7 tips for snapping better pictures with your smartphone

Smartphones have democratised photography, giving everyone the opportunity to unlock their creativity.

Though it’s easy to snap a picture, it takes some technical suss and imagination to create a photograph that will get your friends on Facebook and Instagram talking.

The good news, however, is that nearly anyone can learn how to take great snaps, provided they learn some basic disciplines and practice them until they become second nature. And with camera technology in smartphones improving all the time, these devices help you to capture meaningful moments and beautiful images wherever you are. After all, the best camera is the one with you, which is most likely to be your phone.

Here are some general tips from HTC for using your smartphone camera to capture better photos:

1. Pay attention to your background

Don’t get so caught up in focusing on your subject that you pay no attention to the background. For example, you don’t want to include the pavement rubbish bins when you’re taking a photo of your friend. Rather move closer or ask the person you’re photographing to step to the side to exclude the unwanted detail from the frame.

2. Choose a perspective

Take your photographs from unusual perspectives to create interesting effects. Shoot upwards from a low angle to make things look large, or take your shot from a higher angle make things look smaller or to capture a larger area of detail

3. Zoom with your feet

Zooming with your camera phone results in pixelation and increases sensitivity to camera shake,

resulting in blurred imagery. Rather get closer to your subject for the perfect closeup.

4. Avoid camera shake

To lessen camera shake, be as still as possible while shooting: take a deep breath in, hold, snap,

breathe out.

5. Avoid using your flash

Using flash can give your photos a sterile, overlit look, which can be especially harsh on faces. If

you must use flash, why not cover it with some tracing paper to soften the effect?

6. Learn which apps and filters you love

Experiment with filters apps like Instagram to create a style that you like. When people see a pic

with a particular filter, they’ll recognise your style. Pro tip: The VSCO app provides filters that are

emulations of popular film cameras. There are hundreds of combinations you can create with the

number of filters provided.

7. Use apps to enhance your photos

Great photos are made in the editing process. Pro photographers almost always touch up their

photos to get the exact look and effect they want. An app like Snapseed offers you basic editing

tools and some cool filters to get you started. It also offers some features for heavyduty

editing once you’re more experienced.

For more info about the HTC Desire lines of smartphones visit www.htc.com