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Our hope is that part of the reason you’re looking around our site is because you want to take your photography to the next level. I promise that if you implement these three easy photography tips, you’ll be a leg up on many of your peers. Of course, once they see your images have drastically improved, they’ll want to know what your secret is.
Tip 1.) Rule of Thirds – The majority of people make the assumption that you should always put your subject directly in the center of an image. One of the most basic rules of thumb in photography is that you should almost always place your subject on one of 4 intersecting lines on your phone (I say almost always because there are times when you can break this rule, but we’ll touch on that in another blog post). These 2 vertical lines and 2 horizontal lines split the image in thirds in both directions giving you 9 blocks (most phones have an option to even show this grid of lines I’m talking about). Whatever it is that is the main subject of your image, that should go directly on one of those intersecting lines. (see the examples below)
The entire tower is primarily on the right third line with the focus of the clock being right at the intersection. 
This image does not follow the rule of thirds with the tower being centered.
Tip 2.) Always Focus First – It’s no fun looking at an image you were all excited you took only to find out it is out of focus. Just make sure to tap on your subject before capturing your image so you know it’s focused on the right thing. Yes, most phones (and cameras for that matter) have auto focus, but why trust your phone to know what the main subject of your photo is when it could be wrong? Your subject will be sharp and you won’t be disappointed that the car in the background was in focus instead of your son’s first pitch at his baseball game.
Tip 3.) Get the Proper Exposure – You may or may not know that when you tap to focus, your phone also exposes the image based on the information in the area you tapped. Exposure is simply how bright or dark your image is. As a general rule, you almost always want to expose your image according to your main subject. If it’s your child in the swimming pool, make sure their face/skin isn’t blown out or too dark. What happens when you tap your subject and it still doesn’t look quite right or they happen to be standing in front of a window and they look really dark because of it? This is one of the great features you’re probably not using on your phone. Most phones allow you to slide your finger up or down in order to make the image brighter or darker so you can get the correct exposure every time!
That’s it! Try these three things out and familiarize yourself with these features. After a bit of practice, they’ll become second nature and you’ll find yourself doing these things without even thinking about it.
These are great tips! Easy and simple for someone like me. 🙂 The sun graphic info is going to change my life.
Thanks Lindsey! We appreciate the feedback and are glad you’re making use of them. The great thing is, the more and more you get used to following these rules/tips, they’ll become second nature and you’ll spend less time thinking and more time getting great shots!