Today we will tell you how to take photos with your phone correctly. Although some rules are quite applicable for shooting with a camera. If you use our tips, your shots will definitely improve. You will be able to stand out among the stream of completely identical photos on Instagram or any other social network.
Professional photographers know that the horizon line must be even if it is present in the frame. Previously, this was a big problem - you had to track the position of the air bubble in the level on the tripod. Now it’s enough to turn on a special mode, which can be present in both the smartphone and the camera. It consists of either displaying a digital level or showing a grid of nine rectangles. With these auxiliary tools, you can notice in time that the horizon line is slanted.
Cropping with a 3X3 grid
However, the horizon line should not be straight in one hundred percent of cases. Sometimes you can take a beautiful photograph by deliberately blocking the horizon. This is required, for example, when filming action scenes. You should also remember that modern cameras have high resolution. If detail is not very important to you, then in the future you can crop the photo in any graphics editor. This way you can easily correct the horizon line.
The background should not spoil the picture
But this rule must be followed strictly. What is meant here is not that the background should not be disgusting. No, theoretically you can even take pictures on landfill. You need to not let the background spoil the picture. What does it mean? For example, inexperienced photographers may photograph a person in such a way that a tree branch appears to be growing from his head. If you see something similar on your smartphone screen, then ask the person to stand a little to the left or right so that the tree is to the side. The person’s body and head should clearly stand out against the background of all other elements of the photo!
Note: blurred background professional photographers call it “bokeh”. Lenses are often chosen based on how beautifully they blur the background. Of course, this only applies to portrait optics that have a minimum focal length.
Don't use digital zoom
At one time, we managed to get used to the fact that digital cameras allow us to zoom the picture. But such a device uses optical zoom, and therefore the picture quality hardly drops. Smartphones are only equipped with digital zoom. And many of us continue to use it. But in vain! This practically kills the image, destroying clarity and detail. Stop using digital zoom! Forget about him!
If you read about smartphones with the best camera, then note one pattern. IN Lately More and more devices are equipped with a dual camera. Some of them have lenses of different focal lengths. If you have such a device, then optical zoom is available to you. You can use it without any worries.
Flash doesn't always help
If it’s dark around you, you’ll have to use a flash to take pictures with your smartphone. Typically one or two bright LEDs are used. Some people are lazy to turn off the flash, using it absolutely always. This is completely wrong! Firstly, when taking photos regularly, it drains the battery. Secondly, it focuses on the details around it, rather than on the object itself. Thirdly, there is uneven lighting in the frame. And some flashes also spoil the skin color, which is completely unacceptable when shooting portraits.
Use flash only when absolutely necessary. Even professional photographers try to shoot in natural light. And if they use a flash, it is especially powerful and with big amount settings.
Don't forget about HDR
Nowadays, almost any phone has several shooting modes. Among them you can often find. In this mode, the smartphone takes two frames with different exposures. Then they are mixed into one photo, the automation eliminates too dark and very bright areas. If you don’t overdo it with the exposure difference, you can get a very beautiful photograph in which there are no indistinguishable objects.
You need to use HDR when shooting scenes in high contrast conditions. For example, without HDR you might end up with a shot of a room where the window has turned bright White spot, since the lighting behind it is much brighter. Also, without HDR, it is difficult to get a high-quality photograph of a building if the sun is directly behind it.
The church in this photo would have looked very dark without HDR.
Remember that each smartphone handles HDR mode completely differently. It all depends on the camera module, random access memory and processor. Some devices are not equipped with this function at all. Others in HDR mode require you to hold the smartphone motionless for a couple of seconds. And only a third work perfectly, taking both frames almost instantly.
Adjust exposure
Many smartphone owners prefer to shoot in automatic mode. Moreover, they only use the shutter button without knowing about any camera settings. This is an unforgivable mistake! For such people, photographs often turn out too dark or too light. And all because the exposure was not adjusted during photography.
In short, exposure is the overall brightness of a photo. Usually the smartphone sets the correct exposure, but sometimes it still makes mistakes. If you see that the phone wants to take a photo that is too dark or very light, then you have two options:
- Try aiming at something else to get a normal picture. After that, keep your finger on the screen. By doing this, you will lock the exposure - now it will not change until the moment you take the photo.
- Try manually adjusting the exposure. Each Camera app has a different way of doing this. The exposure changes downwards (decrease in brightness) and up (increase in brightness) in 1/3 stop increments.
On the right are the white balance, ISO and exposure settings
Whatever method you use, you will be able to get a frame with exactly the brightness you need. It’s even easier for owners of smartphones that can shoot in RAW format. They should not be afraid of overexposure - in the future these pictures can be properly edited in special program. But very dark pictures will still be worthless - if you increase the brightness through the program, the digital noise will increase.
Use burst shooting
Just five years ago our advice would not have included this item. The fact is that previously it took a smartphone a long time to form an image. But now the processor power is enough to create two or three frames in one second. This type of shooting is called serial shooting. It should be used when photographing dynamic scenes. In burst mode you will definitely not miss the most beautiful or funny moment!
But you should not use this mode on an ongoing basis. The fact is that after each shooting in burst mode, you will have to spend some time deleting unnecessary frames. You won’t store dozens, hundreds, and subsequently thousands of almost identical photographs? Also, when shooting in burst mode, you won't be able to adjust the exposure. In short, use this mode only when shooting some action scenes.
Don't forget about the panorama
Some landscape photos don't turn out beautiful when taken in normal mode. Try using the Panorama mode. In it, the device automatically creates many pictures, combining them into one wide image. In particular, this is how 180- and even 360-degree panoramas are obtained.
A typical panorama stitched from several photographs
You can also take several shots of a very wide landscape yourself. You can combine them into one image using a computer - you will need Adobe Photoshop or Kolor Autopano Giga.
Don't forget about physical buttons
Most often, smartphone owners take pictures using the virtual shutter button. But in this case, the device oscillates, which can cause the photo to be blurry. If you want to learn how to take beautiful pictures with your phone, then try to remember that you can use physical buttons. Of course, not every smartphone now has a separate shutter key. But instead, the volume buttons perform the same function. Most often, they operate in exactly the same way as the shutter button on digital camera. You hold down the key - the device focuses, then the button is released - a frame is created.
Use a timer to take selfies
The easiest way to take selfies is to use a timer or voice command. In this case, at the moment of creating the frame, the device will definitely not move. And everything will be fine with clarity if you use a separate Bluetooth button (it should not be on the monopod). But let's about creating a beautiful selfie We'll talk about it in a separate article.
Rule of two thirds
Previously we mentioned special point in “Settings”, after activation of which a 3x3 grid appears on the screen. It will help not only level the horizon. With its help you can make your photo more artistic. The fact is that a person’s gaze most often falls at the intersection of these lines. Therefore, it is in these places that the most important objects should be located. For example, you can place the heads of people, birds or anything else in them. Of course, this doesn't apply to every photo.
Use filters wisely
You shouldn’t add one filter or another to all your photos. First of all, you should think about whether the photo can do without a color filter altogether. Now people understand that most often the presence of a filter indicates that the smartphone used to take the photo has a very bad camera.
Filters may even be available in the Camera app.
In many cases, filters do not decorate the photo, but only hide some important details. We are all already tired of how many photos are supplied with different filters. Their abundance in in social networks starts to irritate. If you want people to pay attention to your photos, try to apply filters in the rarest cases.
Summarizing
If you have carefully read this article, then get ready to forget about thinking about which phone takes better photographs. Now you understand that, first of all, the beauty of a photo depends on the photographer. If you follow the tips above, you will get good shots even with an 8-megapixel camera.
There are situations when we urgently need to send someone our photo, and we begin to think, .
When there is someone nearby who can take your photo, good photo can be done with a professional camera, a regular camera, or even a mobile phone. But if at the most necessary moment you are alone, you need to be able to photograph yourself beautifully on your own.
The quality of photos and the secrets of creating them will depend on what device you have.
So, How to take a beautiful photo of yourself if you have a point-and-shoot camera or a mobile phone camera at your disposal:
1. take pictures in a well-lit place;
2. during daylight hours, take photographs while standing facing the window - daylight will even out your skin tone and make your face radiant;
3. Use a window sill, shelves, chairs as a tripod.
How to take a photo of yourself if you have a semi-professional or professional camera:
1. select beautiful background, set a timer and start the photo shoot;
2. If you intend to take a portrait photo, place the camera at eye level. Do not zoom in too much, such equipment will show even the smallest skin imperfections;
3. Do not use the flash in front of varnished, mirror, or glossy surfaces.
Some useful tips how to take a photo of yourself:
Don't lower your head or raise it too high. Looking into the lens, tilt your head slightly and smile;
- avoid flesh-colored clothing so as not to appear naked when taking portraits;
- do the makeup you like with;
- do a large number of frames to choose the best one;
- choose a beautiful, smooth background. Let it be better to have a plain wall than a multi-colored carpet or colorful curtains;
- install a photo editing program.
In order to photograph yourself beautifully, you need some preparation:
To avoid swelling, on the eve of the photo shoot, do not drink a lot of liquid, and minimize salt intake. You can take a diuretic;
- perform eyebrow correction in advance;
- carefully even out your facial tone;
- do not use in makeup purple and shimmering products - the photos will be unsuccessful. Wear brighter makeup than usual.
Tips for choosing clothes and accessories for successful photos:
Do not combine more than 3 colors in clothes;
- limit yourself to one or two stylish accessories;
- do not mix styles in clothing.
To photograph yourself at home, experiment with poses - look at successful photographs of other people. Interesting photos are obtained when you sit half-turned, tilting your head slightly. Try not to take full-face photographs - the face will turn out “flat” and asymmetrical. It is better to shoot a wide face from above, and a narrow and long one - slightly from below.
Experiment more, pay attention to the photos you often see on social networks to determine how to take a beautiful picture of yourself.
This article is intended primarily for those who first came to the site with the desire to learn how to take photographs. It will act as a kind of guide to the rest of the site’s materials, which you should pay attention to if you suddenly decide to “upgrade” your photography skills.
Before listing the sequence of your actions, I will say that photography consists of two large areas - technical and creative.
The creative part comes from your imagination and vision of the plot.
The technical part is a sequence of pressing buttons, selecting a mode, setting shooting parameters in order to realize a creative idea. Creative and technical photography cannot exist without each other, they complement each other. The proportion may be different and depends only on your decision - with what camera will you take photographs (DSLR or smartphone), in what mode (auto or), in what format (), will you use it later or leave it as is?
Learning to photograph means learning to determine which work you will do yourself and which you will entrust to technology. A real photographer is not the one who shoots only in manual mode, but the one who knows and knows how to direct technical capabilities cameras in the right direction and get the result you planned to get.
Understanding the word "Photography"
This is the “zero” level, without mastering which there is no point in moving forward. Photography is “painting with light.” The same object in different lighting will look completely different. Light is relevant in any genre of photography. If you manage to catch interesting light, you will take a beautiful shot. And it doesn’t matter what you have in your hands - an amateur compact device or a professional DSLR.
Selection of equipment
To learn photography it is not necessary to purchase expensive equipment. Nowadays, amateur technology has developed so much that it satisfies the requirements of not only amateurs, but also advanced photographers. There is also no point in trying to buy the most modern camera model, since everything you need for high-quality photography in cameras appeared 10 years ago. Most of the innovations in modern models They are only indirectly related to photography. Eg, great amount focus sensors, Wi-Fi control, GPS sensor, touch screen over high resolution- all this improves usability only, without affecting the quality of the result.
I don’t encourage you to buy “old stuff,” but I recommend taking a more sober approach to the choice between a new product and a previous generation camera. Prices for new products can be unreasonably high, while the number of truly useful innovations may not be so great.
Introducing Basic Camera Features
It is advisable to be patient and study the instructions for the camera. Unfortunately, it is not always written simply and clearly, however, this does not eliminate the need to study the location and purpose of the main controls. As a rule, there are not so many controls - a mode dial, one or two wheels for setting parameters, several function buttons, zoom controls, an autofocus and shutter button. It is also worth studying the main menu items in order to be able to configure such things as, image style. All this comes with experience, but over time there should not be a single incomprehensible item in the camera menu for you.
Getting to know the exhibition
The time has come to pick up the camera and try to depict something with it. First, turn on auto mode and try to take photographs in it. In most cases, the result will be quite normal, but sometimes the photos for some reason turn out to be too light or, conversely, too dark. It's time to get acquainted with such a thing as. Exposure is the total light flux that the matrix captured during the shutter operation. The higher the exposure level, the brighter the photo appears. Photos that are too light are called overexposed, and photos that are too dark are called underexposed. You can adjust the exposure level manually, but this cannot be done in auto mode. To be able to "brighten up or down" you need to go into P (programmed exposure) mode.
Programmed Exposure Mode
This is the simplest “creative” mode, which combines the simplicity of the auto mode and at the same time allows you to introduce corrections into the operation of the machine - to make photos forcibly lighter or darker. This is done using exposure compensation. Exposure compensation is usually used when the scene is dominated by either light or dark objects. Automation works in such a way that it tries to lead average level photo exposure to 18% gray tone(the so-called “gray card”). Notice when we take more into the frame bright sky, the ground appears darker in the photograph. And vice versa, we take into the frame more land- the sky brightens, sometimes even turns white. Exposure compensation helps compensate for shadows and highlights moving beyond the boundaries of absolute black and absolute white.
What is endurance?
No matter how good and convenient it is, it, alas, does not always allow you to get high quality photos. A striking example- shooting moving objects. Try going outside to photograph cars passing by. On a bright sunny day this will most likely work, but as soon as the sun goes behind a cloud, the cars will turn out slightly smeared. Moreover, the less light, the stronger this blur will be. Why does this happen?
The photo is exposed when the shutter opens. If fast moving objects get into the frame, then during the time the shutter is opened they have time to move and appear slightly blurry in the photo. The time for which the shutter opens is called endurance.
Shutter speed allows you to get the effect of “frozen motion” (example below), or, conversely, blur moving objects.
Shutter speed is displayed as a unit divided by a number, for example, 1/500 - this means that the shutter will open for 1/500 of a second. This is a fast enough shutter speed at which driving cars and walking pedestrians will be clear in the photo. The shorter the shutter speed, the more rapid movement can be frozen.
If you increase the shutter speed to, say, 1/125 of a second, pedestrians will still remain clear, but cars will be noticeably blurred. If the shutter speed is 1/50 or longer, the risk of getting blurry photos increases due to the photographer's hand shaking and it is recommended to use the camera on a tripod , or use an image stabilizer (if available).
Night photographs are taken with very long exposures of several seconds and even minutes. Here it is no longer possible to do without a tripod.
To be able to lock the shutter speed, the camera has a shutter priority mode. It is designated TV or S. In addition to a fixed shutter speed, it allows you to use exposure compensation. Shutter speed has a direct effect on the exposure level - the longer the shutter speed, the brighter the photo turns out.
What is a diaphragm?
Another mode that can be useful is aperture priority mode.
Diaphragm- this is the “pupil” of the lens, a hole of variable diameter. The narrower this diaphragm hole, the larger DOF- depth of sharply imaged space. Aperture is designated by a dimensionless number from the series 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, etc. In modern cameras you can select intermediate values, for example, 3.5, 7.1, 13, etc.
The larger the aperture number, the greater the depth of field. A large depth of field is relevant when you need everything to be sharp - both the foreground and the background. Landscapes are usually shot with an aperture of 8 or larger.
A typical example of a photograph with a large depth of field is the zone of sharpness from the grass under your feet to infinity.
The point of a small depth of field is to focus the viewer's attention on the subject and blur all background objects. This technique is commonly used in . To blur the background in a portrait, open the aperture to 2.8, 2, sometimes even to 1.4 - the main thing is to know the measure, otherwise we risk blurring part of the face.
Small depth of field - great way switch the viewer's attention from the colorful background to the main object.
To control aperture, you need to switch the control dial to aperture priority mode (AV or A). In this case, you tell the device what aperture you want to take pictures with, and it selects all the other parameters itself. Exposure compensation is also available in aperture priority mode.
The aperture has the opposite effect on the exposure level - the larger the aperture number, the darker the picture turns out (a pinched pupil lets in less light than an open one).
What is ISO sensitivity?
You've probably noticed that photos sometimes have ripples, grain, or, as it's also called, digital noise. The noise is especially pronounced in photographs taken in poor lighting. The presence/absence of ripples in photographs is determined by the following parameter: ISO sensitivity. This is the degree of sensitivity of the matrix to light. It is designated by dimensionless units - 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, etc.
When shooting at minimum sensitivity (for example, ISO 100), the image quality is the best, but you have to shoot with a longer shutter speed. In good lighting, for example, outside during the day, this is not a problem. But if we go into a room in which there is much less light, then it will no longer be possible to shoot at the minimum sensitivity - the shutter speed will be, for example, 1/5 of a second and the risk is very high " wiggles", so called because of the trembling of the hands.
Here's an example photo taken at low ISO with a long shutter speed on a tripod:
Please note that the disturbance on the river was blurred in motion and it seemed that there was no ice on the river. But there is practically no noise in the photo.
To avoid “shuffling” when low light, you need to either increase the ISO sensitivity in order to reduce the shutter speed to at least 1/50 of a second, or continue shooting at minimum ISO and use . When shooting on a tripod with a long shutter speed, moving objects are very blurry. This is especially noticeable when shooting at night. ISO sensitivity has a direct impact on exposure levels. The higher the ISO number, the brighter the photo will be at a fixed shutter speed and aperture.
Below is an example of a photo taken at ISO6400 late in the evening outdoors without a tripod:
Even in web size it is noticeable that the photo is quite noisy. On the other hand, grain effect is often used as an artistic technique, giving a photo a "film" look.
The relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO
So, as you probably already guessed, the exposure level is influenced by three parameters - shutter speed, aperture and ISO sensitivity. There is such a thing as “exposure step” or EV (Exposure Value). Each next step corresponds to an exposure 2 times greater than the previous one. These three parameters are interconnected.
- if we open the aperture by 1 step, the shutter speed is reduced by 1 step
- if we open the aperture by 1 step, the sensitivity decreases by one step
- if we reduce the shutter speed by 1 step, the ISO sensitivity increases by one step
Manual mode
In manual mode, the photographer has the ability to control. This is necessary when we need to firmly fix the exposure level and prevent the camera from acting on its own. For example, darken or lighten the foreground when more or less sky respectively.
Convenient when shooting in the same conditions, for example, when walking around the city in sunny weather. I adjusted it once and had the same exposure level in all photos. The inconveniences in manual mode begin when you have to move between light and dark locations. If we go, for example, into a cafe from the street and shoot there on “street” settings, the photos will turn out too dark, since there is less light in the cafe.
Manual mode is indispensable when shooting panoramas and all thanks to the same property - maintaining a constant exposure level. When using autoexposure, the exposure level will greatly depend on the amount of light and dark objects. If we caught a large dark object in the frame, we got the sky illuminated. And vice versa, if the frame is dominated by light objects, the shadows fade into blackness. Gluing up such a panorama is a pain in the ass! So, to avoid this mistake, shoot panoramas in M mode, setting the exposure in advance in such a way that all fragments will be correctly exposed.
The result is that when gluing there will be no “steps” in brightness between frames, which are likely to appear when shooting in any other mode.
Zoom and focal length
This is a characteristic that determines the angle of the lens's field of view. The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle the lens covers; the longer the focal length, the more similar in its effect it is to a spyglass.
Often the concept of “focal length” in everyday life is replaced by “zoom”. This is incorrect, since zoom is just a factor that changes the focal length. If the maximum focal length is divided by the minimum, we get the zoom factor.
Focal length is measured in millimeters. Nowadays, the term “equivalent focal length” is widely used; it is used for cameras with a crop factor, of which the majority are. Its purpose is to estimate the coverage angle of a specific lens/matrix combination and bring them to a full-frame equivalent. The formula is simple:
EFR = FR * Kf
FR is the actual focal length, CF (crop factor) is a coefficient showing how many times the matrix of this device is smaller than a full-frame one (36*24 mm).
Thus, the equivalent focal length of an 18-55 mm lens on a 1.5 crop would be 27-82 mm. Below is sample list focal length settings. I'll be writing in full frame equivalent. If you have a crop factor camera, simply divide these numbers by the crop factor to get the actual focal length you need to set on your lens.
- 24 mm or less- “wide angle”. The coverage angle allows you to capture a fairly large sector of space in the frame. This allows you to convey the depth of the frame and the distribution of plans well. 24mm is characterized by a pronounced perspective effect, which tends to distort the proportions of objects at the edges of the frame. Often it looks impressive.
It is better not to photograph group portraits at 24 mm, as people on the extreme end may end up with heads that are slightly elongated diagonally. Focal lengths of 24mm and shorter are good for landscapes with sky and water predominates.
- 35 mm- “short focus”. Also good for landscapes, as well as shooting people against the background of a landscape. The coverage angle is quite wide, but the perspective is less pronounced. At 35mm you can shoot portraits in full height, portraits in setting.
- 50 mm- “normal lens”. The focal length is mainly not the most suitable for photographing people close-up. Single, group portrait, “street photography”. The perspective roughly corresponds to what we are used to seeing with our own eyes. You can photograph a landscape, but not every landscape - the angle of the field of view is no longer so large and does not allow you to convey depth and space.
- 85-100 mm- “portrait painter”. The 85-100mm lens is well suited for shooting waist-length and larger portraits with a predominantly vertical frame layout. The most interesting pictures can be obtained with fast lenses with a fixed focal length, for example, 85mm F:1.8. When shooting at an open aperture, the eighty-five lens blurs the background very well, thereby emphasizing the main subject. For other genres, an 85 mm lens, even if it is suitable, is a stretch. It is almost impossible to shoot landscapes with it; indoors, most of the interior is outside its field of vision.
- 135 mm- “close-up portraiture”. Focal length for close-up portraits where the face occupies most frame. The so-called close-up portrait.
- 200 mm or more- “telephoto lens”. Allows you to take close-up shots of distant objects. A woodpecker on a tree trunk, a roe deer at a watering hole, a football player with a ball in the middle of the field. Not bad for taking close-up shots of small objects - for example, a flower in a flower bed. The perspective effect is practically absent. It is better not to use such lenses for portraits, as faces appear visually wider and flatter. Below is an example of a photograph taken at a focal length of 600 mm - there is virtually no perspective. Near and far objects on the same scale:
The focal (real!) distance, in addition to the scale of the image, affects the depth of field of the imaged space (together with the aperture). The longer the focal length, the smaller the depth of field, and accordingly, the background blur is stronger. This is another reason not to use a wide-angle lens for portraits if you want background blur. Here lies the answer and the question - why “” and smartphones do not blur the background in portraits well. Their actual focal length is several times shorter than that of SLR and system cameras (mirrorless).
Composition in photography
Now that we're in general outline dealt with technical part, it's time to talk about such a thing as composition. In short, composition in photography is mutual arrangement and the interaction of objects and light sources in the frame, thanks to which the photographic work looks harmonious and complete. There are quite a lot of rules, I will list the main ones, those that need to be learned first.
Light is your most important thing visual medium. Depending on the angle at which the light hits an object, it can look completely different. Black and white drawing - almost the only way convey volume in photographs. Frontal light (flash, the sun behind) hides the volume, objects look flat. If the light source is shifted slightly to the side, this is better; a play of light and shadow appears. Counter (back) light makes pictures contrasting and dramatic, but you must first learn how to work with such light.
Don't try to fit everything into the frame at the same time, photograph only the essence. When photographing something in the foreground, keep an eye on the background - there are often unwanted objects in it. Poles, traffic lights, garbage bins, and the like - all these unnecessary objects clog up the composition and distract attention, they are called “photo trash”.
Do not place the main subject in the center of the frame, move it slightly to the side. Leave it in the frame more space in the direction where the main object “looks”. If possible, try different options and choose the best one.
“Zoom in” and “come closer” are not the same thing. Zoom increases the focal length of the lens, as a result of which the background is stretched and blurred - this is good for a portrait (within reasonable limits).
We take the portrait from the model’s eye level from a distance of at least 2 meters. Lack of scale by increasing the focal length (zoom zoom). If we photograph children, we don’t need to do it from our own height; we’ll get a portrait against the background of the floor, asphalt, or grass. Sit down!
Try not to take a portrait from a frontal angle (like a passport). Turning the model's face towards the main light source is always beneficial. You can try other angles. The main thing is light!
Make the most of natural light - it's more artistic and lively than flash lighting. Remember that a window is an excellent source of soft diffused lighting, almost a softbox. Using curtains and tulle, you can change the intensity of light and its softness. The closer the model is to the window, the more contrasting the lighting.
When shooting "in a crowd" it is almost always advantageous to high point shooting when the camera is held on outstretched arms. Some photographers even use a stepladder.
Try not to let the horizon line cut the frame into two equal halves. If there is more interest in the foreground, place the horizon at a level of approximately 2/3 from the bottom edge (ground - 2/3, sky - 1/3), if in the background - accordingly, at a level of 1/3 (ground - 1/3, sky - 2/3). This is also called the “rule of thirds.” If you can’t attach key objects to the “thirds”, place them symmetrically to each other relative to the center:
To process or not to process?
For many, this is a sore point - whether a photograph processed in Photoshop is considered “live” and “real”. In this opinion, people are divided into two camps - some are categorically against processing, others - for the fact that there is nothing wrong with processing photographs. My personal opinion about processing is this:
- Any photographer should have at least basic photo processing skills - correct the horizon, frame, cover up a speck of dust on the matrix, adjust the exposure level, white balance.
- Learn to take photographs in such a way that you don’t need to edit them later. This saves a lot of time!
- If the picture initially turned out well, think a hundred times before “improving” it somehow programmatically.
- Converting a photo to black and white, toning, graining, and using filters does not automatically make it artistic, but there is a chance of it slipping into bad taste.
- When processing a photo, you must know what you want to get. There is no need to do processing for the sake of processing.
- Explore the capabilities of the programs you use. There are probably functions that you don’t know about that will allow you to achieve results faster and better.
- Don't get carried away with color correction without a high-quality calibrated monitor. Just because an image looks good on your laptop screen doesn't mean it will look good on other screens or when printed.
- The edited photograph must be left to rest. Before publishing it and sending it to print, leave it for a couple of days, and then look at it with fresh eyes - it is quite possible that you will want to change a lot.
Conclusion
I hope you understand that you won’t be able to learn photography by reading one article. Yes, I, in fact, did not set such a goal - to “lay out” everything that I know in it. The purpose of the article is to briefly talk about the simple truths of photography, without going into subtleties and details, but simply to lift the veil. I tried to write in a concise and accessible language, but even so, the article turned out to be quite lengthy - and this is just the tip of the iceberg!
If you are interested in a deeper study of the topic, I can offer paid materials on photography. They are presented in the form e-books in PDF format. You can view their list and trial versions here -.
Before you look in detail at the question of how to take a photo of yourself, you should understand what you can use to take a “Selfie”.
Recently, it has become very fashionable to photograph yourself using such an indispensable device as a mobile phone. In our case, a smartphone. Mobile phones have been equipped with cameras for a long time, and most of the latest copies are equipped with two cameras. At the same time, the front camera, that is, the camera above the screen, is specially designed for taking selfies or selfies.
In order to understand how to properly photograph yourself on your phone, you should pay attention to modern market accessories for mobile phones. Quite recently, very useful things began to appear in our country - tripods for selfies. The device is very primitive, but really useful. So, thanks to these very tripods, the question of how to beautifully photograph yourself disappeared, and it also became much easier to take pictures in a group, since the capabilities of the phone’s camera began to be used much more fully.
Just for fun, I would like to note that selfie tripods are very interesting from a marketing point of view. Since the specimens that can be found here are 100% Chinese cheap goods, they first appeared in eastern parts Russia and began their movement across big cities, capturing the surrounding areas. At the same time, while in Europe these same tripods were sold on the streets for 3-5 euros by illegal immigrants, in stores in Russia and Ukraine you had to look for them and they cost at least $10. Fortunately, now the prices for them have fallen, they began to buy more of them and automatically understand how to photograph themselves correctly.
Another good option for beautifully photographing yourself can be a webcam. It would seem very convenient and fast. But not everything that is fast can be good. Most often, pictures from a webcam turn out soapy and blurry, and most of these cameras are not designed for high-quality color reproduction. Therefore, webcams should not be accessed.
A great helper when asking how to do beautiful pictures yourself, maybe an action camera. The most common of these is the GoPro camera. These original, powerful cameras are equipped with wide-angle lenses and excellent matrices that can produce a bright and rich image even against the sun, so if you have such a device at your disposal, you should choose it. Moreover, if you have one of the GoPro cameras, then you probably have a tripod stick for it, which performs the same function as a selfie tripod.
And, of course, the most important and perhaps the best quality for photographing yourself is reflex camera. It would be very, very good if you had a tripod and a radio remote control. These accessories perfectly meet the needs of how to properly photograph your own face, as they give you any necessary time to occupy the required place and pose, and also do not restrict your distance from the camera. However, if you don’t have such accessories, then don’t despair. In order to photograph yourself beautifully, you will need to choose a good background, light, preferably natural from a window, and place the camera on any plane - table, chair, window sill. If you have a non-professional version of a SLR camera, then you will not have any problems with the lack of a radio remote control, since the camera has a shutter delay function of up to 10 seconds, and in some models up to 30 seconds.
It’s also worth remembering that no matter what method you choose, you can photograph yourself using the reflection in the mirror! Any of the accessories described above will be suitable for this method. The main thing to remember is that a photo in the mirror is not cheap! It has its own charm and charm, so just think a little about the composition of the frame, and also select a room with good light, or vice versa, take a photo at a suitable time of day.
I think you already understand that there is no point in asking how to photograph yourself. There are many ways to do this, you just need to shoot! But, do not forget about the nuances:
- If you are a girl, you shouldn’t make a bow on your lips, it’s not natural;
- You should not prop up your own breasts, this is clearly visible in the photo and causes a smile, not delight, it is better to play with the angle, this will give a better result;
- If you are a girl, you should not shoot from low points, such angles are more suitable for guys;
- Guys, don’t try to take photos of yourself in beige and other light colors, it’s more likely feminine colors;
- You should also not color your selfie photos in various shades of blue, red, brown, purple and others. This is usually done in one or two clicks using plugins that perform the task purely technically. And you will be interested to know that these shades are a cheap parody of the colors used by classic photographs. Plugins cannot reproduce these colors, and even if they could, it would not fit with the composition;
- Avoid when taking selfies dark rooms and generally poor lighting. Whatever cameras are in phones and tablets, they begin to make noise and spoil photos in difficult conditions.
- use bright makeup, you need to take into account that the flash weakens the color of the cosmetics;
- do not use purple and pearlescent paints when applying makeup, they will look like bruises in the photograph;
- use a lighter camouflage pencil to shade the circles under the eyes;
- powder your forehead and bridge of your nose;
- Do not use dark lipstick - this will give your face a stern expression.
First, spin around in the mirror, pose, determine your best sides, smiles and glances. And then you can take pictures of yourself, not necessarily in front of a mirror, just take pictures from different angles, tilting your head and so on, smiling differently, you can do different hairstyles. And then upload all the photos to your computer in bulk and out of about 10 photos, 2 will definitely come out successful.
You go to the toilet. You go to the mirror. You take out your phone. You turn on the camera. Point the lens at the mirror (don’t forget to turn off the flash). You press the button, which will make a shutter, that is, take a photo. You send it to Instagram. All! You are awesome! 🙂
You won’t get a normal photograph - you don’t see yourself - what you will look like. You can’t choose the right angle and position. It’s better to just ask someone to take a photo of you - everything will work out better.
Firstly, you need a phone with a good camera, a fairly high resolution in megapixels.
Secondly, you can take a photo of yourself from your phone in several ways:
1 Hold the phone at arm's length, camera facing you, and take pictures. True, you can only make a portrait this way. To see what's in the camera, place a mirror behind the phone and see what's in the camera in the reflection. If you have an advanced smartphone, you can take a picture of yourself with the front camera. Then on the screen itself you will see what is in the frame.
2 Take a photo of your reflection in the mirror while holding the phone in your hands. The disadvantages of this are that the phone itself will be visible in the frame and that there will be a mirror image of you. For example, what was on the left (moles, hairstyle) will be on the right and vice versa.
3 Ask another person to take a photo of yourself. This best option, but only if this person wants you to look good and knows how to aim a camera well enough.
4 Set the camera on your mobile phone to automatically take pictures without pressing a button, and with a delay interval before triggering. During this interval, have time to get up in Right place and take the desired pose. You can even mark with a pencil on the floor before taking the photo where to stand in order to get exactly into the frame, without moving. And for this, you may have to aim and take several preliminary photographs.
5 Take a video of yourself, and then, scrolling through this video, pull out some of the most successful screenshots from it. To use this method, you need to have a video camera with a sufficiently good resolution in your mobile phone.
To photograph yourself beautifully, you need to practice - see in what lighting, angle you look better, what hairstyle, clothes are more suitable and look better in the photo. The more experience you have, the better the photographs will turn out - a person already intuitively feels how to take a successful photograph.
Sometimes people say: Well, I took about 10 photos and none of them came out to my liking. But experience is not 10 photos, and sometimes not even 100;), but it’s worth it, because photos are our memory.
Unfortunately, phones today are not particularly designed for people to take pictures of themselves. Of course, if you already have very high-quality cameras, on par with digital point-and-shoot cameras, but taking pictures of yourself is still not so convenient. If you try to take photos with the front camera, they usually have very low pixels and the image will be grainy.
So here you have to take photographs at random, stretching out your hand in front of you and taking several frames, and then choose the best one, since you won’t be able to see exactly how the photo will turn out before.
The concept of beauty is generally flexible. There are photogenic people and there are not. And there can be a great variety of poses for photographing on your phone!
The first option is the simplest, just reach out and play with your hair. It will look very impressive.
The second option is probably the most common) Wear the most beautiful clothes and go to the mirror, after turning off the flash of course
You can’t think of many poses with a phone, because one hand will always be occupied with the phone or a selfie stick)
And when someone is filming you or you can put your phone on some kind of stand, then you can dream up your imagination. For example, such poses seem very attractive to me.
In order for you to be able to take a good photograph of yourself, first of all you need to find a place where you will enough light.
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