Smartphone Camera Tips

Photos are a great way to capture memories on your tours—and even market your product. While you may not have a fancy camera (or if you do, you may not want to lug it around with you), smartphones enable us to take high-quality photos and edit them. Here are four tips to help you take better photos with your phone.

1. Use gridlines to balance your shot. One of the best ways to improve your smartphone photos is to turn on the camera's gridlines. Turning on your camera's gridlines superimposes a series of lines on the screen of your smartphone's camera, based on the "rules of thirds." This photographic composition principle dictates an image should be broken down into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, so you have nine parts total. According to the theory, if you place points of interest along the lines (or in the intersections of the lines), your photo will be more balanced.

2. Focus on one subject. Best photos typically include only one interesting subject. When taking a picture of one thing, spend some extra time setting up the shot. Some professional photographers say the subject shouldn't fill the entire frame. Leaving about two-thirds of negative space in the photo will help the subject stand out more. Make sure to tap the screen of your smartphone to focus the camera on your subject.

3. Avoid zooming in. When you're taking a photo from a distance, it's tempting to zoom in on something specific. Resist the temptation. Zooming in can make a photo appear grainy, blurry or pixelated. Instead, try to get closer to your subject. If you can't get closer, take the photo from a default distance and crop it later—that way, you'll optimize a larger image without compromising the quality.

4. Take candids. Posed photos are great, but sometimes candid shots can be more interesting. Candid photos are better able to effectively capture the emotion and essences of a moment. One of the best ways to capture a great candid shot is to take as many photos as possible.

Written by Cassie Westrate, staff writer for Groups Today. Information adapted from Lindsay Kolowich's article, "Phone Photography 101: How to Take Good Pictures With Your Phone." You can read her original article online at blog.hubspot.com.