Important tips for taking the perfect smartphone photo

1. Landscape orientation

As a general rule, take photos in landscape orientation. One reason for this is that our eyes are positioned side by side and our field of vision is wider than it is tall. Photos in landscape orientation are therefore more pleasant to look at and contain much more information than portrait-format snapshots.

This is why films, for example, are also shot in landscape format. However, portrait format shots are not prohibited. This format is suitable for photographing buildings, for example.

2. Use flash deliberately

If you're going to use flash, it should be a strong one. As a general rule, a smartphone's flash is actually too weak to illuminate a scene optimally. Actually. However, there are situations in which even a weak mobile phone flash can achieve a lot. The important thing here is the distance to the subject.

In this case, the old adage ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’ applies. If you still can't get your shots to light up properly, use natural light sources, lamps or external flash units, if available.

3. Leave enough space

When photographing people, make sure you don't ‘cut off’ their limbs. So before you press the shutter button, take a step back or reduce the zoom factor.

This will increase the distance between your subject and the edges of the image.

4. Create relationships

People in front of a mountain, for example, provide clarity about the dimensions. Boats on a lake and cars in front of large construction machines, among other things, have the same effect.

5. Use the golden ratio

Before you press the shutter button, ask yourself what the picture should be about. A portrait? Or a panoramic shot? Then make sure you don't centre the object completely.

Instead, make use of the golden ratio. Put simply, this term refers to the optimal division of lengths, which makes the image appear very harmonious.

For this purpose, many smartphone manufacturers equip their camera software with a grid that can be displayed to provide guidance.

6. Avoid digital zoom

In contrast to analogue enlargement of an image section, the camera software cuts out part of the collected data when using digital zoom.

The result of this process is the loss of numerous relevant pixels. Simply put, the image becomes increasingly blurred with increasing digital magnification.

Therefore, avoid using digital zoom. Instead, simply move closer to the object. This way, no image information is lost and the image remains sharp.