Robert Testagrossa – Tips on Taking Great Images With Your Smartphone

I follow a lot of photographers on their social media pages and something which has always blown my mind is the ability which these men and women have, to take a great shot from a phone. I understand just how powerful the cameras are on these phones, nonetheless it never ceases to amaze me the quality of those images. I follow professional photographers like Robert Testagrossa, as well as amateur photographers who are uploading incredible pieces of work.

Over the last year I have really worked on taking better images from my phone, and here is how you can do exactly the same.

Getting Help From The Pros

As simple as it may sound, the best place to start when it comes to taking images is to get some help from the pros, and actually understand what your camera phone is capable of. There is an abundance of guides on YouTube which will seriously help you to get a better idea of exactly what your phone is capable of, and what settings you have available. The phone manufacturers not only give you a high quality lens to use, but there is a wealth of settings and options which you can use to ensure that your image comes out the best.

Trying Out Different Themes

At this early stage my advice would be to pick a single theme which you want to take images of and continue to practice just that. For example I have been focusing on taking images of urban landscapes over the past year, more than any other type of image. My plan is to try and master this as well as I can, and then branch out into portraits or wildlife images. Each theme or genre which you have to choose from will require a different kind of approach, different settings and a much different method of taking the image. This is exactly why you must ensure that you focus heavily on one before going into others.

Getting Feedback

It can be tough to deal with sometimes, but getting feedback is the ultimate way for you to find out how you are getting on with your photography. I have friends and family who will always tell me how much they love the shots, but I got a sense that they were just saying it to please me. And so I began an experimental Instagram page so that I could really see what people thought about the images that I was taking. This has proved to be amazing for me because once you cut through the trolls and the nasty stuff which some comment, there is in fact some fantastic feedback there to be had. I like to throw up the images with calls to action so that people engage with them and genuinely tell me what they think, and this does bring with it some truly helpful comments.

This is how I have been trying to improve my photography skills with my smartphone.