20 Best Tips For Taking Photos With Your Mobile Phone

Looking to take your photography game to the next level? We’ve put together our best 20 tips and tricks to help you take the most amazing lifestyle and portrait photos with your mobile phones.

1. Use natural light: When taking any picture make sure to use natural lighting as often as possible! Natural Sunlight is the best lighting around.
2. Avoid harsh, uneven light: Going off of number two, Before you take a picture make sure you look for even light on people's faces. Heavy shadows on people’s faces can create unflattering pictures.
3. Use open shades: Using open shade can make a big difference in your photos. Open shade is anywhere that is shaded from direct sunlight but still has ambient light around it. Direct sunlight can be very strong and unflattering, It can cause uneven shadows on the subject of the picture. Using open shade can create even lighting and shadows.
4. Use a diffuser: Bright lights aren’t always a good thing. When taking pictures inside or next to a bright window it can be a good idea to get a cheap set of sheer curtains. These curtains can help diffuse the bright sunlight so it’s not so heavy.
5. Turn off your lamps & ambient lights: When taking photos indoor & using natural light, make sure to turn off your lamps or any ambient lights. Why? These have the tendency to cause your photos look yellow.
6. Avoid taking portrait photos during high noon: This is when the sun is at its highest which can cause heavy lighting and shadows in pictures, not to mention uncomfortable squinty eyes in your subjects.
7. Try shooting during the golden hours: The dreamiest photos are taken during the Golden Hours, it's true! This is when the sun is at its lowest point in the horizon before rising or setting. During this time, the light is soft, warm and extremely flattering.
8. Control exposure: While using your iPhone, be sure to adjust the light on your screen when needed. Depending on the setting and situation you can make the like perfect using this method. To make the screen lighter or darker, tap your screen and move the little sun up or down.
9. Lock your focus: This is going to ensure that the subject will appear clear and sharp in you phots! To do this, from your iPhone camera, tap the screen over your subject and hold for second until you see the letters AE/AF appear on the screen. This is going to hold your focus.

10. Don’t forget to edit your photos: You can use presets or features in the Lightroom Mobile app. Check out some of our presets and Lightroom Mobile tutorials for some pointers. Not sure which preset works fits your style? Take this short quiz.
11. Take many photos at once with your iPhone: If you take photos of kids and pets, you know how challenging it is for them to stand still in one place even if it’s just mere seconds! In these situations it is important to continuously keep shooting, and then pick the best photo from the sequence. All you have to do is hold down the shutter button, and let go after a few seconds or until you feel you have the shot you need!
12. Avoid using built-in iPhone flash feature: The flash feature is handy when it’s dark and you need more light in your photos (for example, taking photos at night). However, during the day, it’s best to avoid using flash because it generally creates unnatural, overly bright photos. Instead, use the Control Exposure method as mentioned in #8.
13. Zoom with your feet: Avoid zooming in on your phone camera. This can cause the quality of your photo to degrade. If you want to zoom in, just walk closer to the subject or crop your photo later.

14. Use the iPhone grid feature to straight photos: To get straight photos with your iPhone, be sure to use the grid function. Simply go to Settings, choose Camera, and turn on Grid. Now whenever you take a picture you can line the subject up straight without too much of a hassle.
15. Tilt up the camera to elongate the body: If you’re taking full length photos, get down to your knee and shoot up at the subject. This technique gives the subject a taller, slimmer appearance. 
16. Use a reflector: You don’t need an expensive one, a white foam board or poster can also work! These boards can be used as reflectors to help control light or as a backdrop.
17. Use a tripod to take photos of yourself: No, photographer? No, problem! Don’t limit yourself to just face selfies. Use a tripod to take full length photos of yourself. 
18. Leave room for cropping: It’s always better to get too much background in your photo that can be cropped later, than to not capture the entire image that you’re wanting. Cropping is also a great tool to help bring the focus in on your subject instead of looking at “too much background noise.”
19. Rule of thirds: This rule is a basic composition trick that helps make your image more captivating to your audience’s eye, and it’s super simple to pull off. Use the iPhone grid feature to help you position your subject in just the right spot to create this effect.
20. Use the iPhone Portrait mode to create a blurred background effect: This feature creates the depth of field effect in DSLR cameras, and makes your subject pops in photos!

 The next time you take a picture try some of these tips out. You will see a difference you’ll love right away!