It's no secret that the cameras in our mobile phones are better than ever.
Yet, cell phones still have some limitations that prevent them from being as good of cameras as a traditional DSLR or mirrorless system.
That doesn't mean that you can't take fantastic photos with your phone, though...
In this tutorial, you'll learn practical tips for how to take good photos with a smartphone.
Alter Your Perspective
One of the worst things you can do when taking photos with your mobile phone is to stand up straight and take your photos from your eye level.
That's what everyone does, and that makes your photos super boring.
To spice things up, move around your subject and work hard to find the best angles from which to take photos.
That might mean sitting down, kneeling down, or even lying down on the ground and shooting upward. You might also look for a way to get a higher vantage point and shoot down towards your subject.
Either way, a low or high perspective will be much more interesting for people to view than the typical eye-level shot.
Learn More:
- Essential Tips for Better Photos With Your iPhone X
- iPhone Photography Tips Straight From the Experts
Get Creative
It's easy to say "get creative" if you want to learn how to take good photos with a smartphone...
But at the end of the day, finding your voice as a photographer means finding your photography style and trying new things.
Whether that's shooting through something as seen above, playing around with new and interesting ways to process your photos, or something in between, the more time you spend trying to find ways to make your photos stand out, the better your images will be.
And remember - since your phone is, well, mobile, take the convenience that that brings to experiment with all kinds of subjects.
Photograph people on the street, find interesting textures on buildings as you walk through the city, get out into a landscape and take up-close shots of small details. The possibilities are endless!
In the video above, COOPH offers up even more ideas for getting creative and learning how to take good cell phone pictures.
Equip Your Phone With Better Lenses
Clearly, one of the greatest benefits of camera phones is that they are so small, lightweight, and easy to use.
But given their small form factor, it's not like Apple, Samsung, and other phone manufacturers can squeeze a nice, big lens into the phone.
That's where SANDMARC comes in...
I have a set of SANDMARC lenses for my iPhone X, and I can tell you that they are really, really good lenses.
When you unbox these lenses and pick them up for the first time, you can tell just by the feel of them that they are built with a keen eye for quality.
Not only are the lens housings well-built, but the lenses themselves have premium multi-coated optics, which means you get sharp and clear photos.
What's more, these lenses produce minimal ghosting, flare, and other aberrations - that's not something all mobile phone lenses can say.
I also really appreciate the variety of lenses that SANDMARC offers.
I have a wide-angle lens that provides 2x the field of view, which I use all the time since I typically photograph landscapes.
But I also have a macro lens for those occasions that I want to get up close and personal to my subject, as well as a fisheye lens (shown below) that has helped me see things in a completely new light and helped me become a more creative photographer.
So, not only are these lenses impeccably made, they can also help you get into a better photography groove. What's not to like about that?!
In the end, if you want to learn how to be a good photographer with a phone, you need to put in the time and effort, just like you would need to do if you were shooting with a DSLR or mirrorless camera.
But if you find ways to be a little more creative, spend some time thinking about how the perspective from which you shoot impacts the look of your shots, and invest in some high-quality mobile photography accessories, I think you'll find that you're well on your way to taking much-improved photos with your smartphone.