How to take cool photos at home on your phone. We take beautiful photos with a regular camera. Natural light: hard light

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The main commandment of smartphone photography: it doesn’t matter how cool the camera is, what matters is who’s holding it. And with the most luxurious DSLR you can take clear, but boring photographs. The kind that lie on disk and no one opens them for years.

And you can take interesting photos with your smartphone, especially since this equipment is always with you, you don’t have to uncover it for a long time and you won’t forget to remove the lens cap. And for the most part, smartphones are cheaper than DSLRs, which is also very pleasing.

website I’ve put together some tips for you on how to take cool photos using your smartphone.

Programs

A camera in a smartphone is, first of all, a program that maintains the lens and matrix. Therefore, you should not stop at what Android or iOS dictates to you. You may want to use different programs for different shooting situations. Some give more interesting color rendition, others - slightly larger plans: Pudding Camera, CameraMX, Photosynth, VSCO Cam, Slow shutter cam, Pro HDR, Camera+, etc. Why limit yourself if you have a choice?

Having chosen a program, it’s worth delving into the settings. Set the image resolution to high, remember that in difficult cases you can play with white balance, ISO and turn off autofocus. And in general, find out what interesting things a specific program can do.

Zoom

Cropping as a replacement for zoom.

It’s better to forget once and for all that your smartphone has digital zoom. Such an increase in most cases is achieved by serious losses in image quality. The best zoom is the legs: come closer, move further away.

If this is not possible, then it is wiser to cut out the frame you need from a large photograph during post-processing. The cropping function is available even in the simplest programs. Plus, you don’t waste time adjusting the size, you just take it off. And already in a calm environment, you correctly compose the frame, without missing details that you could accidentally crop out while using the zoom in the field.

Series

Take several shots of the same scene. Subsequently, you can choose the most successful photo and work with it. And before deleting photos from your smartphone, it’s a good idea to view them on your computer, since on a small phone screen you may not notice good photos just because they seem overexposed or underexposed.

If it doesn’t turn out interesting, you should change the shooting angle.

When photographing something or someone, don't be afraid to change angles. You can take a photo head-on, or you can change the angle a little and get an interesting shot. Moreover, the compact size of the smartphone allows you to take angles for which a photographer with a large camera will have to work hard.

Light

The flash on a smartphone should be used very carefully. As a rule, it “deads” the photo, distorts colors and shadows. Flash is only good when you need to take pictures immediately, otherwise you'll miss the moment.

At the same time, light is the photographer's main tool. This is important for professional cameras, but for smartphones it is much more important. Therefore, always look for the light, pay close attention to how it falls on the subject, and you will get the shot.

Good light in the morning and evening. On a sunny afternoon, you will have to work with too high a contrast, which threatens with artifacts in the pictures. The pre-storm sky gives luxurious effects.

Object shooting

On the left is a photo with a lack of lighting, on the right is with a flashlight.

If you want to take a photo of something or someone at home, the smartphone can become stubborn - there is rarely enough light in the room. But you can take a simple LED flashlight and a sheet of white paper to compensate for the too harsh shadow. Let's say a flashlight is shining from above on the right, we bring a sheet of white paper to the left, which reflects the light of the flashlight and additionally illuminates the object, and press the button on the phone.

Lens Cleanliness

Frame through a fingerprint.

It would seem that an obvious thing is the cleanliness of the lens, but smartphone lovers often come across this issue. The phone is used constantly, lies in your pocket, and when you take it to answer a call or SMS, the last thing you remember is that you left a fingerprint on the glass of the lens. When shooting, this print gives, of course, a slight mysterious blur, but, as a rule, this is the effect you do not expect in the intended photo.

Response delay

It is important to take into account the fact that the shooting program in a smartphone in most cases operates with a delay. You have already pressed the button, but the camera is still thinking before taking a photo. Therefore, it is important to think proactively, like a hunter who shoots not at a hare, but at the place where, according to his assumption, the hare will be at the next moment.

Let's say you are photographing a flower in a field, and it is windy on that day, you need to take into account the speed of the camera and at the same time capture the moment between gusts of wind. It’s difficult, but the result will be more valuable due to the effort spent.

Post-processing programs

Simplest editing on Instagram.

Most professional photographers do post-processing of photographs, absolutely always in commercial photography, but for smartphone photography this is a vital necessity. You cannot adjust the shutter speed and aperture on a smartphone. This limitation is compensated for by a variety of post-processing programs. This is beyond the well-known Instagram and Flickr.

• VSCO Cam. Allows you to apply a variety of filters and settings. Distributed free of charge.
• Afterlight. Good for color correction. Costs 34 rubles.
• Touch retouch. This simple tool allows you to remove minor imperfections in a photo and clone parts of the image. There are free and paid versions.
• SnapSeed. A huge number of filters and effects, such as tilt-shift and focus adjustment, sharpness and color adjustment. Distributed free of charge.
• Pixlr Express. Large selection of filters, frames, effects. Completely free.
• Photoshop Express. It doesn’t provide any special settings, but it does have a lot of different filters that make the processing process as fast as possible. Can work with RAW files. Free of charge.
• Rookie. There are both free and paid features. The standard application package contains many vintage filters adapted for different genres of photography: portraits, landscapes, city sketches, macro, etc.
• Phonto. Allows you to add any fonts you wish to your photo. Distributed free of charge.
• Moldiv. A free application in Russian that allows you to make collages by combining up to 9 pictures.
• MultiExpo(for iOS). An interesting application for creating a multiple exposure effect. Distributed free of charge.
• Photo Grid. Free application for creating collages. Can work with high resolution files.
• LensLight. The application allows you to add glare, glow and bokeh effects to your photos. Costs 99 rubles.

Bright photos that can decorate an album and get hundreds of likes on social networks are created not only on the seashore or in an expensive studio. Your own apartment can easily become a backdrop for great photos! Want to learn how to take a beautiful photo at home? Read the tips in our article!

How to take a beautiful photo of a house on a smartphone

We will make do with minimal resources - no SLR cameras or professional lighting. Just you, a smartphone and available tools. The techniques that you can use to get high-quality images depend on what exactly you are photographing.

1. Portrait

Shooting from the front (the face looks straight into the camera) often creates flaws even where there were none. Try turning half a turn towards the camera - this is one of the universal options that will suit most people. This angle visually makes the face narrower, emphasizing the cheekbones and slender neck.

Even a slight turn of the head makes the face more attractive in the photo.

Even if you're shooting a portrait where the viewer's attention is focused on the face, don't forget about what's around you. Untidy clothes on a chair or a half-eaten lunch can quickly ruin an attractive picture. Try to have an interesting interior behind you.

Make sure the background is aesthetically pleasing

2. Subject photography

If you like to take photos for Instagram, you will definitely need the ability to photograph small objects. Despite its apparent simplicity, there are plenty of pitfalls here. It is necessary to convey the texture, the smallest details, the exact color. Our tips will help you take a beautiful photo with your smartphone:

For product photography, it’s a good idea to use a small table where the object will be located. If you use natural light, you can sit on the windowsill. It is highly advisable to use a tripod, even if shooting from a phone. This will avoid hand shaking and achieve maximum clarity.

How to make a photo even better

Even a successful photo needs processing. The program allows you to improve the quality of a photo, remove unnecessary things from the frame, retouch a portrait or apply effects. What features does it offer?

Conclusion

It’s possible to take a beautiful photo at home without the participation of a professional photographer! A little creativity and imagination, a bit of patience and, of course, the irreplaceable help of a PhotoMASTER. It will allow you to polish any photo by correcting the shortcomings that are typical of almost any home photographs. Your apartment can easily become an excellent photo studio - go for it!

Experiment! Use one of the rules or take several photos using different techniques, and then compare the results!

Secrets of good composition

1. “Rule of thirds” (rule of the “golden ratio”)

Many people place important components in the center, but these photos often don't look very good. Placing the subject in the center means that there is empty space on either side of it, and at the top too, especially if it is a portrait. It is better to place the subject directly in the center and focus, then move the subject to the side. Use the “golden ratio” or “rule of thirds” rule, and you are unlikely to go wrong!

How to use the rule of thirds?
Imagine that the image is divided into equal parts by four lines. Some digital cameras, when you press the button halfway, display a ready-made “grid” of such lines. Use such a grid (imaginary or real) and correctly place your subjects.

The automatically displayed grid makes it easy to use the rule of thirds - all that remains is to place the main objects at the intersection of the lines.

Place the horizon line along one of the two horizontal lines.
Position key elements, such as your friend's face. at intersection two lines. If you have two important objects, place both at the "crossroads" - you can be sure that a great composition is guaranteed!

2. Moving objects

If you are photographing walking people, do not forget that they should “enter” the frame and head towards the middle of it, that is, leave an empty space in front of the walking person. The same rule applies to shooting moving cars, horses and other objects:

Moving objects must "enter" the frame

3. Getting closer

It's very easy to take pictures by leaving a lot of empty space around the subject. Often we realize that the subject of photography takes up very little space when it is too late to change anything. Therefore, think in advance what you will fill the frame with. Get closer to the subject or use a zoom lens.

4. Pay attention to objects

If you want to draw attention to a specific object(your friend, a building, something notable, your dog, etc.), then it is very important that the object is clearly stood out. Be especially careful when your subject is placed against a cluttered background or near other people or objects. Don't forget that it should be clear to the viewer who or what is in the spotlight.

So:
1.the background should be as clean as possible
2.the background can be made not sharp and thus the object will look more expressive

In the photo on the left, the depth of field has been reduced by opening the aperture. This helped make the girl stand out.

5. Use a frame

The results will always be better if you learn how to frame objects correctly.
Now we are not talking about wooden frames purchased at an art salon; The point is that the landscape can be used as an element of composition, allowing you to add depth to your photographs. A good frame can be a doorway, tree branches, arches and trees that can be used to “frame” the subject.

6. Interact with the background

A typical vacation photo: your friend standing in front of a monument - it's boring and ordinary... the foreground and background are not united or talking to each other - it's just a person and a place... This simple picture can be improved by doing something to create a connection between figure and background - for example, ask your friend to lean her elbows on a stone pedestal and look at the monument with expression. She is now part of the scene rather than something disconnected from it.

7. Multiple objects

If you want to photograph several objects, and both are important to you, then you need to follow the principle of balance - place the objects in such a way that they each balance the frame on their side:

You can also balance the photo using the rule of thirds - place objects on the lines, or at the centers of intersection of the lines:

8.Using lines

Lines have an emotional impact on the viewer:

• curved lines are calming
• broken lines act as an irritant
• horizontal - calm and serenity (horizons, oceans, sleeping people)
• vertical lines - grandeur, growth (skyscrapers, trees)
• diagonal - dynamism.

On the right - the flamingo is calm, its neck is in a pleasing s-shape, and a more suitable background has been selected.

The technique of using leading lines is often used - these are lines that originate in one of the lower corners of the image and lead to its semantic center, usually located at the “golden ratio” point. Such a line can be found in almost any subject: a path, an oblong object, lines dividing tones or colors.

9. Experiment with angles

top down

Most of the pictures were taken from the same height and from the same angle. More interesting results can be achieved by using the camera in different ways - for example, if you look down up or raise the camera above your head and point it down.
You can try to take photos at an angle.

turn diagonally

Keep in mind that shooting from below helps make people seem more important, while shooting from above “demeans” them. If you're photographing tall buildings, turning your camera diagonally allows you to frame the entire building, making it appear much more imposing.

10. Use flash - but be careful!

The photo on the left was taken in normal mode, resulting in the person being in the shadows. On the right, the backlight shooting function is used ("lighting contrast")

In conditions of insufficient natural light, using a flash makes it possible to get successful shots.
On a clear sunny day, using a flash will help prevent the appearance of dark shadows (for example, on the faces of people not illuminated by the sun)
Some cameras have a so-called “fill flash” mode. They emit a small pulse of light to soften shadows, and the use of flash remains virtually invisible.

Keep the subject within the flash range

Photographs taken at night using flash can sometimes be disappointing because... The subject may be located outside the lighting zone. In the case of compact cameras, this zone is relatively small and is usually limited to a distance of 3 meters from the camera.

11. Not just horizontally!

Why do we most often take photographs horizontally? Rotate your camera 90 degrees and you'll have the chance to create stunning compositions, add interest and variety to your collection of images. Vertical positioning is very important for close-up photos of people or landmarks!

12. Closer, even closer!

Insects, flowers, and even jewelry make for great shots, but you need to shoot them close up to do this. When you get closer, you can see all the details of their delicate structure.

Most cameras have a minimum focusing distance that allows you to get close enough to the subject, and some cameras also have a macro mode. In macro mode you can get an almost life-size image. Digital cameras are more efficient in macro mode. First, you can use the LCD screen to make sure your subject is actually in focus. Secondly, digital cameras often have a better lens for close-up photography.

If you have a film camera, don't be afraid to work close-up; you just need to choose the distance more carefully. Also, make sure to shoot in the brightest light possible, as this will give you greater depth of field.

Getting real close

Camera stores now offer optional lens attachments for most cameras that can be attached to the camera lens to allow you to take extreme close-ups of small objects. You can buy adapter rings, they will allow you to connect the camera to the microscope and do microphotography.

When using macro mode or a macro lens, you can get so close to the subject that the shadow of the camera lens will fall on it. Therefore, pay special attention to lighting.

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Against the rules

We have mentioned many rules, but do not think that you need to follow them every time.
The rules simply help us, but do not dictate in any way what the photo should be like.
In fact, the best and most successful photographs can be obtained by violating the established rules.

• When taking landscape photos, don't always apply the rule of thirds.
• Don't get too close if you want to show how small the subject is in the vast landscape.
• Don't be afraid of a cluttered background if you feel it will help convey the atmosphere more accurately.
• Do not use unusual angles if you feel that the result will look unnatural!

Tags: How to take good pictures

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 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 learning to take photographs, you need to decide for yourself - why do I need this and how deeply am I ready to dive into it? Probably everyone has seen a similar caricature of the diagram of human evolution:

Image from the Internet

Sometimes this picture draws a line between a photographer with a mobile phone and a photographer with a tripod and the caption “some people should stop here.”

The article you are reading has existed since 2008 and every couple of years it is thoroughly edited in accordance with current trends and trends in the field of photography - amateur and professional. Over the 10 years of its existence, this article has changed its content by almost 100%! This is due to the fact that we now live in a turning point, when photography has turned from being the preserve of professionals and enthusiasts into a universal hobby. And not even a hobby, but an integral part of everyday life. You probably already guess that we are talking about mobile photography. On the one hand, this is very cool, but on the other...Photography, due to its mass appeal, ceases to be art. Every day, millions (if not billions) of the same type of photographs with flowers, cats, plates of food, selfies and other nonsense are uploaded to the Internet and, oddly enough, all this finds its viewer - “Instagram stars” gain millions of likes for blurry photos like “ me and my cat." Simply because their photos are understandable and close to the majority. Photographs of recognized masters have a much lower rating among the general public - they do not understand them. It’s about the same as comparing two types of music - pop and, say, jazz.

Let's return to the question once again - why do you want to learn photography? If you're doing it just because it's "fashionable" or "prestigious" - don't bother. This fashion will soon pass. If you really want to “rise above the hustle and bustle,” this article is for you!

A bit of boring theory

First of all, it is worth noting that photography consists of two inextricably linked parts - creative and technical.

The creative part comes from your imagination and vision of the plot. Its understanding comes with experience. This can also include photographic luck - the more experienced the photographer, the more often he is “lucky” with the subject and shooting conditions. When I started my creative journey, I looked at the works of advanced authors on photosight.ru and perceived them as some kind of magic. I recently reviewed the list of selected works and realized that there is no magic in them, just a lot of experience and a fair amount of luck :)

The technical part is a sequence of pressing buttons, selecting a mode, setting shooting parameters in order to realize a creative idea. The proportion can be different from the creative and technical side and depends only on your decision - what camera will you take pictures in, in what mode (auto or), in what format (), will you do it later or leave it as is?

Learning to take photographs means learning to combine the creative and technical parts in optimal proportions. It is not at all necessary to photograph everything in manual mode (we will leave this to the adherents of the “old school”), it is enough to know the features of your camera and be able to use them in accordance with the shooting conditions. When we see a beautiful painting, it makes absolutely no difference to us how the artist held the brush, how he mixed the paints, or how high his easel was. It's the same in photography. The main thing is the result, and how it was obtained is completely indifferent to the viewer.

What is the best camera to buy for learning photography?

If you really want to learn photography, you need a camera, not a smartphone. It is highly desirable that this camera have interchangeable lenses. Smartphones are conceptually designed for automatic shooting, even if they have some manual settings. When trying to learn to take photographs using a smartphone, you will very quickly realize that you have hit the ceiling - there are not enough photographic capabilities for further development. The creative possibilities of any camera with interchangeable lenses are practically unlimited.

To learn photography, it is not at all necessary to purchase the most modern and expensive equipment. Nowadays, amateur technology has developed so much that it satisfies the requirements of not only amateurs, but also advanced photographers.

Now about the cameras themselves (more precisely, about the “carcasses”). There is no point in chasing the latest models. They are expensive and usually do not have any great advantages over cameras of the previous model. The only thing that can encourage a reasonable person to overpay for newness is some radical updates, for example, a new generation matrix. In most other cases, innovations in photography have a very indirect relationship. For example, the number of focus sensors has increased by 5%, Wi-Fi control, a GPS sensor, and an ultra-high-resolution touch screen have been added. It makes no sense to pay 20% more for such innovations compared to the previous model. 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 turns out. 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. The automation works in such a way that it tries to bring the average exposure level of the image to 18% gray tone (the so-called “gray card”). Please note that when we take more of the bright sky into the frame, the ground appears darker in the photo. And vice versa, we take more land into the frame - 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.

Even in program exposure mode, you can adjust the white balance and control the flash. This mode is convenient because it requires a minimum of technical knowledge, but at the same time it can provide much better results than full automatic mode.

Also in program exposure mode you will get to know such a thing as bar chart. This is nothing more than a graph of the distribution of pixel brightness in the picture.

The left side of the histogram corresponds to shadows, the right side to highlights. If the histogram appears “clipped” on the left, there are black areas with lost color in the image. Accordingly, the “cropped” histogram on the right indicates the presence of light areas “knocked out” into whiteness. When adjusting exposure, the histogram shifts to the right or left, and the picture brightens or darkens, respectively. Your task is to learn to control the histogram and not let it unnecessarily creep beyond its allotted limits. In this case, the exposure of the photo will most likely be correct.

What is endurance?

No matter how good and convenient it is, it, alas, does not always allow us to get the result we expected. A striking example is 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 mount 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 1.4. At this stage, we come to the understanding that the 18-55 mm kit lens limits our creative possibilities, since at the “portrait” focal length of 55 mm it will not be possible to open the aperture wider than 5.6 - we begin to think about a fast prime (for example, 50mm 1.4) so ​​that get a result like this:

Shallow DOF is a great way to shift the viewer's attention from the colorful background to the main subject.

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 shake in low light, you need to either increase the ISO sensitivity 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 blurred. 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 brighten the foreground when there is more or less sky in the frame, 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.

In general, many experienced photographers and photography teachers recommend using manual mode as the main mode. They are right about something - when you shoot in manual mode, you have complete control over the shooting process. You can choose the most correct combination of settings for a given one from hundreds of options. The main thing is to know what you are doing and why. If there is no clear understanding of the principles of operation in manual mode, you can limit yourself to semi-automatic ones - 99.9% of viewers will not notice the difference :)

In reporting conditions, manual mode is also not particularly convenient, since you need to constantly adapt to changing shooting conditions. Many people do it cunningly - in mode M they fix the shutter speed and aperture, while “releasing” the ISO. Although the mode selector is set to M, shooting is far from being done in manual mode - the camera itself selects ISO sensitivity and flash power, and can change these parameters within enormous limits.

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 a sample list of 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 35 mm you can shoot full-length portraits and portraits in a setting.

• 50 mm- “normal lens”. The focal length is mainly for taking pictures of people not very 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”. A focal length for close-up portraits in which the face takes up most of the 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 have generally understood the technical part, it's time to talk about such a thing as composition. In short, composition in photography is the relative arrangement and 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 visual medium. Depending on the angle at which the light hits an object, it can look completely different. Black and white drawing is practically the only way to convey volume in a photograph. 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. Pillars, traffic lights, trash cans, 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 more space in the frame in the direction where the main subject is “looking”. 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”, a high shooting point, when the camera is held on arms outstretched, is almost always advantageous. 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 as e-books in PDF format. You can view their list and trial versions here -.

Cole Rise is a popular photographer, traveler, and creator of the Rise preset for Instagram. His photographs are distinguished by the fact that even after processing they look natural. Cole shared his secrets on how to shoot with a mobile phone and edit photos so that they are close in quality to images from SLR cameras.

1. Add light to shadows and darken highlights

Most photo editing tools have options for adjusting highlights and shadows. And you need to use this.

To enhance his nature photography, Cole balanced the exposure by adding light to the shadows and slightly darkening the highlights. He also applied the Winsy filter from the Litely app collection to the photo to bring warm tones to the image.

2. Add vignette and shadow effects to brighten your photo

The vignetting effect adds a dark border around the perimeter of the photo and brightens the middle. This is one of Cole's favorite tricks. The original photo would have been too dark, so Cole increased the saturation and added some sharpening to separate the balloon from the landscape. This allowed us to keep the photo natural.

3. Edit the image and then return all settings back to 50%

It is very important.

The trick is to make your photo look natural. Edit the image as you are used to, and then return all settings back to 50%.

Last year, Instagram users finally got the ability to control the power of filters. To use these settings, simply select the filter and then click on it again.

And one more tip: do not use the LUX tool on Instagram. Its job is to correct the lack of contrast that makes the photo unnatural.

4. Film people wherever possible.

Landscapes look better when there are people in them. The person in the photograph is capable of conveying feelings. The best example of how people add personality to a photo is the work of Murad Osmann, who photographs himself holding his girlfriend's hand in different parts of the world (photo series "Follow Me").

These are the ruins of the ancient city of Jerash. If we remove the person from this photograph, we will not feel the scale and grandeur of this structure.

6. Try taking pictures leaning out of a car window.

You will never know in advance what you will succeed. On an iPhone, simply press and hold the shutter button to take photos in burst mode. On an Android smartphone, you can enable burst shooting by selecting the appropriate mode (Burst Mode) in the camera settings. On Samsung smartphones it may be called Burst Shot. Cole used Slow Shutter Cam to create this photo to add a blur effect.

7. To get an interesting shot, place your smartphone on the roof of the car

If there are clouds in the sky, their reflection on the roof of the car will add some zest to the photo.

8. Lower the gadget to the surface of the water to create a cool reflective effect

9. Hold your smartphone vertically when shooting for Instagram

To make things easier for yourself, hold the camera vertically: this makes it easier to fit everything you need for the frame into a square area. Better yet, set up your camera to shoot only square images.

10. When shooting landscapes, press the volume button to release the shutter

Did you know you can simply open the camera on your iPhone and press the volume button to take a photo? The same is true for Android phones. On Samsung Galaxy S4, assign the shutter function to the volume button in Settings instead of the default zoom function. This rearrangement of buttons will make it more convenient to hold the phone to avoid the effect of “shaky hands”, which can ruin the photo.

11. Get closer to the ground if you want to bring your subject to the foreground

Smartphone cameras have poor depth of field, so you can resort to tricks. For example, lower the camera closer to the ground.

12. Don't attract attention and don't carry a backpack.

A tourist covered in gadgets is an excellent bait for thieves. When traveling, Cole never wears provocative clothing, keeps his camera and phone close to him, and always leaves his backpack at home. Before filming a merchant or just a person on the street, be sure to ask his permission. You'll be surprised how responsive people are.

13. Bad weather = great photo

Don't run away when it starts to rain or hail. These are excellent conditions for taking a good shot. Overcast and cloudy days are an opportunity to capture interesting patterns in the sky. Don't sit at home even when the weather seems unflyable.

14. Be prepared to shoot even in the most unexpected moments

It’s not always possible to thoroughly prepare for a shoot; unexpected moments also happen. Like, for example, this shot of a low-flying plane. Therefore, if you don’t want to miss out on great shots, learn the hot keys on your phone. For example, Samsung smartphones have a Camera Quick Access option in the settings. And the new Galaxy S6 has built-in hotkeys, you just need to double-click the Home button.

15. To get better shots, go further than others.

The only way to discover beautiful places is to force yourself to explore. Do you want to get non-standard shots? Move further away from crowded tourist areas.

In general, as Cole says, live a vibrant life, then great photos will appear.