Buzz
Smartphones are increasingly prevalent in our lives, replacing many bulky devices like computers, music players... especially in photography. Leading flagship smartphones such as iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, LG V30... are evaluated to have photography capabilities on par with digital cameras with modern equipment, increasingly high resolution..
However, when taking photos with your phone, users also need to pay attention to some principles to capture stunning photos from the simple lenses of the phone's camera.
Below are the pocket-sized tips shared by a photography enthusiast on a Tinh Te forum, we kindly request to quote for reference.
Selecting the most beautiful lighting direction for shooting
- Choosing the right lighting direction will convey the intention of the shot and highlight the subject, which is crucial.
- You determine the lighting direction by observing its reflection and shadow. Shooting the same subject, fixed position, with different lighting directions, creates different changes in color and subject recognition.
There are 3 basic lighting directions:
Front lighting
Is a light source shining from behind, directly onto the subject. Shooting with front lighting achieves even colors, but lacks contrast in dark areas, resulting in photos with less depth and no volume. The subject's surface is evenly lit, with bright faces. The layers of buildings are evenly covered by the morning sun, revealing the entire front without shadows.
Usually, I capture wide scenes, city architecture, brightly colored houses, wide & distant scenes evenly lit against the sky with front lighting.
Or shooting group scenes, everyone wants their face to be clearly visible, psychologically looking at a group photo, they often look at themselves first.
Oblique side lighting
Light source from one side at a 45-degree to 90-degree angle with the subject from the lens direction and at an angle to the ground. Oblique light creates many shadows. Horizontal oblique light has high contrast, making it more difficult for photographers to handle than front lighting, suitable for sunrise or sunset, more impressive photos. Oblique light always highlights the shape of objects and demonstrates the depth of the subject. Half-light, half-dark subject.
The sun shines obliquely, casting shadows on one side, giving the church a more prominent visual presence.
Oblique lighting, creating a half-light, half-dark subject.
This is both oblique light creating shadows on one side and passing through the roof gap to create light and shadow areas.
Backlighting
The light source shines from behind the subject. Backlighting creates extremely high contrast, creating direct shadows with the lens. This is a challenging lighting direction to use but the most impressive and emotionally evocative. With phones, using available HDR may be more effective.
The subject will have shadows cast towards the lens, dark and deep.
Choosing the best shooting angle
At some point, determining the lighting direction in each specific situation becomes a natural habit, an unconscious reflex that no longer takes time, then the second consideration is where you will position the camera to capture the frame. We hear a lot about 'there are no rules in photography!' or 'the rule of photography is that there are no rules!'. See what you want, capture what you like! Decisive moments. But if there's time, find the best perspective for the intended photo. The best perspective sometimes is just a slight shift of the phone to the left or right, forward or backward, and there are differences.
The eye-level horizontal perspective is our natural eye's view of everything, usually normal. If possible, we should try moving around the subject or anticipating from different positions, from high to low... that we haven't tried yet.
Which of the two below pictures do you prefer:
A little further away
Or...a little closer
Arranging elements in the photo
Not to elaborate on composition rules, but to talk about balancing the proportions of elements in the frame to match your intentions. It's about balance expressed through shape, size, color, intensity... Whatever stands out will carry more weight than the surrounding elements.
You can divide the frame according to any ratio, as long as you feel it's right, comfortable, and visually pleasing. Photographers have their own perceptions and often choose frame elements based on their intuition.
A photo featuring mostly the river
And a bit less of the river...
Be cautious when focusing and enabling HDR
Nowadays, almost all phones come with automatic HDR mode (Galaxy A7, Galaxy S7, iPhone 8, etc.). In some situations, HDR photography is effective, especially in scenes with light contrast, HDR photos will be somewhat more balanced. However, because phones use algorithms to blend multiple images taken rapidly in succession, moving subjects will appear blurred.
The main subject appears blurry
A backlit photo looks quite stunning with HDR mode
Hold your phone steady and focus
Close-up shots with sufficient brightness and detail are excellent; sometimes what's beneath your feet can be an interesting photo subject. I take a lot of still life and close-up shots. Pay attention to the focus point you want to capture.
The first two shots, one is sharp on the pottery kiln and the man outside the frame is clear. The next shot is almost sharp on the background.
Focus is not good
Better focus and sharper image
How to take photos at night
Phone cameras for night and low-light photography are of moderate quality. Many photos will be unusable, often lacking sharpness, blurry subjects due to movement, or noise and lack of light... So I think if you have to shoot at night, you should opt for front lighting as mentioned earlier. Hold the camera steady, minimize hand shake. Take close-up shots, focus and lock focus by holding the focus point for a few seconds.
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