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You are here Sponsored / Tips for Using Your Smartphone’s Camera #VZWBuzz

Tips for Using Your Smartphone’s Camera #VZWBuzz

By A Cowboy's Wife | June 18, 2015

Everyone has a camera this day in age, just about every phone on the market has a built in camera. Most of those cameras have fairly decent specs and can create images sometimes just as good as a point and shoot camera. Try out some of these tricks when taking photos with your phone. Follow the hashtag #VZWBuzz for more great tech tips!

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Get in close

Phone cameras don’t have the best ability to capture crisp and clear photos from super far away. They are designed to focus in a bit closer, your images will be spectacular by getting closer to what you want to take a photo of.  I recommend taking a photo as close as you can without zooming in, then cropping down if needed. Your photo size should still be large enough, that even when cropping, it’s still a big enough file to use in blog posts or printing.

With any camera, keep your lens clean.

This is one of the biggest mistakes that people make, especially with many phone case designs out there. Be sure that you are keeping your lens clean at all times. A dirty lens is going to effect the focusing and the clarity of images taken on any camera, including your phone. If your case covers your camera with a plastic layer, be sure to take that case off and clean it on a regular basis to avoid blur. One of my favorite gadgets to use is my LensPen Lens Cleaner! I use this on my dslr camera and my smartphone! I can just throw it in my purse for easy access. 

Don’t be afraid to skip the camera app on your phone and download a new one.

Your camera app is great, it will take decent photos. But there are many apps on the market that will provide a much better photo taking experience with more options and control over the settings before and after taking a photo. Try out a few and see which one best fits your needs.  I personally recommend ProCamera 8 (a little more advanced) or Camera+ for a little bit of a simpler version.

Stop using the filters first if you want to print

Filters are great for Instagram, but they are terrible when it comes to taking photos that you would like to actually print. They can print grainy! Try editing your photos after they are taken with basic settings rather than applying filters. They will look much better and will print far clearer than filtered images.  I recommend a good photo editing app like Snapseed before applying any filters, if you want to print.

The basic rules still apply

The basic rules of photography still apply when using a cell phone. Keep in mind the rule of thirds, over and under exposing, etc. Just because you are using a phone doesn’t mean that you should avoid taking good photos, of course there are always times that are acceptable to go outside of the rules.

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Avoid flash at all costs

The flash on a phone is only going to ruin your photo. Whenever possible use natural light. Phone flash is not designed to take a good photo, but rather to provide a small light source. Sure, it works when you need a photo at night, but that daylight will provide far better lighting.

Avoid Using Zoom

This applies to all cameras. Avoid zooming into a subject and simply get closer. Zooming in will cause blur and clarity issues. If you need to be farther away that’s fine, take the photo from afar and crop it later. The photo quality will turn out much better by doing this.

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Filters are your friend

If you are not planning on printing, then filters can be your best friend.  Some of my personal favorites are; Afterlight, Diptic, Snapseed, and Photofy.

Share your tips and favorite apps! I’m always on the prowl for new ones to try!

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About the Author

A Cowboy's Wife

WAHM of 3 boys; 16, 27, and 29yrs. I'm 47, married for 30+yrs to a real cowboy:) I love dancing, crochet, Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, photography, gaming, and much more. [READ ALL ARTICLES]

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