Phonetography
People often comment on some of my photographs saying things like, "WOW! Great photo - you must have a really expensive camera?". My reply is often, "Yes I do, but these were taken using my Camera Phone...." The look of wonderment on their faces is classic....
i've said it before, and so have many many other photographers, Its NOT the camera, its THE PERSON BEHIND IT.
Most of us these days carry our mobile phones wherever we go, and these days the technology of the phones brings decent cameras. I can go out for a walk just carrying my phone, see something that catches my eye then get the capture, then edit it on my phone with a few simple Apps (more about that a little later).
Spotted this feather on a walk near a local church in Brompton, North Yorkshire. The sun was right behind me, with the branches and leaves moving from the wind. I just loved the way the light started moving, so I quickly got my phone ready, and ended up with this lovely image.
There are so many things available for us to photograph when we are out and about, and the one thing to do to make you snapshot photo into an image you and others will enjoy a lot more is simply just to change your position - by this I mean don't just stand up and have your phone take a photo as soon as you press the shutter button. Kneel down, see the world from a different perspective, try something different.
For this capture below I literally had by phone one the floor using the camera apps built in self timer, and making sure I was out of the way I let the app do its job.
I could have changed the direction of this photo by turning it 90 deg so the tree trunk was facing upwards, but I preferred this angle - it's different.
Don't be afraid to get down on the floor, no matter if the grass is wet, muddy etc - got to make some sacrifices for art LOL - clothes will clean.
It was the other day I was walking with my girlfriend through a local park area when we met a lovely lady called Claire and her two dogs Arthur and Alfred. This was a quick capture as the girls were talking away, again all edit on my phone. Claire loved what I had done, and we quickly arranged a photoshoot using my dSLR - one happy lady with 50+ photos later.
Ok, some quick tips to challenge you and get you thinking out of the box...
#1 Change the way you see a scene, if you are doing something landscape, remember the landscape can't move, but you can. Put your phone at different angles, get down on the floor, or even put the phone on the floor on self timer.
#2 Look in your home, garden anything that is familiar to you but then start thinking out of the box, for example, what would this look like from a different view point, or if I made it black and white.
#3 Carry a few small props with you, like lego figures, conkers, twigs, something to create your own scene.
#4 Don't feel awkward or embarrassed about taken a photograph in the street, even if you get down to the curb side, it's amazing what you can capture.
#5 Make sure you have plenty of storage on your phone before you go out. Back up any photos to your computer so you can delete the photos on your phone to create more space.
#6 Finally, have fun, that what photography is all about.
Ok, now to the Apps you can use. Most phones come with their own built in camera app, but if you take the time to look, you can find better ones, some for free but others costing less than £1.
The main Apps I use are Camera+ Pro (you can get a free version which doesn't offer some settings, but you will get what you need including Macro (bonus).
Snapseed is another favourite but I now think and is a free editing App.
Snapseed is available for both iPhone and Android - another great (and FREE App for Android phones is A Better Camera - just do a search through your device to download. You get access to lots of great features including Macro, Panoramic, Nightscapes and lots more.
Finally, from me, a selection of photos taken solely and edited on my phone: Hope you enjoy looking at them, and hope you get lots of fun with your own PhoneTography
