Smart Blogging Photography Using Your Phone

How do you bring your picture-taking hobby up to the next level just using your smart phone? How would you like to post clear, sharp, and striking photos on your social site wall? How would you like to get accurate close-up and macro shots, getting all the succinct, crisp details on picture---not using a professional cam, but only your smart phone?

Photo by Redd F on Unsplash.

Simple---just buy a smartphone with a high resolution cam. The phone cam will take care of everything. Just aim and shoot. But the thing is your timing. A lot of phone cam users with no professional training find timing a big problem. Poor timing results to blurry or off focused pictures. But blurry pics are not really the issue. You can use images a little foggy and still get your readers' interest. What matters is how unique it all is. Good if the pic is clear, but if it's amusing and with some funny touch to it, it will do the job even if it's hazy.  Here are other considerations to help your timing:

Steady Hands

Develop steady hands. In BS Architecture we were trained to develop steady hands. We were able to draw straight lines or circles with just a pen and our hands. The trick is to hold your breath while you move your hands steadily. The same with cams. When you aim, hold your breath and press the button. Aiming should take just 1 to 2 seconds, then shoot. Same with firing a gun or inserting a thread through the needle's eye. 

I wasn't aware I was taking my own picture.

Don't Wait Too Long

Some people wait forever until the focus is ultra perfect. This messes up everything more. They probably think that perfect things take time to develop. Yeah, sometimes. But capturing moments is ultra fleeting. A baby's enthralling smile will often not last 5 seconds. Even three. You have to capture it instantly. My older brother would not satisfy himself with a good shot so he took forever waiting for the more perfect (or most perfectest) moment before he took a shot. It never worked. A lot of people like the photos I shoot because I have developed quick shots. Don't wait (too long). Just shoot.

Multiple Shots

Don't take just one shot. After aiming for a second or two, I press on the shoot button maybe 3 to 5 times. Then choose what picture suits your purpose. Instead of aiming too long waiting for the perfect moment, just shoot and shoot several times. Making accurate multiple shots takes practice. With digital cams, you can practice multiple shots as many times as you want without any expense. Back in the 70s and 80s, developing films cost me a lot. When you have practiced multiple button presses with accuracy, you'd be amazed at the kind of pictures you get.

Don't Count to Three

I like pics where people are not that ready for the shot. A semi-candid shot, to me, is perfect for personal blogs. You want to capture their unguarded moments which are moments when people are very much themselves. You want that on your blog, not a pretended, formal, prepared and rehearsed pose, which is boring. To me, at least, it is.

At the Count of Three, But It's Two

Sometimes, I say, "Okay, at the count of five." But I make the shot at one or two. I often get best results for my blog that way. So I'm like, "Okay, one, two..." Boom! The few seconds before the shot is when people often look their best because of excitement. But when the final countdown happens, tension makes them look too anxious to look good and messes up everything. So I try to catch the moment some seconds before the final countdown. 

Don't Tire Them

Making people pose a long time tires their facial muscles and eventually sags their smile. That explains the sour look on their faces when they tire of smiling. Sometimes the bad pose is also due to irritation, being annoyed why the heck you're taking too long to press on the button. So don't make them work hard for the pose. Aim and shoot. As simple as that. We personal bloggers should make things simpler for people, true even with small business blogs.

Balance

What's often frustrating about taking pictures is being unable to balance the subject, especially if it's a group shot, and then you find out later that folks on both extreme ends of the picture have been cut off, or an empty space is left on either side and the subject is crowded on either side, too. Solution? Just edit the final product. There are a lot of editing tools online. Use them. Why waste the picture you've already taken? Make the best of it.

And then there are problems about focusing, lighting, composing, balancing the light you get from the flash, and many more. And how do you catch that moment when your subject is at his or her best pose? How do you get the timing and develop the skill? You can learn all these plus more by just watching a Youtube video on the subject. As simpe as that. Learning through video is the easiest option. But a digital cam usually takes care of all these issues.

Slog Bhop Note: If you have a personal or small business blog (or need to create one) and you need someone to post relevant articles on it, just contact me via the contact form below (or directly to mindlaxing@gmail.com) and I'll do it for Php 700 per 400-word article. And always drop by Blog Shop, I mean Slog Bhop 😄.