When we go out to hike we try to keep our pack as light as possible. We can leave our map, our iPod, and even our wallet behind because our smartphone can do it all! One of the most convenient features of these phones is quick access to a camera\u2014but just because you frequently use the camera on your phone doesn\u2019t mean you couldn\u2019t use a few helpful hints. Here are 5 easy tricks for taking good smartphone photos:<\/p>\n
Nature is full of lines, which will be great for your photographs! Trails, rivers, and even fence lines help create dimension in your photos, so utilize them whenever you can. These \u201clines\u201d draw a viewer\u2019s eye into the photo.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to focus your picture on a smartphone, just tap the screen where you want the focus to be and voil\u00e0! The next question is where to focus your picture. When you\u2019re taking pictures of a person or animal always focus on the eyes. People have an instinct to look into the eyes of the subject, so if they\u2019re blurry the viewer is more likely to lose interest. If you are taking pictures of the landscape, just pick a point of focus in the center of the landscape.<\/p>\n
Finding natural frames is sometimes challenging in nature, but well worth it to find one for the composition of your photo. Frames help to define edges and highlight the best parts of your photo\u2019s subject. Using bent trees over the trail or a view through a car window creates natural frames in your outdoor photograph.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re outside, more often than not, your light will come from the sun, so it\u2019s important to be aware of where the sun is. The best time of day for outdoor photography is at dawn and dusk when the angle of the sun is fairly low. If the sun is positioned behind your subject they are \u2018backlit\u2019 and you can use that to your advantage. It can create a nice silhouette around your subject, helping viewers focus on your subject. It\u2019s not recommended to use your flash when you\u2019re outside because it can wash out your subject. If you want to make a dark area lighter, you can tap on your screen and it will increase the amount of light.<\/p>\n
Gridlines are a great feature of smartphones. Gridlines allow you to follow the\u00a0 \u201crule of thirds\u201d which basically means that a subject right in the middle of a photo is not visually interesting. Check the camera settings for your phone to turn on the gridlines feature.<\/p>\n
Also, try to embrace the empty space that you create; it allows you to tell more about the environment of your subjects. This empty space is also a great time to play with reflections! If there is a lake around or even a puddle, try and incorporate the reflections.<\/p>\n
Follow these steps to create a great outdoor photo, but remember to put your own spin on it. Nature is beautiful and inspiring, so use your creativity to capture what you love most about the world around you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When we go out to hike we try to keep our pack as light as possible. We can leave our map, our iPod, and even our wallet behind because our smartphone can do it all! One of the most convenient features of these phones is quick access to a camera\u2014but just because you frequently use […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[39],"class_list":["post-1099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-park-visitors","tag-spring-2017"],"yoast_head":"\n