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How to Shoot Photos With Your Smartphone
Kamera Express
Creative Smartphone Photography
Everyone takes photos with their smartphone from time to time. With the standard lens in your phone, you can already achieve a lot—but did you know that there are also interchangeable lenses available for your smartphone? This allows you to attach, for example, a fisheye or telephoto lens to your device. In addition, there are many other fun and creative things you can do with your smartphone. Think of the panorama function, which you can use not only for beautiful landscape photos but also to create creative shots with a model. We explain why you should pay attention to both your perspective and your surroundings. After watching this video with eight creative tips, a whole new world will open up for you!
Getting Creative With Your Mobile Phone
The Tips From the Video Summarized
Use add-on lenses
Optical zoom isn’t possible with a smartphone. Only the very best phones have multiple lenses. That’s why add-on lenses are a fun accessory when you want to experiment with smartphone photography. With a simple clip, you can easily attach a macro lens, telephoto lens, wide-angle lens, or even a fisheye lens to your phone.
Miniature photography
Using Playmobil or Lego figures can create a very fun effect in your photos. Bring the little figures to life in the “real” world and place them within your scene. This way, you create a fantasy world in an everyday environment. Don’t worry about any surprised looks you might get — photographing Lego or Playmobil in the real world creates a great effect and results in unique photos!
Use a tripod
With the help of adapters, you can mount your smartphone on a tripod. There are also tripods designed specifically for smartphones, such as the Joby Gorillapod. This makes taking creative selfies much easier. A tripod also comes in handy for group photos. And for shooting a time-lapse, a tripod is essential.
Use reflections
Using reflections—such as in windows or puddles on the street—can make your photos more creative. They often result in original compositions, because you need to tilt your smartphone to capture the scene. If you position yourself cleverly, you can even take selfies with a special effect using reflections.
The panorama trick
With your phone’s panorama function, you can create a very fun effect where the model appears multiple times in one photo. It’s very simple! Take the first photo and slowly move your phone a little to the right. Then stop, let the model move to a new spot, continue moving, and take another photo. Repeat this until the panorama is complete!
Choose a theme
Think of a theme before you start shooting. Try to take as many photos as possible that fit within that theme. Shooting with a theme creates consistency in your photos. You can choose abstract shapes, as shown in the video, but also advertisements, doors, or shop signs you encounter in a city.
Use an app
There are countless photo apps available for smartphone photography. Most apps work with filters, but some also allow you to adjust ISO and shutter speed. One example is Moment. The paid version gives you more creative control, such as adding a composition grid to your screen.
Edit your photos
Your App Store or Play Store is full of photo-editing programs. The most versatile is probably Snapseed for iOS and Android. Adobe also offers several free editing apps, including Adobe Photoshop Express. Click here for an overview of more interesting photo editing apps.
