HOW TO: Master Smartphone Photography [PICS]

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Flickr currently hosts more than five million photos taken on a Sony Ericsson K800i, more than seven million snapped on a Nokia N95 and in excess of 45 million captured with an Apple iPhone. These phenomenal figures show just how much we’re shooting on our smartphones.

In most cases, the phone has become our primary camera, but despite tech developments that can see high-end options, most of us have 5-megapixel or less snappers with limited functionality. But this doesn’t mean you can’t take great photos — it just means you have to be smart about getting the right shot.

If you’re interested in taking better photos with your phone, then have a look through the gallery for some hints, tips, tricks and ideas for shooting success with your camera phone. Let us know your tips in the comments below.

1. Manage Light

Camera phones often struggle with extremes of light. Although these shortcomings can sometimes be used to create special effects, for the average snap you want to manage the available light as well as possible. If you can, position your subject so that the light hits differently to see which angle gives the best result. Alternatively, use the manual settings on your camera phone to try pics with and without flash. For example using flash as a fill-in effect on a sunny day can create a sharp photo with little shadow. Turning off a harsh flash and shooting with available light can also be effective for portraits.

2. Ace the Capture

It’s essential you get to know your camera phone’s characteristics in order to take the best photos possible. One feature that’s worth spending some time testing is the camera’s capture — does your phone snap a pic at the press of a button or when you release the button? How much lag is there from when you hit the button and the photo being captured? Once you get familiar with these characteristics, then you’re more likely to take the exact photo you want — rather than what happened two seconds later.

3. Reduce Camera Shake

One of the biggest challenges for smartphone photographers is camera shake. Although occasionally this can help make a stunning image, more often than not it’s an unwanted result. Try and keep your phone as stable as possible. You can improvise “tripods” from objects around you (tables, fences, mailboxes, etc.). If there’s nothing you can use to help stabilize your shot, you can crouch down and use your knee, or hold your phone in two hands and tuck your arms into your body.

4. Fill the Frame

Don’t ever use the digital zoom on your cameraphone. All this does is zoom in on the existing pixels, which snaps a less sharp image. If your camera boasts optical zoom then fine, but if not, get close to your subject and fill the frame. If you have to crop a photo down afterwards, then you’ll lose size and quality.

5. Consider Composition

Familiarize yourself with the principles of good composition, even if it’s only to break those rules to create interesting images. The rule of thirds, center of interest and dynamic symmetry are all worth exploring. Understanding of good composition will help improve any image, whether it’s a giant oil painting or a smartphone snap.

6. Use Motion

You have your camera phone on you when you’re on the go, so why not make the most of motion to create some amazing photos? Panning — moving the camera at a similar speed as the subject — can create great motion blur. Alternatively if you’re standing still, a phone’s (typically) slow capture can make for great action shots of moving objects around you.

7. Go Monotone

In certain situations, such as ones with richly textured subjects, an image can look more striking in black and white. If your camera has a monotone mode, then you can experiment. Otherwise try stripping the color and upping the contrast levels of suitable images in your desktop photo-editing software afterwards.

8. Try Different Angles

Add interest to your photos by shooting from unusual angles. Get low, shoot from above, the side, backwards, inside-out — you get the picture. The great thing about digital photography is that you’ll never run out of film. Take ten shots from different angles and be prepared to delete nine of them. The best images are born from creative experimentation. Now, go create!

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More Photography Resources from Mashable:

– iPhotography: 10 Pro Tips for Snapping Perfect iPhone Photos
– 15 Incredible iPhone Dog Photographs
– 7 Superb Short Films Shot With Cellphones
– 10 Essential Websites for iPhone Photographers
– 10 Incredible iPhone Portrait Photographs

Images courtesy of Flickr, Dirk Dallas, Tom Rolfe, Roland Tanglao, Xerones, Nico Hogg, Lorenzo Tomada, John Williams and Kris Krug

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