We’ve all done it,  we see something interesting, grab our phone with one hand and snap a bunch of photos.  Sometimes they turn out while other times…well, not so great.  Composition is a big part of setting up a shot. It doesn’t have to be complicated, In fact, with a few simple tips you can take your average snap shot and give it an artistic feel.   Here are few tips to take your composition to the next level.

1. Have a steady hand:  Hold your phone the way you would hold a camera.  Use two hands to keep it steady and use your index finger to gently tap the shutter button.  Most iPhones will allow you to use the volume button to snap the shutter but I find that to be a little cumbersome  and it can sometimes shake the camera.   I use the shutter button on the screen.

2. Check your frame: The most common error in composing a shot is to leave a huge amount of room at the top of the frame; especially when you’re capturing a group of people.  You may have to physically move forward or backward to fill that frame with exactly what you want.
Also, I good rule of thumb when photographing people is to put yourself on the same plane/level as they are; unless of course you’re shooting down from above for artistic effect.

3. Rule of Thirds:
This is a commonly used photography term for putting your subject in one third of the frame while the other 2/3rds create a negative space. Try playing with your framing to create a little more drama in your shots.

4. Angles: If you don’t want a straight forward shot, play with some angles.  Tilt your camera in different directions to give your subject a more interesting angle; this is especially good for architecture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Try having a point of view or focus point: Sometimes we want our foreground subject to be in perfect focus while the rest of the images falls a little blurry. This is called “Depth of Field”.  Try framing your subject in the foreground, perhaps even to one side of the frame, tap on the focus lock feature so your camera knows what to focus on and then snap your shot.  The rest of the image should fall away in soft focus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming tomorrow:   Playing with Light