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The old adage goes that the best camera is the one that you have with you. For many of us, the camera we always have with us is a smartphone. Using your smartphone is a fun and convenient way to capture everyday photos!

Here are some tips to take better smartphones pictures:

Hold your camera with both hands:

Holding your phone (camera) with both hands will stabilize the camera and help you take better pictures. Hold your phone with both hands in front of you, look at the phone screen to compose your shot and then click the shutter button with one finger. Using both hands will help you get clear, in focus pictures!

Take multiple pictures

The wonderful thing about digital photography is that you can take hundreds of pictures! Smartphones give you the freedom to experiment with the settings on your phone or take pictures of the same thing from different angles. Not all your photos will be spectacular, but remember, you can always delete the ones you don’t like.

Think about light

Light is important when taking pictures on camera phones. The quality of the photo becomes grainy and bad in lower light. Try to take pictures with the sun behind you and your subject well lit. Although good light is ideal, don’t be afraid to shoot in low light or at night. Smartphones provide freedom to play around with your settings and shooting in different lighting conditions may result in some interesting photos. You will learn more about you camera and have fun in the process.

Use your feet to zoom

On many smartphones the quality of the image goes down and becomes grainy if you use the camera’s zoom. Instead, use your feet to zoom in on your subject. For better photos, get up close to your subject and click away.

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Apps

Apps or applications, are  small, specialized software programs downloaded onto mobile devices. There are many free photo apps available that allow you to edit, stylize and share your pictures. The following apps are free and available for Apple and Android devices.

Pixlr Express 

Pixlr Express is a photo editor that lets you quickly crop, resize, and fine-tune any picture. Easily crop, rotate, re-size images and use auto fix for a one-click fix to balance out colors and adjust less-than-ideal lighting conditions.  Pixlr also offers a collage maker, filters and the ability to add text to images.

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PicsArt Photo Studio

PicsApp Photo Studio is a photo editor that allows you to get really creative with your photos. This app allows you to create collages, insert border styles, layer text on your photos, add clipart, and so much more!

Instagram

Share your photos with friends using Instagram. In this app basic editing and filters can be added to change the look and feel of your photo. Instagram also allows you to share pictures directly to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Source

2 comments on “Smartphone Photography: Tips and Apps

  1. Is it possible to use your smartphone to take a picture of the ISBN barcode of a book, and then use that to order the book from the library catalog?

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