Many people don’t know about the features of a phone camera that can make an ordinary picture into a selling one. We have collected secrets on taking pictures and applications for processing photos from the phone that will sell.
If you need to take and post a photo urgently, and you don’t have a photographer or professional equipment, you can take good shots with your smartphone. Camera settings and apps can quickly turn an ordinary photo into a high-quality one. We’ve put together tips for taking pictures and apps for processing photos from your phone that will sell.
For a photo to be editable, it needs to be taken well.
Consider the lighting. You can take quality photos on your phone in natural light. A poorly lit room will affect the quality of the photo and give it a yellow tint. A photo taken in good light saves time on editing and filters.
How to choose a good time to shoot
- There is a time when you get the best photos that require minimal processing; These are the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset.
How to use the best hours:
- For subject, portrait, landscape, city photography;
- It is better to take pictures outdoors;
- When it starts to get dark, use a tripod or other support to stabilize the camera;
- Take more time for your photo session, because the light changes every minute and you can get more good shots.
How to shoot in the dark:
- There should still be a light source;
- Make sure the phone is stable and does not move, otherwise it will be a blurry photo;
- Instead of a flashlight it is better to illuminate the object, for example, a flashlight from another phone;
- if you plan to take pictures after sunset, try to catch the first hour after sunset.
How do I work with the camera on my phone?
Manual shooting settings on the phone
Often we shoot in automatic mode. This results in bright, darkened or overexposed photos. Let’s learn how to use manual camera settings to take a high-quality photo and reduce the time for further editing.
The rule of the golden ratio or the rule of thirds
The grid divides the viewfinder into three parts horizontally and vertically. This helps achieve the correct proportions of the frame. Artists use the grid to make proper composition. In photography, it helps to place the subject correctly in the frame.
Arrangement of frame objects in the grid
When creating photos, place key objects in the frame so that they are located at or on the intersection of sections.To turn on the grid on your Iphone, go to the Photo and Camera Settings Grid.
Setting up the grid on your Iphone
Exposure is the amount of light that hits the camera’s sensor and ultimately the brightness of the photo. It’s not good if the image is too bright or too dark.
How to manually adjust the exposure in the Camera app:
- Open the Camera app and tap the focus point;
- A square or circle will appear around the focus point as you tap;
- To edit the exposure level, tap anywhere on the screen and swipe up or down without lifting your finger. Swiping up will make the image lighter and swiping down will make it darker.
Setting the Exposure on Iphone
Many Android and Windows phones have a manual setting mode. And for iOS, the VSCO, Manual, and Obscura apps are available.
Adjusting Exposure and Other Settings on Android
Some cameras make poor exposures, such as being too sharp. Apps will allow you to control everything, including the level of noise reduction.
Magical HDR
HDR mode allows you to take better photos. When you turn on HDR mode, your smartphone will take multiple photos at different shutter speeds and combine them into one photo. The picture will be taken in natural colors, and objects in the shadows will be more illuminated.
How the photo looks like with HDR on and off
Sometimes HDR is turned off because it can make the picture look unnatural.
Adjust the white balance
White balance will make photos look natural and bright: skin will be fresher and teeth will be whiter. But the worse the lighting, the harder it is for the camera to adjust the white balance.
Create your own style
Photos in the same style will help you stand out among your competitors and create recognition among your followers.To avoid thinking about the processing of each photo, think through the photo content beforehand.
You can preview your Instagram photo profile in the Later service. The service will show how the photos look together, if you don’t like it – you can move the photos.
Service Later
- Stick to a certain palette;
- Find your palette and filters and stick to them. You can choose a warm, cool, bright or neutral palette that reflects the nature of your business;
- Linadelika Homeware, a decor store, has an interesting solution. They pick up a new color scheme with the arrivals of goods.
Color palette in photos as an example of accounts
Next we’ll tell you about popular photo editing applications.
Photo processing applications:
VSCO
- A popular application, useful for every Instagrammer. You can select a set of specific settings (presets) and adjust the intensity of the filter;
- Selection of filters in the VSCO application;
- Before and after photo processing in VSCO.
Minuses to use – there are paid filters.
Snapseed
The app has features that you won’t find in other apps. You can adjust the atmosphere of a photo for mood or the brush tool to brighten, darken, or saturate certain parts of a photo. There is a tool to remove blemishes, details and even people in the background.
The Snapseed app – processing with styles and spot corrections
PicsArt
Free photo editor, easy to use. Gives access to a large number of effects, free stickers and masks, drawing tools, collage creation, etc.
- The interface of the PicsArt application;
- Examples of works in PicsArt.
Giant Square
What you can do in Giant Square:
- Collages;
- Add text to photos;
- Use a variety of fonts;
- Take photos directly in the app;
- Integrate the app with Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Color Pop
Once loaded, Color Pop bleaches the photo and then uses a special brush to return color to selected areas of the photo. After applying filters to them. Try it for photos of landscapes, flowers, sea, food – with bright details.Suitable for creating postcards.Picture before and after. On the right, the bleaching effect in the Color Pop app is superimposed.
Disadvantages – the free version retains advertising and the signature of the application, which can be removed after paying for the full version. The application is in English.
Afterlight
The application works well with color reproduction. You can adjust the contrast, saturation, and temperature of the image. Afterlight will not replace Photoshop, but it is suitable for working with photos for social networks. The application is in English.
Squaready
It helps to avoid cropping photos to fit the Instagram format: so you don’t have to cut off a beautiful landscape or legs. You can also choose the background of the photo, etc. Creating backing and scaling photos in the Squaready app.
Aviary
The app allows you to adjust the color of your photos and apply filters. The service has one-touch auto-improvement – by pressing a button, you can instantly improve a photo.
Tiny Planet
The app allows you to create a fisheye effect for panoramic photos. It turns the photo into a small planet. Free only for Android, paid version for iOS. Fisheye effect in the Tiny Planet app.
Facetune
Facetune is a paid photo editor for portraits. Main features:
- Skin smoothing, removal of spots and irregularities, lightening of dark circles under the eyes;
- Teeth whitening;
- Changing the color of eyes and hair;
- Changing the structure of the face;
- Effects and filters for photo-editing, etc.
Facetune app
With so many processing services, it’s easy to go overboard with effects. If you are new to processing, pay attention to brightness, contrast and saturation. For a good composition, highlight the main subject and don’t go overboard with processing.
Over
Over is an app for adding text to a photo. You choose a photo, add text, change the color, size, position and font. Not all fonts are available in the free version. The paid version is 10 CAD.
Phonto
The app provides access to over 50 fonts, you can install your own fonts. Text can be aligned, color and font can be changed, transparency can be changed, symbols and backgrounds can be added. The app is in English.
- Adding additional effects: snow, fog, sun glare
- LD (Lens Distortions);
- An application for fans of landscapes and the city. You can add fog (Fog), raindrops (Shimmer), worn film (Luminary), colored haze (Principle Light Hits), sun glare (Legacy) to a photo. After processing, the image appears bright and warm.
LensLight Visual Effects
The application provides a large number of different optical and light effects, glare, glow, etc.
The app is in English. Optimized for iPhone.
You can use more than one app at a time to edit. However, it will take more time.
How to save a dark photo
If the photo was originally taken with the wrong light, but it is not critically dark, you can work with it:
- Go into Snapseed – Correction, add brightness and adjust the Light Balance to plus;
- Next, open Selective Correction and brighten the dark areas;
- For small and dotted areas we use the brush – exposure to plus. We use the same brush to lighten the details.
In the lightened areas of the photo, as a rule, ugly noises stand out.
To put them away:
- Go into Facetune – Soften and brush over the desired objects;
- Or, in Lightroom, adjust the Noise Reduction. Then all you have to do is apply a suitable filter or adjust the color correction to your liking.
What do I need to remember to start processing photos quickly?
There are several nuances to keep in mind when taking photos to make a quality photo:
- The photo should be both not overexposed and not dark. You can manually adjust the exposure for this;
- Hard light happens when the sun is bright and creates harsh contrasts, unnecessary shadows and we seem to look bad in the photo. Soft light makes the picture look smoother and everything and everyone looks beautiful. It comes on cloudy weather or when the sun is hidden by a cloud, or it’s light from a window or in the shadows;
- Use the rule of thirds: Turn on a grid on the camera that divides the frame into nine parts. The horizon should go along the top or bottom strip of this grid. And any object should be at the intersection points, not in the center;
- Wipe the camera. This should become a habit, because the difference is significant;
- Don’t mix artificial light with natural light. If you photograph indoors, the closer you are to the window, the better the photo;
- Do not take pictures against the sun;
- Any photo with processing will look better.
The next time you try to take pictures with these tips in mind, you’ll see the difference.