Smart Phone Smart Photography: Simple techniques for taking incredible pictures with iPhone and Android

by Jo Bradford

Maximize your potential to get the shots you want with this guide to photography for both Apple and Android phones

There’s a saying in the photography world that the best camera for the job is the one you have with you when a photo opportunity arises. Thanks to the boom in camera-phone technology, today we’re lucky enough to have a camera to hand to capture all those incredible moments. But are you making the most of that powerful tool in your pocket? Do the photos you have taken tend to be blurry, or look nothing like the picture you remember seeing? If you want to shoot incredible images with your phone, buy Smart Phone, Smart Photography .

Covering simple techniques that will allow you to get the image that you see every single time, you will soon be telling your camera what to do with confidence. Starting with The Big Picture, get to know your camera phone and the rules behind taking the perfect shot. Next follows a chapter on Taking Great Pictures, where the key disciplines of photography—portrait, abstraction, macro, still life, and plenty more—are examined, with each section packed with tips to help you get the shots you want. Finally, the Post-production chapter explains how to use apps to edit and enhance your images and create incredible prints for display.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography

144 pages, Paperback

Published April 10, 2018

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book really helpful. It's helped my start playing with the camera features of my phone (yeah! I actually have them. Silly me). I would like to read it again.

[Alisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I like to think about making photos rather than taking them. Whether you subscribe to mindfulness as a philosophy or not, there is a lot to be said for being in the moment and giving yourself the time to do things well and with purpose. Slow down, think about what you are trying to achieve with the photo, and think about how to use your tools to do it."

[Triinu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minu arvamuse leiab blogist https://triinuraamatud.wordpress.com/...

[Geoff Dickinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a useful book that shows just what you can do with a modern smartphone. I have used film and DSLRs for over 40 years and although they are more versatile when paired with different lenses they are heavy and bulky.

I have started to use the DSLR for specialist applications and my iPhone is now my default camera. I don’t have to think which lens to use, the emphasis is on creativity and composition.

This book helps me learn how to use the smartphone.

Just to show how quickly technology moves on, this book was only published this year and there is a section on depth of field, low light shooting and HDR.

With the rise of computational photography, my iPhone XS Max takes care of this and even allows me to change depth of field ex post facto. For me therefore, some of the information in the book is already redundant to some extent.

This is an observation and is in no way a criticism of the book, it is an excellent resource..

Finally a section on Lightroom CC would have helped

[Geoff Lynas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to find an introductory guide to digital photography which is focussed on smart phones. Mine is a Huawei P10 with Leica camera. Wanted to get some basics and some inspiration and was able to achieve that with this book. Beautiful, practical illustrations and examples. It is broken down into short informative chapters on various themes and styles of photography. The recommendations for post-processing apps was particularly helpful. I hadn't heard of the two most useful. A lovely book to browse. I see myself revisiting this often, as I work my way through the suggestions and inspirations.

[Hobbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know zip about photography, so this was an eye-opener for a swift point and click, snap-happy chick. It goes through all the main areas about focus & composition, exposure and light. Most important, it sets out how to optimise smartphones in really easy steps. All instructions and explanations made sense, were written in an instructional yet friendly tone, and I learned a lot!

Certainly, a few things are already outdated which is to be expected with any tech book, but that's no biggie as most of it is still current and helpful. The editing section was really great... obviously geared towards mobile apps and I already use Snapseed so that was great. iPhone users get similar chapters but I don't know if the apps mentioned are still useful mid-2019. Still, all great for editing on the go, or when stuck in queues or waiting rooms, or on a commute. I'll be using the same principles in Photoshop; which I've barely touched, feeling intimidated by what I think may be a long learning curve. Snapseed seems like a cinch in comparison.

Hopefully my compositions will improve drastically from now on. Most helpful book I've read this year!

[Leila Mota · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vale a pena ler quem tem interesse em fotografia, especialmente com celulares. Relativamente atualizado, embora boa parte das técnicas que se apoia em aplicativos não seja útil para quem não os usa. Naturalmente, dependendo do aparelho que se tem (iPhone ou Android), acaba ficando chato ter que passar pelas informações que só servem para o aparelho que não se tem. Faz diferença também ler no Kindle ou no celular, pois as imagens no Kindle são em preto e branco, o que não ajuda a entender a descrição.

[Mansour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do less, in order to do more.
این کتاب از بهترین‌هاست برای هر کس که می‌خواهد با دوربین موبایلش عکس‌های بهتری بگیرد. از اولین‌ها و قدیمی‌ترین‌هاست اما به نظرم همچنان از بهترین‌هاست. این خانم که پیشه‌اش عکاسی‌ست، در دوران مادرانگی و مشغله‌هایش، تصمیم می‌گیرد کار خلاقش را با دوربین موبایلش انجام دهد و نتیجه، می شود این کتاب فروتنانه و دوستانه که به «بهتر دیدن»، دعوت می‌کند.

[John J. DeLuca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Really good book with tons of information. Written in a very understandable format. I would recommend this book for anyone looking to develop their skills in phone photography.

[Donna Herrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A smartphone has a camera in it, but it is not primarily for use as a camera. Despite the quality of the sensor in the smart phone, it's fixed lens lack of controls and awkward means of triggering a photo are limitations. This book can help you overcome those limitations.

[Anita Elder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will come in quite handy for the smartphone workshop I'm developing.

[Mariesreads]

This just caught my eye on the new book shelve at the library.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, and to the point. Perfect for beginners.