[With examples] Photographer explains tips for taking beautiful photos with a smartphone

Hello, I'm Goto from the Web Services Division.
In my previous jobs, I worked as a photographer and web director.

As a photographer, I mainlyportraitsandfood-take

Here are some examples of the photos I've taken so far:

 

Other photosInstagramare available on

Iwant to be able to take more beautiful and better photos!"have you ever thought, "

If you are not good at photography,

• Even if you think you've taken a beautiful picture, it doesn't look very good in the photo
• I always end up taking dark and blurry photos
• I always end up taking ordinary photos

Do you have any of the following concerns?

When I first started using a camera, I was in exactly the same state

However, after gaining more than five years of practical experience as a photographer, I can now"why I can't take good photos"and"how to take photos that match my vision."clearly determine

In this article, based on my knowledge and experience as a photographer,tips for taking great photos with your smartphonepracticalI would like to share

something anyone can do with just a smartphone, so please take a look.

What you'll learn from this article

• Acquire basic knowledge of photography
• You will be able to understand the reason why you can't take good photos
• You can take beautiful photos with your smartphone

Can you take beautiful photos without an SLR camera?

Many people think that to take beautiful photos, they first need to buy an expensive camera like a DSLR, buta DSLR camera isn't necessarily required.

(Plus, smartphone cameras are getting better and better these days.)

By keeping a few tips in mind,you can take beautiful photos even with a smartphone.

We'll dig deeper below

First of all, what is a good photo?

As a fundamental premise, there is no single absolute correct answer to what constitutes a good photograph, but here, from a commercial perspective,we define a good photograph as "a photograph that effectively conveys the intended message to a large number of people."

High image quality is not necessarily required to take good photos

When considering the advantages of using a single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, most people"high image quality."would probably first think of

Certainly, that's an advantage

(There are other benefits, such as interchangeable lenses, but we won't go into those here.)

However,"high image quality"in conveying what you want to communicate through a photographa supplementary effectI believe that

How much difference is there in image quality between a DSLR and a smartphone?

To verify the difference in quality between an SLR and a smartphone, I took photos of the same subject in my room using both a SLR and a smartphone, trying to shoot in as similar a way as possible. All of the photos below are straight out of the camera and have not been edited

• Photo ①

• Photo ②

...I'm concerned about the dirt on the walls of the room。

If I make a successful investment, I'll renovate it

Aside from that, can you tell which of Photo 1 and Photo 2 was taken with a SLR?

 

The correct answer is Picture 1

Photo ① was taken using a Canon EOS 6D full-frame SLR camera with a Canon EF24-105mm F4L IS USM lens. The camera and lens set together200,000 yencosts around

On the other hand, photo ②an iPhone 8 Pluswas taken with

*Full-frame refers to a camera function standard that enables high-quality photography. The cameras used by many professional photographers are equipped with a full-frame solid-state imaging element (image sensor) standard

 

The difference is easy to see when comparing them on a large monitor, but when comparing them on a small screen like a smartphone, many people probably feel that there isn't much difference between photos ① and ②

As you can see,unless you put some thought into your shooting technique, you won't actually be able to take very beautiful photos even with a DSLR camera.

Conversely, with recent smartphones, by utilizing the latest features (here, using the Portrait Mode on the iPhone 8 Plus) and using clever shooting techniques, you can take high-quality photos that look like they were taken with a DSLR, such as the one below.In fact, they are already high-quality.

High-performance cameras such as SLRshave a superior ability to capture the texture of the subject and the atmosphere and three-dimensionality of the scenery with greater clarity.Therefore, under the same conditions, it is easier to take better photos with an SLR camera than with a smartphone.

However,shooting technique is more important than camera performanceI think you can understand from what we've discussed so far that

the mindset and techniques needed to take good photos,practical exampleswe will delve deeper into

Organize what you want to communicate with your photos [Using a mouse as an example]

taking a photograph doneyou have a message you want to convey through the photographIsn't

youlooks deliciousif you take a picture of a dish thatyou'll try to take the picture in a way that conveys its deliciousness as much as possible, right?

Therefore,"What do I want to convey through my photographs?"before takingthe foundationis an important step that forms

Now, let's consider an example where your boss suddenly asks youto "take some photos that will make this mouse look appealing, because we want to sell it."Together, we'll think about how to take good photos that effectively convey what you want to communicate.

"Um, mouse...?"

I can almost hear such voices

"Can I take an attractive photo of this...?"

friend

 

look at a picture of a mouse and"Wow! That's a really great picture!!"Probably not many people would

In other words,the difficulty levelis quite high.

Even though you may be exhausted by your boss's unreasonable demands, let's try and challenge ourselves together through trial and error

All mouse photos shown from this point forwardan iPhone 8Plus (smartphone)were taken with

(Of course, it is unlikely that you will actually be asked to complete such a mysterious task in Beyond. Even if you were,I make an excuse and decline）

Organize the appeal of your subject

My boss has asked me to take photos of a mouse that looks like it might sell, so I'll start by trying to sort out what makes this mouse so appealing

I found the following to be attractive about this mouse:

• Metallic colors and matte textures are cool
• The size is good and it seems easy to grip
• The moderately rounded shape isadorable.

in order to take better photos from now ona littleexcessivelyI praised them

The first thing to do is to increase motivation

Think about how to convey the appeal of your subject

After identifying the appealing aspects of the mouse, the subject of this project, the next stephow to effectively communicateis to consider

Obviously, this type of photo doesn't convey the charm of the mouse

rolling around in the corner of an apartment building's hallway during the summera cicadaIt looks like

They're scary because they usually start acting violently when you get close

 

I want to take photos of mice that are likely to sell, so the goal this time is for people to look at the photos and"That's a good mouse!"or"I want to use this mouse!"think,

Taking this into consideration, how should you take a photo of the mouse that we have just outlined to convey its appeal?

There are two points to consider:

• Tip 1: Adjust the subject's composition

→From what angle would you be able to capture the most compelling information about your subject?

• Point 2: Adjust the light hitting the subject

→How can you use light to bring out the beautiful texture of the subject?

I will explain them in order

Tip 1: Adjust the subject's composition

When I first organized the layout, I thought that the mouse'scomfortable sizeandthe beauty of its shapecould be highlighted as its main attractions, so I experimented with the composition by adjusting the mouse's placement and other elements to convey those points.

Point 2:Adjust the light hitting the subject→ Conclusion: If shooting indoors, take the picture near a window.

While this is a point that most people other than photographers don't pay much attention to,adjusting the lighting on the subjectextremelyimportant.

When you think, "I don't know why, but this is a good photo..." the key to a photo is usually the lighting

By making the most of the light, you can take photos with sharp contrast

(This photo was taken with a single-lens reflex camera.)

Make use of natural light

While professional photographers typicallylighting devicesuse multiplemeticulously control the light, there are ways to create good lighting without using such equipment.

The answer is simple:make use of natural light.

Natural light is light that is not artificial, such as sunlight

By effectively utilizing natural light,you can easily take beautiful photos that are just as good as those taken with lighting equipment.Indoors,the hours leading up to sunsetduringa window.

Conversely,indoor lighting, you may not get enough light,dark and blurry pictures,resulting in

Taking the above points into consideration, I took a photo of a mouse next to a window

The photo was taken at a slight angle so that the side of the mouse could be seen, allowing the thickness and shape of the mouse to be seen

The shooting angle doesn't seem bad, butthe reflectionsI'm a little concerned about

The bag that the book came in was lying within easy reach, so I decided to use it to reduce unnecessary reflections

There is formal equipment available for suppressing unwanted light, but I wanted to demonstrate how even something as simple as this can effectively control natural light, so I tried it with a bagThe other thing that was a hassle was preparing the equipment

a bag lying around the room, unwanted reflections were eliminated.

I think I was able to take a photo that accurately conveys the shape and texture of the mouse in the way I wanted

So, can we say that we have now taken a photo of a mouse that will sell?

That can't be true

The reason is obvious:in my roommy dirty futonis in the background.

There are so many hairballs

So this time I changed the shooting location from the futon to the desk and tried taking photos using the natural light coming in from the window in the same way

(I wonder why I've been taking photos in bed up until now...)

I think the impression is much better now that the dirty futon is no longer holding me back

(However, because my desk is small, I can no longer take photos from a slightly oblique angle. It would be best if I could take a photo that also captures the side of the mouse, but I'll give up on that this time.)

This photo might sell if you list it on a flea market app, for example

However, when I spoke to my boss,

"Well, it's not bad, but this photo still doesn't make people think, 'I want this mouse!!'"

I was told that. I see, I was speechless

Up until this point,capturing the charm of the subject (the mouse)I had focused onwasn't enough to take photos that would move people's heartsI realized that

Therefore, from here on,focus on elements other than the subjectand think together about how we can take photos that better bring out the charm of the subject (the mouse).

Add a story to your photos

Furthermore, in order to take photos that truly bring out the appeal of the subject (the mouse), it's necessary not only to highlight the mouse's own appeal, butinformation in the photos that allows viewers to imagine what life would be like in the future using this mouse.

That'sto add a story to a photograph.

(In product photography,the color,shape, and texture, which accurately conveyproduct shots,purchasing intentwhich are intended to stimulateimage shots. This time, we will proceed with the assumption that we are taking image shots.)

I will summarize it below

Who uses a mouse?

First, imagine the type of person who will use a mouse. People who use a mouse are often students or working professionals who are doing some kind of work on a PC. Also, since the mouse we will be photographing this time is metallic red, we will create a story that will appeal mainly to men

The lifestyle that mouse users desire

It is likely that people who work using a PC and mouse want to work stylishly in a comfortable and stylish space

With this in mind, let's actually add a story to a photo

Props to create a story

It seems difficult to convey a story with just a photo of a mouse on a desk

Therefore, to enhancethe imageon the deska PC,a ballpoint pen,iced coffee, andartificial plantsand took a photo of them together.

The lively atmosphere made it easier to imagine using a mouse in everyday life, butthe white wallthatunnecessary for this concept, so I will change the shooting angle so that the white wall is not visible.

In this way,when you can't take a photo that matches the image, take a look at the entire photo you've taken andif there are any unnecessary things in itcheckhow to retake the photo to get the image you envisioned.

Also, the imitation greenery used this timehad a rather cute impressionwith the mouse and other propsa mismatchand I judged that it was

Here is the photo I took again after correcting some of the imperfections

 

Compared to the previous photo,the amount of information is now balanced, and the story of working stylishly using a mouse (the subject) is much easier to visualize.

This is not bad if it's finished

next to the deskthe indirect lighting, so I decided to try using that as well as a last resort.

Below are some scenes from the shoot

In this way, new light was added to the desk,a different atmosphere from natural lightcreating

indirect lightingHere are some photos taken using

deliberately narrowing the area where the light hits, a morestylishatmosphere was achieved.

In this way, by deliberately not capturing the entire scene clearly, or by intentionally having the PC or imitation greeneryextend beyond the frame,of depthandcontrastyou can take photos that convey a sense

This photothe completion ofmarks

As a general rule, we recommend not using indoor lighting and instead making use of natural light from windows, but indirect lighting can often be used effectively, as in this case. Please give it a try

Summary of this article

1. High image quality is not the key to a good photo. A good photo is one that conveys the message
2. To take a good photo, organize the subject's appeal in your mind before taking the photo
3. To take a good photo, adjust the composition and lighting to bring out the subject's charm (if indoors, use natural light coming in through a window)
4. Use backgrounds and props to tell a story in your photos

I would be happy if even one of the contents is helpful

Thank you for watching until the end!