation: As a professional photographer, I’m always looking at a moment split into three parts.  99% of the time, the person isn’t in the middle but off to the left or right to add a sense of more story.  Great place to start with improving your storytelling.

How to Turn the Grid On: Go to Settings, Camera, Turn Grid Option On

2. Never Use the Zoom, Get in Close

Explanation:  The zoom feature in your smartphone is a digital zoom which means the more you zoom in the worse your quality.  Better to zoom with your feet instead.

3. Clean Your Lens

Explanation: We all know how dirty our smartphones get.  Before you take a photo, clean your lens.  This is a necessary discipline I do with my professional camera and lens every time I begin a photo shoot.

4. Create More Light Then Choose Your Lighting

Explanation: Enough light is essential, but you can also choose the type of light!

How to Use: Click on the sunshine/box icon and drag your thumb up or down for brighter or darker.

In Portrait Mode, play with Studio Light, Contour Light and Portrait Light to see which one is bright enough.

5. Tap Your Subject to Ensure Great Focus

Explanation:  By tapping your subject’s face, your smartphone will know who to focus on.

6. Be in the experience by limiting how many photos you take.

Explanation: With picture taking being so accessible we can take photos of everything and feel like we end up with nothing.  Narrow your focus to only taking 7 photos of your experience.

7. Turn, Lean In, and Lift

Explanation:  Your friends and family will LOVE you for this technique!  Capture flattering, slimming photos of your subjects by having them turn to the side, lean into the camera and then lift your camera phone a little above eye level so they life their chin (getting rid of double, triple chins).

8. Use Burst Mode

Explanation:  This is a mode I use with my professional camera when working with kids or pets, and you can use it on your smartphone.  Just continue to hold your finger down so you take several photos at once because you never know which one will turn out best when taking an action shot.

How to View: Go to Photos, Hit Select in the Bottom Center to See All Burst Mode Photos