The holiday season is full of memorable moments you’ll want to capture. These smartphone tips from photographer Heather Holt will help you make memories you’ll want to share with friends and family, and maybe even print.
Indoor photos
NATURAL LIGHT
Try to get your subject in as much natural light as possible. Make sure to get the light on the subject’s face and not behind the subject. Position yourself with the light at your back and your subject in front of you so as much light is hitting them as possible. If you get the light behind the subject this is called back lighting and will cause the subject’s face to be very dark and the background to be bright and blown out. Details will be lost, and it is not the most flattering lighting.
AVOID THE FLASH
Try not to use your camera’s flash. Using natural light will make your subject look exactly that, more natural. Many smartphone flashes are not terribly strong, so you will get a darker image and it will appear ‘flat’ as you will lose the depth that occurs with the natural lighting. You will also likely get a case of red eye with the flash, and no one likes to look like they have laser beams for eyes!
THE MORE LIGHT, THE BETTER
If you cannot use window light, try photos during the day in a well-lit area. Open curtains and switch on all lights. The more light the better, because many smartphones are not great in low-light situations, and it will cause the photo to be grainy and appear pixelated.
Outdoor photos
USE THE RIGHT LIGHT
The absolute ideal situation when photographing outdoors is to use that very early morning light right after sunrise, or the golden sunset light that occurs one hour to 45 minutes before the sun goes down. It is not as bright as midday light, it doesn’t produce harsh overhead shadows and the colour of the light is warm and soft, making for very flattering photos.
BACKGROUND
Think about your background: are there lots of people in the background? Are there power lines and cars going by? Will it look like a palm tree is growing out of your subject’s head? Even a step to the left or right can block out annoyances in the background and make for a nicer photo. Also, it is always nice to try to find a quiet place on the beach or in an area with lots of greenery.
SHOOTING IN GREENERY
When shooting in greenery, avoid the ‘speckled lighting’. This is the scattered light through the treetops which makes the subject have very light areas and very dark shadows on them and is not ideal. This can be avoided by shooting in the early morning or later afternoon before sunset. If you can put the light source behind the subject to get a nice soft back-lit glow, and even light across their face, that is ideal.
SHOOTING ON THE BEACH
When shooting on the beach, be aware of the sunset and back lighting mentioned above with the indoor tips. If you shoot directly into the sun, you will get more of a silhouette rather than a nice portrait that shows the subject’s face, or your smartphone might expose for the subject and blow out the background, making it look white and uninteresting. In this case, you might want to consider using the flash, or moving the subject over a bit so some of the sunset lighting is hitting their face and yet still getting a bit of the sunset glow in the sky. Or, if you are going for a silhouette look with the sunset, you can shoot wider, getting their whole body in the shot and have lots of fun with different body shapes.
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