Today’s topic is – how to take professional portraits with phone? This article contains seven life hacks that will help you to take professional portraits with your phone. A modern smartphone can replace a whole bunch of gadgets. It is an mp3 player, a camera, and a mini-computer. And most importantly – that is always in hand.
Unsurprisingly, most people prefer to shoot with their phone over their camera. Let’s figure out – how to take professional portraits with the phone?
Tip # 1: Use Portrait Mode
Now even budget models have a “Portrait” mode, which allows you to take pictures with a slightly blurred background. It helps focus attention on the model. Often this mode will prompt you to position yourself at a certain distance from the model to get the best results.
Try taking a series of shots to make sure you’re happy with the outcome.
Tip # 2: Pay Attention to Light
Exposure is one aspect that is critical to a good portrait. The frame should not be too dark or overexposed. The perfect balance of light and shade is the key to success. Shooting at night and simply in low light conditions will cause the flash to automatically fire. The light from it is incredibly bright, especially at close distances. It can lead to deterioration of skin tone, color spots, unnecessary shadows, and blurring of the subject’s contours. Disabling the flash will generally give a dark frame in which nothing will be visible.
The best hours for portraits are sunrise and sunset. Also, good shots can be obtained on cloudy days. In this case, the light will be distributed evenly, but solar activity, on the contrary, will spoil the photo portrait. Hard light will saturate the frame with shadows, highlights, and overly contrasting colors. The picture will appear “overcooked.”
However, post-processing will help to cope with the exposure and some other flaws. You need to find a good editor, for example, PhotoMaster. With its help, you will correct the white balance, extract the necessary details from the shadows, level the horizon, and you can make retouching. You can download PhotoMaster here.
The program is also designed for a computer, but logically, you can process it using a mobile application when shooting on the phone. Try the editor for iPhone PhotoDiva is equipped with all the necessary tools for color and light correction, as well as beauty retouching, so it can successfully replace Photoshop.
Tip # 3: Composition and Environment
Show the space that surrounds the person. This advice is easiest to implement with full-length portraits in street photography. In this case, don’t forget about composition and the rule of thirds.
The object should be located at the intersection of specific visual centers. The “grid” tool will help you, which can be activated on most smartphones. If you position the central character at or along with the intersection points of the lines, your shot will be more balanced. The example below clearly shows the correct position of the model.
Keep the small details in mind when interacting with the background. It is unlikely that a lamppost growing from the model’s head will add extravagance to her.
Tip # 4: Capture a Person in Dynamics
Movement makes the frame “alive.” You can blow kisses, toss-up leaves, whirl or blow bubbles into the camera. The picture will look fresh and dynamic, even if it smudges a little.
Tip # 5: Try Different Angles
By changing the point of view, you can find original and interesting poses that will make your work stand out among the heap of the same type of shots. We are all used to seeing other people from our height.
Try to show the model through the lens of her sneakers. They move to the foreground, and a slightly blurred figure of the model is visible above. It is at least original. You will find the best angle empirically: can it be lateral or frontal? You decide.
Tip # 6: Don’t Forget to Crop
Remembering the rule of thirds, cut off the excess without regret. If you use zoom instead of getting closer to the model, it will affect the quality of the photo. Try to leave some space near the face of the central character in the shot so that the model’s gaze does not rest on the edge of the frame.
Tip # 7: For Lovers of Manual Tuning
You can expand the standard capabilities of a smartphone camera using additional applications. Having installed them, you can adjust the parameters usually available in a camera: sensitivity, shutter speed, white balance, and others. But you need to know how to use all this; otherwise, you risk getting pictures with much worse quality than in automatic mode. But after such training, you will be able to squeeze the maximum out of your mobile camera!
A regular smartphone may be your ticket to the world of professional photography with the proper equipment and knowledge.
Now you know the basic principles to follow when shooting a portrait with your phone. With more practice, you will have great photos.
