4 Tricks for Taking Better Pictures with Your Smartphone

Only a few of us remember the days before smartphones when you needed an expensive DSLR camera to take great pictures. Then you spent hours uploading photos to your computer and editing them until they looked professional.

With the amazing cameras and editing apps on today’s smartphones, anyone can take professional looking photos. Here are 4 tricks for taking better pictures with any smartphone.

Turn on gridlines

Professional photographers use the “rule of thirds” to compose eye-pleasing pictures, and it’s easy with your smartphones gridlines. The rule states you should anchor your picture into thirds both horizontally and vertically using a tic-tac-toe like grid. To turn on gridlines on your smartphone:

• iPhone: Go to “Settings” on your phone and choose “Photos & Camera.” Switch the “Grid” option on.
• Samsung: In your camera app, choose “Settings.” Scroll down and switch the “grid lines” option on.

Choose one subject

It’s enticing to try getting everything into the same photo, but professionals know the best pictures focus on a single subject. Take your time to set up the shot with your subject framed in about one-third of the picture with the other two-thirds comprising negative space. When you use negative space, it makes your subject pop out of the picture.

Here’s an interesting photo using plenty of negative space:

Photo by Frederik Löwer on Unsplash

Use interesting angles

Taking a picture of your subject from a different angle adds a unique, sometimes unexpected perspective. Since most people taking smartphone pictures pointing straight on at their subject, your pictures will stand out.

For example, use the sky above as negative space, or try taking a picture with a downward angle. Once you take the picture, you can always adjust the perspective with your favorite photo editing app.

Here’s a great example of an interesting angle:

Photo by Jorik Kleen on Unsplash

Find reflections

You can find reflections in the most interesting places like a puddle or other water source and even a window pane. Metallic surfaces work well as do certain sunglasses. There’s something appealing about seeing an idyllic scene reflected in a picture.

This amazing shot uses reflection perfectly:

Photo by Riccardo Chiarini on Unsplash

Final thoughts

One final tip: clean your smartphone’s camera lens with a soft cloth before taking pictures.

Taking advantage of the above tricks will make your pictures more professional looking. And we all know high-quality photos get the most likes on social media accounts.