1. Shoot during the golden hour
Shooting in the last hour of daylight makes for golden hues and gentle shadows. Photo credit: Amadou Diallo.
Photography enthusiasts have long known that one of the tricks for getting great natural lighting is to shoot during the first or last hour of daylight. Known as the golden hour (or magic hour), these times of day are especially photogenic because the sun is sitting low in the sky, creating a warm golden glow in the scene. A low-lying sun also means you avoid harsh midday shadows that can make for difficult exposures with typical smartphone sensors.
2. Set the scene
You can get great results by composing a scene around a central subject, like this playground fountain, and then simply waiting for something interesting to happen. Photo credit: Amadou Diallo.
Much of the art of photography lies in waiting for moments to happen. But this is not the passive affair that you might think. Most pros spend much more time planning what they’re going to shoot than they do actually taking the pictures. Of course, few of us can devote an entire day to setting up a single shot, but simply finding an interesting scene and then waiting for something to happen inside it can pay big dividends. The next time you see a background or foreground element that catches your eye, take the camera out and wait for something even more interesting to happen within the frame.
3. Get closer
Holding the camera very close to your subject allows you to create a blurred background. Photo credit: Amadou Diallo.
Photographers have long relied on shallow depth of field as a creative tool to draw attention to an in-focus subject by placing background elements out of focus. Unfortunately, your smartphone camera has a relatively wide depth of field, which means that nearly everything in the scene is always in focus. You can achieve at least a slightly blurred background, however, simply by getting very close to your main subject. Most smartphones will allow you to shoot from as close as 3 to 6 inches to your subject, so experiment with getting right up to small objects like flowers, jewellery or food and let all of the objects in the distance blur.
4. Change your perspective
3. Get closer
Photographers have long relied on shallow depth of field as a creative tool to draw attention to an in-focus subject by placing background elements out of focus. Unfortunately, your smartphone camera has a relatively wide depth of field, which means that nearly everything in the scene is always in focus. You can achieve at least a slightly blurred background, however, simply by getting very close to your main subject. Most smartphones will allow you to shoot from as close as 3 to 6 inches to your subject, so experiment with getting right up to small objects like flowers, jewellery or food and let all of the objects in the distance blur.
4. Change your perspective
One of the easiest ways to capture more interesting images is to break the habit of always shooting with your smartphone at standing eye-level. Instead, experiment by shooting the same subject from different angles and perspectives. Squat down for a low-level point of view. Or stand on something high to shoot down on your subject from above. Different perspectives can convey distinctly different moods.
5. Shoot in BW
Shooting in BW can make for dramatic and timeless images. Photo credit: Amadou Diallo.
Few things can make a scene more dramatic than shooting it in black and white. Instagram, like most third party photo apps has options to convert a colour image to black and white after the image is captured. And some apps, most notably Hipstamatic, even shoot in BW exclusively. One key thing to keep in mind is that without the presence of colour, brightness and contrast become even more crucial to the composition. Because of this, images that work well in BW often contain strong lines, bold shapes and contain prominent areas of both highlights and shadows in the scene.
These simple tips are well within reach of even novice photographers yet can lead to much more interesting images in your Instagram feed no matter how much experience you have. Have some favourite photo composition tips of your own? Let us know in the comments below.
Article Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/amadoudiallo/2013/08/31/five-quick-tips-for-better-instagram-photos/
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