OUR Wilderness Photographer of the Year, presented by Mountain Designs is well underway (greatwalks.com.au/wpoty) and we accept entries from all types of cameras including phone cameras. And let's face it pretty much everybody on the planet takes photos with their phones - but without a basic understanding of composition, light and technique you'll be deleting most of those photos instead of sharing them. So...
• Switch on the HDR (High Definition Range) at the top of the camera app to bring out more details in your shot. It takes three photos in quick succession – a normally exposed one, a bright one and a dark one – so you’ll need a steady• Use the camera grid to help you get the composition right (the rule of thirds). You’ll have to go into settings to turn this on.• Don’t assume you have to shoot from chest height (where you’d naturally hold the phone), find different angles instead. If you’re taking photos of your kids, for example, get down to their level.• Experiment with the exposure – if you tap the screen while you’re lining up your shot, the camera will focus on that point and adjust the exposure accordingly. • Try to avoid using the digital zoom, which often makes the final picture look soft and blurry. Get closer to your subject instead.• The iPhone’s camera works best in good lighting conditions, so be aware of the light around you. And remember, many iPhone photographers don’t recommend using the flash.• Use two hands for stability when taking the photo – iPhones are designed to be light, but they can still move when you’re getting your photo.• There are plenty of photography apps out there that’ll give you more features to play with, like Camera+ and Pro Camera 7, so try them out and find one or two that work well for you. • There are also iPhone accessories coming into the market, like tripods and lenses that sit over the top of the phone’s lens, that you might want to consider.• If you’re using filters to edit your photos, don’t just go for the preset options. Manually adjust the contrast, brightness and other options for a better result … also a skill that you can use when editing a shot you took with your DSLR.
