Do you always find yourself in a frenzy while you go clickety-click with
your camera phone? Gone are the days when a cellphone was just meant to
make and receive calls. But, if you are one of those people whose day
is not complete without ‘Instagramming’ food pictures or best outfit,
then you must acquaint yourself with some basic rules. Also, remember
that you need not have a degree in photography to glam up your pictures
with a phone! :-)
Set your white balance: Have you ever
noticed how the colours in your photos don’t look the same when
perceived with the naked eye? Adjusting your white balance thus comes
into the picture which helps you achieve the colours in your photos as
accurately as possible. Today, most smartphones are adept at adjusting
this by itself; at the same time you can also set it right by choosing a
setting such as ‘daylight’, ‘night’ or ‘cloudy’ as per your
requirement.
Use natural light: When we said you could do
away with a flash, we meant make natural light your best friend! Check
your light source before going on a clicking spree with your camera
phone. It is always advisable to shoot your pictures in daylight, rather
indoors with the help of artificial lights. You have to agree that the
magic of natural light lies in the fact that it gives you sharper, less
blurry images.
Clean your lens: Are you one of those who stows away
her cellphone in the most cluttered pouch of her handbag or dirty jeans
pocket? While it is easier to keep your grubby hands off the camera
lens, it’s not the same when it comes to your camera phone. Therefore,
it is wise to give your lens a wipe down each time you go about snapping
photos. Remember that a dirty lens can make all your efforts go down
the drain!
Avoid digital zoom: You don't want pixelated
photos, now do you? Your smartphone may come with a 12 megapixel camera,
but if you are using the zoom feature to take photos, be assured of
grainy results. The point is that you can always edit your photos later
using one of the several editing software.
Download photo apps: ‘Tis the age of smart apps – so
why not download some of the latest applications for some incredible
results using your smartphone. While the world goes crazy with its
latest Instagram obsession, we also suggest you try out some of the
cooler photo apps available on Android, iPhone and Windows platforms.
While Android users can click away with Pixlr Express, Picsart and Photo
Grid, iPhone users can bank on Photo Studio and the latest Kanvas app!
Have fun with add-ons: If you thought filters were
enough to glam up your photos, then you ought to give this one a try.
Add-on features like collage, masks, clip art graphics, stickers,
frames, borders and text effects are some of the coolest things that you
can use to make your photos stand out. Now everybody can be an artist,
eh!
Edit, edit & edit: So you believe that your
smartphone is capable of producing fantastic results with its in-built
editing features? While it is perfectly sane to do so, we suggest you
take it a step further and edit them on a computer. Take your photos in
high resolution so that you can treat them as you want later.
Use your flash sensibly: You could almost do away with a
flash considering the fact that it makes for some terrible results.
Nevertheless, it is always better to take a photo in poor light than to
take one in none at all, don’t you think? So give yourself a good number
of options to choose from; who knows you may discover that by turning
off the flash you have a much better picture.
