Ever get frustrated that the photos you take with your smartphone aren’t as good as you had initially hoped?

You’re not alone! Unfortunately we all lead busy lives and it is therefore easy to slip into a “point-and-shoot” mindset. We see a photo opportunity, grab our phones, point the camera at our subject and snap away.

We fill our phones with hundreds (or even thousands) of photos that we take on the spur of the moment but it can be frustrating to see the results after that first click of the button. Perhaps the photos didn’t quite do that sunset justice or the image is a bit too dark or, you can’t quite put your finger on why but the final image just doesn’t live up to what you had imagined in your head.

Many people will simply blame their phones - it’s too old, it isn’t a “proper” camera etc… That may very well be true but it is also true that there are some simple tricks that you can employ to immediately elevate your photos no matter what camera you are using. I say “camera” in the broadest term because these tips will apply to any type of photography, I’m simply focussing on smartphone cameras because, as Chase Jarvis said, “the best camera is the one that’s with you”.

Below I have listed five simple ways to immediately improve your photos

1) Keep your lenses clean

If your lens isn’t clean, then your photos will not be clear. A couple of crumbs after putting your phone down on your kitchen worktop during breakfast, pocket fluff, even a stray fingerprint can make your images look blurry!

Regularly check your lenses and gently clean them if required. Take care not to scratch them because, ultimately, a scratch if even worse than a stray fingerprint! The best way to clean the lens is by using a soft cloth (one that you use to clean your glasses or sunglasses is ideal). For greasy marks (like the aforementioned fingerprints) an alcohol based screen wipe may be required. I like to pick up a box of these optical wipes from Wilko but you can often find something similar in most chemists.

2) Activate the grid

Most camera phones will have a grid option included within the settings. Sometimes there are multiple different grid options available but I would recommend activating the "rule of thirds" or "3x3" grid. This should provide two horizontal lines and two vertical lines on your camera screen (i.e. it splits the screen into three sections both vertically and horizontally).

Don't worry - this grid is to help you with the setting up of your photograph, the lines won't be visible on the final image. In fact, the grid tends to be very subtle - after a while you won't even realise it's there! The grid is useful to make sure your photos are level both horizontally e.g. for landscapes or tabletop photos, and vertically e.g. for doorways, buildings, trees etc...

3) Turn off the flash

The flash on your device isn’t very powerful and therefore will not carry very far. In many situations the flash will only serve to brightly light up anything immediately in front of you and leave the background looking extra dark. It can also create harsh, unwanted shadows that can make your image look unprofessional.

To avoid these issues, turn off your flash and instead aim to work with the ambient light that you have available.

4) Check your background

This is probably the one thing that trips people up more than any other. Make sure you check your background!

Once you have identified your subject, take a look at the background for any unwanted elements e.g. litter bins, fire extinguishers, other people, electrical cables, light switches etc... Don’t forget that this can also include distracting reflections (see if you can spot yoursuch as your own reflection in a mirror or mirror-like surface. 

Now that you have identified these unwanted elements that can draw the focus away from your main subject you should ask yourself these three questions:

• Can you move the unwanted item? If yes, then move it!

• Can you move your subject? It might be a case of moving your subject so that the distracting item is hidden from view or moving your subject to a completely different place.

• Can you move yourself? If the first two aren’t possible then maybe you need to consider moving yourself and photographing from another position. 

5) Use the rear-facing camera.

Camera phones are built so that the rear-facing camera (i.e. on the rear of the phone facing away from you) is of a much higher quality than the front-facing camera (i.e. the one at the top of the screen that faces you). The reasoning is that you are likely to take many more photos with the rear-facing camera so that's where investment is made in the research to make improvements. Be aware of this fact if you ever take selfies - if you can instead use the rear-facing camera (perhaps by using a tripod or even asking someone else to take the photo!) you will end up with a much higher quality image.

I hope that you have found these tips useful. By implementing these small but important tips each time you go to take a photograph then you should start to see an immediate improvement in your photography.

There are, of course, many more simple things that you can do to improve your photography even further.

Want to find out how?

It just so happens that I will be running a smartphone photography workshop THIS MONTH! Join me and a small group of other local business owners on Tuesday 28th February, get hands on and learn how to improve your smartphone photos even further! Grab your ticket here.