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A few podcasts ago I spoke about what to think about when buying a camera. However, most of us carry around a smartphone and some of these cameras can outperform pro cameras.

So here are some tips to help you to get the most from your smartphone:

• Keep your lenses clean!
• When you have your subject where you want it, tap on the subject on the smartphone screen. That tells the camera where to focus and you should also see a slider control appear. Use this to make the image brighter or darker.

Take a look at the features offered by your particular phone:

• Do you have a manual or pro-mode?
• Can you use high dynamic range (HDR) and what difference does that make to your images?
• Shoot in RAW if that is an option.

Composition

• Use the rule of thirds (this is likely to be there as a grid on your touchscreen).
• Look for leading lines.
• Lighting
• Remember the basic rules of lighting (yes, they will stay the same!).

Stability

• Keep your smartphone steady and think of investing in a small tripod if you want to make regular use of it. These tripods are often small enough to fit in a pocket or small bag.

Other tips:

• Do you have a portrait mode to simulate the effects of a narrow depth of field and bokeh?
• Make the most of the phones’ physical size to get viewpoints that are almost impossible to get using larger cameras.
• Put the camera low down and shoot, or high up. Remember, you may be able to use the volume control keys on the side of the camera to release the shutter.
• Finally, remember that zoom is likely to be digital zoom, so try to shoot without it.

In all, smartphones are very versatile. Are you getting the most from yours?

If not, check out these links:

Download my 10 tips to improve your photography today.

Take a look at my smartphone course.

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