Photography Jugaad- Take better photos! (Day 4 )

Photography Jugaad. While taking photos, I often use some Jugaad to take better photos. I am not going to get into a lot of technical details in this post. Instead, I will share some quick tips.(If you want to see better photography tricks, please visit my Trial and Error Photography blog.)

What matters most in photography? In my opinion, it is Light, Light, and Light. In real estate, you have probably heard the term that the important things in buying any real estate are Location. Location and Location. Similarly, in photography, for a better photo, the most important things are Light, Light, and Light. Along with Light, the other two important things are the photographer and the equipment. We can talk about the other two in some other post. Here we are talking about Jugaad so we want to make the best use of the photographer in YOU, and want to use the cell phone or the camera that you have handy! I am not going to say that you would need to use an SLR or an expensive camera to follow the photography Jugaad outlined in this post.

1) Light: Here are some lighting tips:

• When the background is too bright compared to the person, the subject or person will be too dark. If you are using a real camera, turn on the flash. You can do the same with a cellphone camera but the tiny flash may not be able to give enough light on the person's face. See details here.
• When the light is low, or even when it is not that low, use the flash on your phone or the camera, to throw more light on people's faces. This will generally help you get better skin tones and people in the photo will pop up.
• Many times, you can ask a friend or use someone's phone and use that phone's Flashlight too to through more light on the subject. Generally, a phone's flash is not that powerful but using multiple phones, can really get you better light, and hence better photos.
• Given a choice, take a photo during day time instead of in the evening, or in artificial light.
• If possible, move around your subject and you can also move around. You will be amazed to see how different angles can impact the light and can help you improve the quality of your photos.

2) Control the light: The second most important thing in taking better photos is the ability to control the light. If you let in more light, the photo is going to be washed out. If you didn't take in enough light, the photo is going to be dark. Now, a one-dollar question is (I wouldn't say "a million-dollar question" because we are on a Jugaad. we don't have the luxury of millions ;) ) how much light is enough light? There is no measure or value that fits all situations. In my opinion, when you have a photo you like, the light is enough. When you have a photo that is darker than you would have liked, the light is not sufficient! When the faces or details are washed out, the light is too much. So how to make a photo that you would like? 
Generally, by default, your camera (when I say Camera, I am including the camera on your cell phone too) decides how much light to let in to create a perfect photo for you. Read this twice. The light is what you see around you. However, to take a photo, the camera opens the shutter for a certain time and lets the light fall on the sensor to make your photo. The perfect amount of light makes a good photo.
Sometimes the camera doesn't do the job right and your photo is too dark or too bright. If you are using a real camera, you can use "Exposure Compensation". Click here if you want to know this in detail. It is a way to tell your camera to take more light in (when by default your camera took a darker photo the first time), or less light (when you want your camera to take a darker photo). You move the slider on the Right side (many times labeled with a + sign) to tell the camera to allow more light or move it left to tell the camera to take in less light. The more you move the slider away from the center, you are telling the camera to take even more, or even less, light in.

Now on cell phone cameras. the trick is very easy. Take a photo. If the photo is good, well and good, you are set. If you think that a darker photo could have been better, touch (lightly press) the brightest part of your phone screen while taking the photo, and take a photo. If you want a brighter photo, touch the darker part of the frame you are viewing and take a photo. This is a sort of reverse psychology ;) When you press the brighter part of the photo/frame, the camera is told that there is more light out there so it takes in less light. When you press the darker part of the photo, the camera is forced into believing that the light is low, so it tries to compensate by allowing more lights in.

Hope this is not complicated. (See this link for a detailed description of exposure compensation for mobile phone cameras.)

3) Use Timer often: Most cameras and cellphones have a Timer function. Many times, when taking a selfie, we have to extend the arm and then press the shutter release button. This results in your face not looking into the camera lens but trying to find and press on the button. To avoid this, I put the timer to 3 or 10 seconds and take a selfie. With countdown, I am able to have the best look. 
** Many phones have voice activate commands, like 'Shoot', 'Smile', etc., or you can also use Siri or Google and use the voice-activated command to take a photo.

3) Use a tripod, or a selfie stick if possible, or find a place to put your phone.  I carry no tripod or selfie stick. I am always (haha, probably most of the time) able to use some Jugaad and find a place to put the phone. Then I use the Timer feature on the phone or camera for 10 seconds. This can help you take sharp photos, particularly in low light. This can also help you to be in the photo, alone or with your friends.

... I am not running out of my tips but of time... so I am stopping here. Maybe write another post on the topic sometime later.