With Instagram being mainly a mobile app, taking photos with a smartphone is certainly a very common way to get content for your account. While you can use a camera or purchase high quality images, your phone is always with you so why not use it to best advantage.
With that in mind, here are 5 tips to help you do just that.
1 Think About Composition
The composition of your shot means thinking about where the subject is in relation to the other elements. It means thinking about how you’re going to line up the shot, and how you will convey a sense of scale and depth. Don’t just shoot things head on!
2 Add Depth
Speaking of depth, how do you create this? One option is to ensure that you feature something in the foreground, middle ground, and background. These three elements will create that sense of layers. Another tip is to try and ‘lead’ the viewers eye from the foreground into the background, which you can achieve by looking for something like a path or a road.
3 Tell a Story
Telling a story means not necessarily just taking a photo of the thing you want to ‘say’. Leave something for the viewer to figure out. An empty glass speaks to the presence of a person at some point in town. A party, or maybe a sad lonely drink? Think of the Mona Lisa – which has captivated people for generations by being a mystery!
4 Good Lighting
The phone you choose will have a big impact on the quality of the photos that come out, but so too will the lighting. In fact, it’s arguably better to take a well-lit shot on a cheap camera phone, than it is to take a poorly lit shot on a great phone!
Think about the position of the window and where it is in relation to the subject. Think about the time of day. And if possible: invest in lighting equipment.
5 The Right Phone
Finally, do take the time to choose a good camera phone. Know what you’re looking for: while high megapixel counts sound good on paper, they are far less important these days than other features, such as the quality of the lens being used to capture those pixels, the size of the aperture, and image processing.
While most of these tips apply to all photography, we sometimes get a little lazy when snapping photos with our phones. Take the time to do well and you can have all the photos you need at your fingertips.
