How to make your mobile photo look professional.
Have you ever wondered how some influencers just have the knack for making every photo (even just their daily Instagram story uploads) look like a professional photo that they’ve spent hours on?
Yeah, me too!
Let me tell you before I got my hands on these tips that I’m going to share with you, I too thought that my photos would never reach that level, especially because I DID NOT HAVE AN EXPENSIVE CAMERA to use. And I was certainly not in a position to be able to purchase one.
That’s when I decided to do research and experiment with my photos to find out how I could make my mobile photos look professional.
I am writing this blog to give you the tips that I found most useful.
How to make your mobile photo look professional.
Let’s start with the basics:
Phone Camera Grid
Remember that trend a long time ago when making your photos angles off-center was classified as cool and everyone thought that is made their photos look better.
Well, now we live in a time where precision could make or break your photo. Luckily technology has made that easy to tick off. In the camera settings on your phone, you will find the grid option. Once you have turned that on and go back to your camera it will have divided your screen into 9 equal grids. These grids will allow you to easily position the main subject of your photo in the center of your shot.
NATURAL LIGHT
I’m sure you have heard of this somewhere while trying to get that perfect shot. If not then here it is.
Most photos that are bad quality on your phone are usually ones that have been taken where there was not enough light. Natural light allows the phone camera to easily focus on smaller detail. This will make your photo instantly look professional. You are probably wondering how you can always ensure that there is enough light, well you cant. That is why we fake it. This is where the editing apps come in handy.
I will share this in more detail later in the blog.
Set your camera’s focus to make your photo look professional
There is nothing worse than a blurred photo, and to make it even worse once the photo has been taken there is no way you can make a blurred photo-focused. So make sure you keep this in mind every time you snap a pic.
You want to make sure not to take a photo too close-up. Make sure you’re at least 10cm away from the object you’re shooting. Take your time and be patient, your phone will take a while to focus.
To ensure that you get the clearest focus on your subject, click it while in your preview screen and watch as your phone does the magic for you.
The symmetry of the photo
Symmetry can be found everywhere you look, which makes it that much easier to include in your everyday photos. Photos that have symmetry in them stand out because they are pleasing to the human eye.
There are two types, vertical and horizontal symmetry.
When taking a vertical photo on your phone you can draw a vertical line through the center of your photo. This will allow you to see if your photo has symmetrical aspects or not.
Do the same with a horizontal photo, but use a horizontal line when dividing it into two equal halves.
Perspective
The perspective of your photo can bring it to life and make it feel 3D. It’s so easy to take out your phone and capture the photo at eye level, but to make the photo better we actually need to move around and find the perfect angle.
Most times when we move, the background of your photo doesn’t change, but your foreground does. When we have a close foreground it makes the biggest impact.
Now I’m going to give you some quick and easy editing tips to make your photos look professional.
DO NOT USE YOUR PHONES FILTERS.
Filters can be good or really bad, but rather steer clear of them because these days you can easily pick up if someone has used a phone filter. This will automatically give your photo an unprofessional look.
When editing your photo you should rather use apps like Adobe Lightroom Mobile, VSCO, or Snapseed.
Related post: 5 Must-have Apps to Grow Your Instagram in 2020
These things below are things that you should immediately check or change to make your photo look professional:
- Crop your photo
- Up your exposure (This is how you fake the natural light)
- Bring your highlights down a bit to darken the light spots
- Take your shadows up to lighten the dark spots
- Bring your saturation up to make your colors pop
- Make sure your photos warmth is not too high (Take the button to the blue side)
- DO NOT OVERDO YOUR CLARITY BUTTON, this will make the photo lose its realistic quality.
- Bring the texture down to make your photo look soft (this will make it look like it was taken with a camera)
- In contrast, when adjusting it, it depends if you want your colors soft or vivid, you need to decide what suits your photo best.
That’s all the tips I have for now. I hope that the above helps take your photos to the next level and gives that professional look you were hoping for.
Just remember that practice makes perfect. Don’t be too hard on yourself and make sure to give yourself time to master your photos with these tips.
Make your photos the ones that people admire and wonder how you made them look professional.
