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Smartphone Photography

Presented by Neil SchmidtAugust 16, 2018

Smartphone Photography...A little background...• 90% of photos now taken are with smartphones or tablets

(only 10% with dedicated Cameras)• Dedicated camera usage has fallen ~1/2 in just the last 2 years• Smartphone photography has improved so much that it is now not

just for “home/family” photos• When travelling, you now see relatively few photos being taken with

dedicated cameras (SLR, mirrorless, point-and-shoot)• Smartphone cameras, as good as they now are, will continue to

improve

Presentation Topics• Advantages of smartphone photography• Camera essentials• Camera tips & tricks• Editing photos• Organizing photos• Storing photos• Sharing photos

Advantages of Smartphone Photography

Advantages...• Excellent photos, especially if you have adequate light• Most people always have their phone with them • Storing and sharing images is very easy with a smartphone• Auto geotagging and date/time tagging are great features• You can easily edit photos on the spot• Advanced computational features (panoramic, portrait, long exposure, etc.)

Main Disadvantages vs. Dedicated Camera• Low light performance (smaller sensor)• No real lens options (fixed lens, no optical zoom)• Less image control (fewer manual settings available)• Photo resolution often less (In my case: 12 MP vs. 20 MP)Smartphones can take great pictures and:

“The best camera is then one you have with you”

Low Light Photo Example

Bright Light Photo Example 1

Bright Light Photo Example 2

Photo taken from fast moving “Long-tail” boat

Geotagging Photos

Ronda, Spain

Smartphone Camera Essentials

An Apology...• My camera examples are almost all with an iPhone• If you have an Android smartphone, your camera will

probably have the same or similar functions but “buttons” may be in different locations (check user guide)

• Most iOS apps discussed are also available for Android devices

• A couple “iOS only” features will be discussed• Does your smartphone have other interesting

features? (please share)

Smartphone Stock Camera

Standard Photo

• Standard camera modes (iOS)• Photo *• Time-Lapse• Slo-Mo• Portrait *• Pano *• Video (4K at 60fps)

• HDR *• Filters *• Flash• Zoom (optical 2x)• AE/AF (auto exposure/focus) *

Stock camera is usually the quickest to launch and simplest to use

Smartphone Camera AppsMany third-party camera apps are available• Extra control over settings like:

• Shutter speed• Exposure• White balance• Live filters• Bonus editing tools

• Some good ones:• Obscura 2 ($4.99)• Manual ($3.99)• Camera+ ($2.99)• ProCamera ($5.99)• Hydra ($4.99) *

Third-party apps give you more flexibility but are typically more complex to launch & use

ProCamera ($5.99)

Smartphone Camera Tips & Tricks

Eliminate Motion Blur

To prevent getting blurry pictures most of the time, use the Volumebutton instead of the shutter key

Changing Focus & ExposureAuto Exposure and Focus (AE/AF)

How to do it:•Tap on screen to set focus point•Adjust slider up/down to adjust

exposure

AE/AF Lock (holds settings)How to do it:• Tap and hold on screen• Adjust settings the same as above

Set focus point

Adjust exposure

Panoramic Photography“Pano” mode• Use when view is too large to fit into one photo• Simulates a wide angle lens affect

How to do it:• Select “Pano” mode on camera• Default flow (portrait): left -> right

(landscape): bottom -> top• Switch flow direction by touching on arrow• Hit the photo button and move camera continuously along

flow direction and along alignment line• Hit the photo button again to stop panoramic

Note: There may be some photo distortion at the edges of the pano

Burst Mode Photography

Using “Burst Mode”:• Great for photographing moving subjects such

as kids, dogs, sports, etc.• “You pick the most important moment”

How to do it:• Continuously hold down camera shutter

button (iOS: 12 photos/sec)• Use “Edit/Select” to select photo(s) you want

to keep• Delete unwanted photos

Hold down shutter buttonSelect photos to keep

Spice-Up Photos with Color Filters• Filters used to “interpret” light• General types of filters

• Light balance (Vivid, Dramatic, Mono)• Warming (red, orange, yellow)• Cooling (violet, blue, green)

• 9 smartphone camera filters (iOS)• Filters also available via editor (iOS)

HDR PhotographyHigh Dynamic Range (HDR) Photo Mode

• Tool for high contrast photos• Increases photo’s Dynamic Range (bright to dark)• Merges multiple images (typically brightest,

average, darkest)• Need to hold camera stationary

Enhanced HDR Option• Hydra – Amazing Photography app ($4.99)

• Camera merges 14-60 images • Increases Dynamic Range of photo (med./strong)• Also has: Low-light noise, 4x zoom, and High-Res

modes (32 MP image)• Need to hold camera stationary

• Snapseed editer: “HDR Scape” and

AutoHDR (free Windows 10 program)• Processes single image using pseudo HDR

technology• Cannot overcome data lost from overexposed

sections of photo Hydra – Amazing Photography

Long Exposure Photography

What is it?• Make running water seem to flow• Capture a steak of car lights• Show motion of a subject• Dedicated camera: Use long shutter

speed with ND filter

How to do it (iPhone 6s +):• Turn on “Live Photo” (1.5 sec. video)

• Take photo (hold camera very still)• In “Photo” app, swipe up• Select “Long Exposure” in Effects

Portrait Lighting PhotographyPortrait Mode:• Dual lens cameras only:

• iPhone 7+, 8+, X• Pixel 2 XL• Galaxy S9, etc.

• Depth-of-field effect (3D)• Portrait lighting choices:

• Natural light• Studio light• Contour light• Stage light• Stage light mono Natural lightStage light

Advanced Portrait Photography OptionFocos App (free)

• Works with iOS Portrait mode photos

• Computational 3D depth• Adjust affective aperture size

to change depth-of-field• Professional looking “bokeh”

(blur the background with shallow depth-of-field)

Original Photo 3D Depth View Bokeh Affect

A Few Additional Smartphone Tips• Keep your lens clean• Turn on grid lines

“Rule of Thirds”

• Avoid zooming“The best zoom lens is probably your feet”

• Don’t use the flash• Avoid low light

If you must: Use long shutter speed (Obscura)

• Hold it steady• Carry a portable battery pack when

travelling

Editing Photos With Your Smartphone

Editing Photos• Built-in photo editor

• Basic editing functions (Crop/straighten, saturation, contrast, fill light, tint, mark-up, etc.)

• Non-destructive editing (iOS)• My editing essentials: Crop/straighten, light, contrast

• Other photo editors available (all free):• Snapseed (Google)• Adobe Photoshop Express• Instagram, Snapchat• PicsArt• Etc...

Google Snapseed

Editing Photos on Your TabletPhoto edits on the fly...• Affinity Photo ($19.99)• Full featured professional photo

editor (iPad 2017+)• Refined selection tools• Massive collection of adjustment

options• Apple “App of the Year 2017” • Also available for Windows 10

($49.99)• Adobe planning “full-version”

Photoshop for iPad in 2019

Editing Example with Affinity Photo

Before Editing (Photo with iOS HDR) After iPad Editing with Affinity Photo

Organizing Your Smartphone Photos

Organizing Your Photos• All photo cloud based systems typically:

• Store your photos sorted by Date• Allow you to put photos in Albums or Folders

• A few systems use “AI” to auto organize photos (via tags)• Microsoft Photos (people, collections)• Amazon Prime Photos (people, places, things)• iOS Photos (people, places map, date/place, memories) • Google Photos (people & pets, places, things, location)

• Tags are a great way to find specific photos or groups of photos

Amazon Prime Photos Organization

Albums People Places

iOS Photos Organization

Albums People Places (map) Date/Place Memories

Google Photos Organization

Albums People & Pets Places Things Location

Storing Your Smartphone Photos

Protecting Your PhotosHow important are your photos?Dept. of Homeland Security’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team “3-2-1 plan”:

3. Keep 3 copies of any important file (1 primary and 2 backups)

2. Keep the files on 2 different media types to protect against different types of hazards (hard-drive, DVD, flash-drive, cloud, etc.)

1. Store 1 copy offsite (e.g. outside your home or business)

Photo Storage Options• Leave all your photos on your smartphone• Store photos on “your PC”• Store photos in a “cloud drive”:

• Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, ...• iCloud (iOS)• Etc.

• Store photos in a “cloud photo site”:• Google Photos (unlimited, 16 MP/photo)• Amazon Prime Photos (unlimited, 2 GB/photo)• Flickr/SmugMug (1 TB total)• Shutterfly (unlimited)• Etc.

• Store on DVD’s, flash-drives, external hard-drive

Transferring Photos from SmartphoneWays to upload photos to your PC:• E-mail photo to yourself• Direct connect via cable & up-load• SD card/flash-drive transfer (Duo-Link)• Wi-Fi transfer:

• MS Photos Companion app (free)• AirMore app (free)

• Upload to cloud storage site (auto/manual) then transfer to PC

WiFi Transfer to PC

• “Photos Companion” smartphone app (free)

• “Photos” Windows 10 app• Settings: Preview “On”• Import: “From mobile over WiFi”

• Link by scanning QR code with phone• Must be on same WiFi• Select photos to transfer• PC file folder: “Pictures > Imported

from Photos Companion”• Move photos to your own

“organized” picture folders

Microsoft “Photos Companion”

WiFi Transfer to PC

“AirMore”• “AirMore” smartphone app (free)• PC browser: “web.airmore.com”• Must be on same WiFi• App scans QR code on PC screen

(Does not work with MS Edge browser)• Select file location to import images

Uploading Photos to Cloud Storage SiteAuto & Manual options usually availableAuto upload

• Use a cloud storage’s smartphone app• Go to app settings: “Back-up & sync.” (or similar)• Select Auto uploads for all new photos• Typically only uploads when on WiFi and app is active on your smartphone• My technique: auto upload to both “iCloud Photo Library” and “Google Photos”

Manual upload• Use cloud storage’s smartphone app• Individually select photos to upload via the app

Sharing Your Smartphone Photos

Sharing Photos with OthersIt is easy to share photos directly via your smartphone

• MMS text message (limits on size/number)• E-mail (limits on size/number)• Instant transfer via WiFi/Bluetooth (iOS

AirDrop, Android FileDrop or FilesGo app)• Social media sharing• Cloud sharing

Social Media SharingBy far, the most popular way to share photos is:

Facebook: Social media networking (350 M/day)

• How to do it:• Click “Photo” on your News feed or Timeline page• Select the photos you want to share• Add comment about photo• Optional:

• Tag individuals in photo• Tag location of photo• Add photo to an album• Individually select who will see photo

• Easiest way to share photos with friends

Social Media SharingOther social media sharing options:• Snapchat: Person-to-person photo sharing (1-10 sec.)

• Instagram: Photo & video sharing (Facebook)

• Tumblr: Microblogging and social networking

• WhatsApp: Cross-platform messaging

• Google Hangouts: Communication platform

• Line: Instant communication (popular in Asia)

• Etc...

Cloud SharingAnother way to share...

• Google Photos• Amazon Prime Photos• Flickr/SmugMug• Shutterfly• Dropbox, Box, etc.• iCloud (iOS)• Etc.

• Select individuals to receive share link

FlickrGoogle Photos Amazon Photos

My Smartphone Photography ExperimentLast two trips only used a smartphone camera• Did not encounter any situation where I was unable to get a “good” photo

(including low light)

• In most cases, the photos looked as good as my 20 MP dedicated camera photos would have been

• Geotagging of photos is great when travelling

• Automatic Date/Time is also convenient when in different time zones

• Biggest problem: optical zoom limitations (2x smartphone vs. 10x dedicated camera)

There are times when you may still want to use it:• Very low light situations• Digital zoom is needed to capture a subject• Enlarging photos for wall display printing

Still Using a Dedicated Camera?

• 150ppi prints can be quite good (6MP: 18” x 12”)• The quality of a photo is primarily determined by the photographer’s skill and

not the camera being used

Megapixels Best (300ppi) Better (200ppi) Good (150ppi)

6 10” x 7” 15” x 10” 20” x 13”

8 11” x 8” 16” x 12” 22” x 16”

12 14” x 9” 21” x 14” 29” x 19”

16 16” x 11” 25” x 16” 32” x 22”

18 17” x 12” 26” x 17” 35” x 23”

It’s time to take more photos with your smartphone...

The end....