Once upon a time, taking pictures was an unbelievable hassle. First of all, people didn’t have cameras on them at any given moment. And when they did, you couldn’t see the pictures right away. You actually had to wait and pay someone to develop and print them out for you. Oh, the hardships we had to endure… Thankfully, we’re not there anymore and our smartphones give us the freedom to play camerapeople whenever we feel like it. Some of us have a natural talent when it comes to taking good pictures with our phones. Others need some help. We’re here for the ones struggling with three easy tips to up your photography game.
Use the grids
Turn on the grid option in your camera. See those gridlines creating a hashtag sign that stretched across your screen? Good, these are your best friends. You need them in order to follow the rule of threes. Let us explain: the rule of threes is a principle in perspective which says that if we divide our screen into three equal parts using three lines, we want the object we’re shooting to fall on the lines. This positioning was proven to be more aesthetically pleasing. Following the rule of three is a lot easier when we use the grid. And a picture can be even more aesthetically pleasing when you position your object on the intersection of two lines.
Sample the light
Talking a picture of something with the sun or another light source in the background usually results in the object turning into a silhouette and having no details. Super annoying. A way around it would be to sample your light correctly. Once you open your camera and see that silhouette, simply tap on the dark object. By tapping the darkest part visible in your frame, you’re telling your camera to sample its light from a darker place, which would make your object more visible against the bright background.
Play with perspective for special effects
This tip is especially fun if you’re looking to create some illusions. You’ll need a friend and a fun little toy (a dinosaur would be cool, but that’s totally up to you). Position the toy on the ground (preferably on flat surfaces like an empty parking lot or a hardwood floor) near your camera, and have your friend stand further away and slightly to the side. Now it looks like the toy is human-sized and you can have some fun pretending your friend is fighting it, scared of it, in love with it — you name it!
