Become a hotshot photographer using just your cell phone! Following these easy steps, you will be able to take quality images and improve your social media posts by including pictures.  

 

Use two hands whenever you are taking a picture. Keep your arms in close and rest them on your body to stabilize yourself. Rest your iPhone on something sturdy if possible. Also, don’t forget that you can push the + button on the side of your iPhone to release the shutter.

 

Learn AE/AF Lock (focusing on your subject matter)

Tapping on the screen can turn on AE/AF lock where you want to focus on/expose for, and then holding down until the box bounces twice. This means that the place that you tapped on is where the camera focuses on and exposes for, and no matter where you move the camera those settings stay the same. This is good for backlit subjects. Say you wanted to take a better picture of two people, and the light is at their back. If you just took the picture, chances are it would be way too dark because your phone exposed for the sun. If you lock the exposure on the people, they would be properly exposed and if you move around a little they will still be well lit.

 

Go to Settings, scroll down to Photos & Camera and turn on the grid option. This helps you to line up the picture properly, giving you straighter-looking shots.

 

I’m often asked “Wow how did you get that shot!?” I have a simple answer: luck and taking lots of shots. Really. One of the best pieces of advice I was given was to shoot at least three pictures per shot. Why? Because people blink, glance away, etc. By shooting more and shooting rapidly you significantly increase the chances you’ll get “the shot.”

 

Taking pictures at indoors or at a conference isn’t easy. Most of the time the lighting is not great and most folks just turn on the flash to make the shot come out. That’s not always the best idea. A flash can take away the texture and depth an image, especially when using the camera on your phone.

 

Do not use the slider at the bottom of your screen to zoom. This will cause pixilation. The iPhone may have a good camera built in, but as soon as that slider moves, you can kiss your image quality goodbye.

 

Get rid of grainy photos and develop a rock star social media profile with pictures that pop! These tips and tricks of the trade are sure to elevate you to a new level of cell phone photography!