Smartphone Photography

Workshop Workbook

Hosted by Mike James

Camera features - capture techniques - intention/storytelling - ChatGPT- composition - photo editing - video resources - checklist and more...

Tap the screen on the subject to take the camera off full auto mode and tell the camera where to focus and what to make sharp in the image
Tapping the screen also tells the camera where to calculate the balance of light and dark (exposure). Have you taken photos where the background is either too dark or too bright? Whilst the little sun icon is displayed – you can swipe up or down and on some later model Android phones swipe left and right, to activate a light slider. You now have full creative control over how light or dark you want the image
Most smartphones allow you to long press the screen, locking the focus and exposure. This is handy when you have moving objects between you and the subject or taking multiple images
Alternative capture options. Some Android phones allow you to add a secondary shutter button for ease of reach. You can even say cheese to capture landscape photos!
Hold your finger on the shutter button to capture a burst of photos (Android). The iPhone burst feature is now the volume button once activated in the settings.
iPhone specific tips – Live Photos now has a long exposure effect that can be used creatively to blur motion. Open your photo in the Photos app, tap on the Live icon in the top left corner and select Long Exposure. You can also select the best moment of capture over those 3-seconds. Tap on Edit then tap on the Live Photos icon next to the adjustments icon, swipe the white box across the timeline and tap on Make Key Frame
iPhone-specific tip – the grid lines now have a cross-hairs feature to help you hold the phone perfectly flat for those overhead images

Clean the lens – your phone is often placed in your pocket or handbag and can get quite dirty. This is often overlooked by even the most astute amateur photographers! Using a cotton bud will reach inside those difficult to access lens surrounds. Don't forget to clean both the front and back of lens attachments.
Stabilise the phone by holding it in two hands. If practical, keep your elbows close to your body and use a tripod or rest your hand against something stable
Indoor photos may be problematic - even if you have night mode on your smartphone. Often these modes will be enabled in very dark conditions. Introduce light or look for opportunities to take advantage of improved lighting location
If you can, move closer to the subject instead of digital zoom
Turn on the grid lines and position the subject off-centre horizontally and vertically. This is a compositional technique called Rule of Thirds - more on this later
Look at the direction and quality of lighting. Soft diffused light trumps bright midday sunlight
Capture the subject from a unique angle or perspective - that is not eye level
Check the background is clutter and distraction free
To create a blurred background, make sure there is a distance between the subject and background. If practical, place the subject close to the lens to create a more dramatic blur.
Taking a burst of photos will help to capture the precise moment that communicates the story intended.

A good indicator of storytelling is if you do not need to explain anything.

What is your subject or photo intention?

Taking the time to stop and think about your motivation for taking the photo will help you to think about how to best make it clear to the viewer. Your photo audience may even be yourself looking at the memory in years to come. Making the photo subject clearer will help your memory recall. We often enjoy the memory more than the experience itself!

Storytelling comes down to several components:

The intention of the photo – what is the purpose of the photo?
Subject and context – make the subject and supporting context clear
Strong composition – control the viewers’ attention using lines, shapes, tones, colours
Emotion – make a connection to elicit some form of imaginative response

A photo of foamed milk being poured into a coffee is a common image shared and it works. The strong composition element is the leading lines created by the hands, jug, and the swirling lines leading the eye back to the pouring milk. The action is the holding of the cup and the milk being poured. For the coffee drinkers among us, we all have an emotional connection to our coffee!

ChatGPT - subject-specific photo tips

Start by going to chat.openai.com
Create a free account by using an email address or a Google or Microsoft account to sign up. OpenAI requires a valid phone number for verification.
Craft and enter your first prompt.
Refine your prompts with practice and experimentation

The prompt: List mobile photography tips for chickens

The response: Sure, here are some mobile photography tips for capturing chickens:

1. Get down to their level: Try to capture the chickens from their eye level to create a more engaging perspective.
2. Natural lighting: Photograph chickens outdoors in natural light to avoid harsh shadows and get vibrant colors.
3. Patience and calmness: Chickens can be skittish, so approach them calmly and wait for the right moment to capture their natural behaviors.
4. Use burst mode: Chickens can move quickly, so use burst mode on your phone to capture multiple shots in quick succession.
5. Rule of thirds: Apply the rule of thirds to compose your shots and create a visually appealing image.
6. Focus on details: Zoom in to capture the fine details of their feathers and unique features.
7. Keep backgrounds simple: Ensure the background isn't too distracting and highlight the chicken as the main subject.
8. Avoid using flash: Flash can startle the chickens and lead to unnatural lighting, so it's best to avoid using it.
9. Experiment with angles: Try shooting from different angles to find the most interesting and creative shots.
10. Edit and enhance: Use photo editing apps to enhance colors, sharpness, and overall quality of your poultry photographs.
Remember, patience and observation are key when photographing animals. Happy shooting!

ChatGPT - location-specific ideas

The prompt: I am in Essendon Victoria. Can you give me some location-specific creative photography ideas

The response: Certainly! Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, offers various unique opportunities for creative photography. Here are some location-specific ideas to capture interesting and engaging photos in Essendon:

Windsocks at Essendon Airport: The iconic windsocks at Essendon Airport can make for captivating subjects. Try capturing them against a vibrant sky during sunrise or sunset, or experiment with long exposure to capture their movement in the wind.
Essendon Traffic Bridge: Explore the geometric lines and patterns of the Essendon Traffic Bridge. Consider shooting from different angles—under the bridge, from a distance, or with a person walking across the bridge—to create visually intriguing compositions.
Essendon Fields: This area has a mix of modern architecture, open spaces, and landscaping. Look for interesting juxtapositions of nature and urban elements. Try focusing on the clean lines of modern structures, or capture the play of light and shadow in the green spaces.
Rose Street Park: If you're looking for natural beauty, Rose Street Park is a great spot. Capture the vibrant colors of the flowers, use the trees to frame your shots, or photograph families enjoying the park. Consider macro photography to showcase the intricate details of flowers.
Maribyrnong River: Explore the banks of the Maribyrnong River. Look for reflections in the water, people enjoying recreational activities, or capture the river against the cityscape in the background. Sunrise or sunset can add a beautiful ambiance to your photos.
Essendon Historical Society: If you're interested in capturing historical aspects, visit the Essendon Historical Society. Photograph artifacts, vintage buildings, or people learning about history. This can create a sense of nostalgia in your photos.
Local Street Scenes: Wander through the streets of Essendon, capturing everyday life. Look for interesting architectural details, vibrant cafes, street art, or unique shop fronts. Candid street photography can showcase the local vibe.
Flemington Racecourse: While technically in the adjacent suburb of Flemington, the racecourse is not far from Essendon. If there's an event happening, it's a fantastic opportunity to capture the excitement, fashion, and color of horse racing.
Aerial Views: If you have access to a higher vantage point, consider capturing aerial views of Essendon. This can give a unique perspective on the suburb, its layout, and the surrounding landscape.
Community Events: Keep an eye out for local events, markets, or festivals in Essendon. These can provide a vibrant backdrop for your photos, capturing the spirit of the community.

Remember to be respectful of people's privacy and property when taking photos. Be open to experimentation, play with different lighting conditions, and embrace the essence of Essendon in your compositions.

Understanding how we interpret an image and how our eye is guided around an image, can dramatically improve the ‘readability’ of your photographs. Effective photos commonly feature a strong focal point and are strategically positioned to interact with the surrounding objects, lines, colours and lighting within the photo. This technique of creating a harmonious aesthetically pleasing photo is called ‘composition’.

Rule of Thirds - turn on grid-lines

The rule of thirds is a photography composition technique that divides an image into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, so that you have nine parts. It's a way to help you create a balanced and interesting composition. The idea is to place the most important elements of your photo along the lines or at the points where they intersect. The placement of the visual anchor (main subject) off-centre encourages the viewer to explore beyond thus creating a visual hierarchy and flow to the composition.

Isolate the subject - de-clutter the background

The bottle against a busy, cluttered bar does add context. However, the image captured from a lower angle against a distant, blurred background results in the bottle becoming more distinguishable as the main subject.

Discover over 100 composition techniques and tools inside my book 'Stronger Photo Composition:4-Step System - over 100 techniques and tools' Link here

Snapseed app - photo editing process

1. Straighten using Perspective tool

Straighten the photo and change the perspective. I avoid using either Rotate or the rotate option within Crop.

2. Crop

Crop the photo considering composition. This can change the whole story and feel of your image. Where will you be sharing the image? This may affect the crop aspect.

3. Tune Image

Identify issues that need to be addressed to the whole photo (global adjustments). Start with Ambience, then go from the top at brightness and work your way down. I quite often need to go back and add a little more contrast.

4. Details

Tap on details to find two options: structure and sharpening. I rarely go beyond 15 in structure, because it becomes a little grungy; then increase sharpening to what I like.

5. Healing

Pinch and zoom into areas that need replacing. Swipe over an object and it will be replaced with similar content (pixels) on either side.

6. Blur

Lens blur filter is great for blurring a distracting background.

Lightroom mobile editing workflow

1. Crop

This crucial step allows you to completely change the composition.

2. Preset

It's not cheating to use a preset! These filters inside Lightroom are a fantastic way to discover a new look and editing result that you may not have considered or even been aware of. Inside Lightroom, you can actually see in the adjustment tools exactly what was applied. This allows us to tweak the look to our personal preference.

3. Color

We can adjust the white balance, adjust individual hues and add color casts to different tonal ranges. This can change the whole feel of an image.

4. Tones

Now, we can play around with shadows, highlights, contrast, and white and black point.

5. Texture

Access my favorite tool Texture and other powerful options to make the photo jump off the screen... clarity and dehaze.

6. Masking

Having a subscriber account allows you to access local (area-specific) adjustments. This is the real power of editing. This is where you can get creative and change the visual hierarchy and visual flow. You can darken areas, add light, change colors, add textures and smooth areas. You can also desaturate areas to take attention away from parts of the image. Very powerful and a whole lot of fun!

Video resources

BONUS: Top 6 Photo Editing Apps

1. Snapseed by Google

Snapseed is a very intuitive, easy to use app that has more advanced tools and capabilities hidden away for the more serious photo editing.

App Store link | Google Play Store link

2. TouchRetouch by Adva Soft GmbH

This is the leading app for removing distracting and unwanted elements in your image.

3. Lightroom by Adobe

Do not be intimidated by the word Adobe. This is a mobile version and is as intuitive to use as most apps. You tap and swipe around the various tools.

4. Photoshop Mix by Adobe

This app allows you to blend multiple images using a variety of tools to selectively reveal stacked photos.

5. After Focus by MotionOne

This app adjusts background blur during and post photo capture.

6. Polarr by Polarr

It is my go-to app after Snapseed and Lightroom. You can use most tools in the free version.

Access the eBook for further information - here

Taking a moment to run through a photography checklist will help to transition your images from snapshots to more engaging and intentional photographs.

1. Clean the lens

The first thing you check when your images are starting to become blurry!

2. What is my subject or photo intention?

Taking the time to stop and think about your motivation for taking the photo will help you to make it clearer in the image. It will also encourage you to think about how to best make it clear to the viewer.

3. Am I close enough to emphasise the subject and still capture the context?

Keeping the surrounding area in the image contributes to the story being told in the scene. If you are cropped closer, it becomes all about the finer details.

4. Should I hold the phone vertically or horizontally?

If like me, you view your photos on a TV screen then vertical images are going to have extra blank sections on the side. Some images definitely should be vertical.

5. Is the background clutter-free and distant enough to provide depth?

Isolating the subject against a busy background will minimise the chance of the viewers' attention wandering, looking at everything else in the image. If you are using the portrait mode or another app to artificially blur the background, they are much more effective when there is a distance between the subject and the background.

6. What is the light quality, direction and intensity?

You may not notice images that have beautiful lighting. You sure notice the bad lighting images. This could be strong overhead light that casts a shadow over a face.

7. Does an alternative height or angle create a more interesting perspective?

We all experience life at eye level! Sometimes, even the most common scene can become instantly more interesting and intriguing by simply capturing it an alternative angle. Low angles of children and pets become much more intimate. It is also fun getting down to their level and looking at the world from their perspective.

8. How does this scene make me feel? Create mood through light, colour and composition.

Bright sunshine can contradict a scene that has a more dramatic and gloomy subject matter. Conversely, an overcast day can make it more difficult to evoke a fun, energetic sun-loving activity.

9. Where is the subject positioned and how do they interact with other elements in the frame?

If there is movement in the image, can I include space ahead of the subject.

10. Should I use the rule of thirds or an alternative compositional technique?

Rule of thirds is a basic compositional technique to place the main subject off-centre vertically, horizontally or both. This is one of the most commonly applied techniques in my photography checklist.

11 Are there available leading lines existing in the photo opportunity?

Scenes can have naturally occurring or introduced lines to attract and direct the attention of the viewer.

12. How does my eye flow through the scene? Are there distractions pulling my attention the wrong way?

Controlling viewer attention is a great way of directing them through the scene to help communicate the story. Controlling what they notice next in the image provides a timeline to the narrative.

13. Do I need to override the auto mode and use a camera replacement app to access manual control?

Low light, long exposure or macro photography can all benefit from using a camera replacement app to override the standard camera on your phone. These apps use the existing hardware and different software to provide manual control or automatically blend multiple images.

14. Would this be a great opportunity to use the portrait, live focus or another mode available on my smartphone?

These modes create an artificially blurred background and in some cases a bokeh effect that is typically found in the 'big' cameras.

Sometimes we do not have the luxury of time to consider all the tips raised in this photography checklist. Luckily, many can be applied after the photo was captured in mobile photo editing.

15. Is tack-sharp focus critical in the photo?

One of the most common issues smartphone photo enthusiasts face is having blurry images. This could be the first step, cleaning the lens or taking the step of tapping the screen to focus. Some smartphones will allow you to digitally zoom in, long-press the screen to lock the focus and zoom out again.

16. Do I need to shoot in RAW for extensive editing or printing or is JPEG file format sufficient (95% of the time)

If you want to capture images in RAW dng file format, my recommendation is to use the Adobe Lightroom CC app. It is available for free on the Google Play and App Store.

17. Is this intended to be a black and white image?

If so, set the phone to display black and white as you capture the image. This will help you tremendously to identify which scenes have the lines, texture and dynamic range to look stunning as a black and white image before you take the photo.

18. Do I need to use a tripod or a lens attachment?

A tripod offers stability to avoid camera movement and image blur. Some can be quite small, compact and perfect for travel. Lens attachments can extend the capability, versatility and creativity of your images. These include macro, wide, fisheye and fixed zoom lenses.

19. Do I need this photo?

Are you like me and have a massive, growing library of images that I am never going to look at again? As part of the pre-shoot checklist, we have already identified photographic intention. That is great, do you need the photo though? Sometimes, it is better to just put your phone away and enjoy the moment.

20. You check the photo and are not initially satisfied. Do you need to check the list of questions again?

As you become more experienced and shoot regularly, you start to implement many of these tips instinctively. When the photo does not look as great as you imagined, it may then be time to take a moment and think through the steps again.