The Ultimate Guide To Phone Photography

Expert Shares Guide To Taking The Perfect Photo 

• Social media marketing experts reveal six things to consider when taking the perfect photo
• Finding the best spot is key, so embrace natural light, avoid harsh sources, and face the light at eye level to prevent unflattering shadows
• Create a flattering photo by posing at a 45-degree angle, look up with the camera at eye level, and hold your arms slightly away from your body while creating triangles with your pose

With approximately five billion photos taken daily worldwide and a trend toward natural looks, many people are looking for ways to capture the perfect picture without relying on editing.

Social media marketing experts at Viralyft have identified six top methods for taking a flawless photo, so you can skip the filters and Photoshop.

Lighting

Step one is to find the perfect spot to take your picture and this means finding the best lighting. The are two key things to remember: one is to embrace natural light and steer clear from harsh lighting like computer screens, bright light bulbs or harsh sunlight. The second thing to remember is to make sure you face the light and adjust the camera until the light is hitting around eye-level; this is to avoid creating any unflattering shadows, such as dark circles under the eyes.

Strike a Pose

There are some simple adjustments you can make to your posing that can make all the difference when it comes to taking a flattering or an unflattering photo.

One is to position your body at a 45-degree angle to the camera as opposed to facing it fully; it is incredibly slimming and adds interest. 

Make sure you look up at the camera and a good rule of thumb is to make sure the bottom of your phone or camera is level with your eyes. A selfie stick can make this easier. 

A couple of other key tricks to striking a becoming pose are to hold your arms slightly away from your body and to create triangles with your body, such as putting your hand on your hip or playing with a strand of hair.

Backgrounds

You don’t have to be on an exotic beach or a snowy mountain top to create the perfect background. Intriguing backgrounds can be found anywhere, from your house to your local park. Choosing a lighter background with fewer distractions can lighten your features and makes sure your face stands out.

Make use of phone and camera features

While it’s easier to use your front camera for selfies, the camera on the back of your phone is much more powerful, creating a much higher quality and professional looking photo. And don’t forget to take advantage of features such as portrait mode which can often be used on both your front and rear-facing cameras, such as with the iPhone.

The grid that can be displayed on the camera screen of most smartphones is another great tool for creating aesthetically pleasing photos. This allows you to create pictures according to the classic composition technique of the rule of thirds, which states that your subject should be off-centre for a more engaging photo.

No digital zooming allowed

Optical zoom, which relies on the physical adjustment of lenses, preserves image quality when zooming in, resulting in sharp and detailed photos. However, digital zoom, which is the type of zoom a smartphone uses, is convenient but typically reduces quality by digitally enlarging the existing image. So, the best options are either moving closer to your subject or a camera with adjustable lenses.

Be careful using your flash

Flashes are far inferior to other forms of lighting such as natural light or a ring light as they are often situated too close to the lens to create flattering light and the bulb is an LED, which creates an unnatural blue tinge.

“These contribute to the red eyes, squinting eyes and harsh, bleached out effect that are regular consequences of flash taken photos. Some current-generation smartphones have significantly improved the multi-shot HDR capabilities, particularly Google Pixel phones which boast an impressive low-light feature known as Night Sight.

“If it’s dark and flash is the only option, play around with angles until you find one that works best for you, but your best bet is to just turn if off in most situations.  

Thomas Moore, Director of Viralyft, commented: “With photo-sharing and video-sharing apps like TikTok and Instagram having gained extreme popularity over the past few years, photoshopping has become so prevalent that the line between fiction and reality has become truly blurred.

“But with this rise in photoshopping has come an increase in expertise and knowledge, which has created edit investigators who can spot an altered photo when they see it. And there are now even fake image detectors, which can say whether an image has been changed.

“Therefore, a demand for the natural and unedited has also risen, and many celebrities have joined in the trend that promotes body positivity.”