How to Click a Portrait with a Mobile Camera

Nowadays the handiest and most available at a cheap price is a mobile camera. It's very easy to handle. It gives amazing results for the friends & family photos, vlogging, etc. It is pretty easy to upload for editing and uploading in various social media.

Now when it comes to family photos and friends’ photos, the first segment of photography comes to mind is portrait photography. Technibas is going to give you a few tips on how to click great portrait photography through your mobile. In the previous blog I have told you how to click good photos using mobile cameras in general. I have discussed the various settings of mobile cameras. Now I am writing more precisely about portrait photography and how you would get the accurate result of it.

1. Settings of Mobile Camera - Firstly we will discuss the settings of the camera, means in which setting or mode you should click portraits. Each and every mobile camera nowadays has its particular portrait mode in camera settings.  It will show the aperture setting like f -1.2 - f -10 or more than that but this aperture setting is affected in dslr lenses where aperture plays a remarkable role in photography.

2. Aperture Settings - The aperture is the hole of the lens through which the light goes to the sensor. We can control in DSLR small aperture or large aperture but here you don’t have that option through your mobile. It gives you to control that aperture on the screen but that’s not mechanical rather based on software.

Now what would be the effect of aperture when it is normally increasing or decreasing the focus area. The smallest aperture means less focus area where you get blur effect after the subject. The largest aperture means more focus area and no blur effect on the image. We can adjust all mechanically in dslr. But in mobile there are no mechanical issues. The manufacturers provide the software control effect and you will get the same aperture effect. There is a  problem, it's like editing in a computer where you are not able to get the sharp edge effect of your subject in portrait mode because mobile software does not know the proportion of faces you are ready to click. So, most of the time it's not perfect. I recommend you to set your camera in normal mode and tap on the subject or on the face upon the screen. After that click and don’t tap for 3-5 seconds till the focus pointer turns yellow and the focus gets locked. You can click again outside of your focus area and unlock the focus. Don’t zoom your camera because of the same software issue and for that the photo will be cropped and resolution will be less. You should go closer and tap on the face and click.

3. Right Angle to Hold the Mobile - You can click horizontally or vertically both according to your subject but for the portrait you should click vertically. If the background or the atmosphere is concerned then you go horizontally. It’s according to your judgment how you are going to show to the viewers. 

  Now the point is how you should place your mobile or hold your mobile. For a camera or dslr the angle is always the same that is straight. But the mobile is a flat fit into pocket device, so the angle of its camera unconsciously gives bending frames. When you go too close to your subject the distortion comes. For that hold your mobile parallel to your subject and the same height to your subject. Remember if your height is six feet and your subject is below five feet and you don’t adjust your camera height and click photo from your height the subject looks more shorter than he or she appears in actual life. This is the most common problem people do unconsciously. So, hold your mobile at the same height as your subject, bend down or climb up and click the photo and don’t keep your mobile always at the 90 degree angle with the surface you are standing on. 

4. Using the Flash of Mobile - During day time my recommendation is to not use camera flash but in the night or low light condition you have to use flash but try to use other sources of light like street light, household lights. I am not talking about extra light set up in general. This time if you use an in-built camera flash and don’t tap on the screen to choose the subject then maybe the subject will burn out. Because you have not adjusted the light or have not told your mobile to adjust the light on the subject. Taping on the screen or tapping on the subject you let your mobile sensor adjust the light according to the subject or the environment. Without tapping the mobile, the sensor adjusts the light by its own. It would give an average image and because of closeness the subject will be burnt out as the light has been adjusted by the mobile itself in an average light condition irrespective of what your subject demands. In the high-end mobiles you may not get the same problem but in low range or middle range mobile you would definitely face this problem most of the time.

   

Last but not the least, I could say to click more images of the same background with different angles and try to separate your subject from the background and keep a distance from the background. You will get the separation by default, choose the right light angles like you keep the light source behind you, then light will be on the subject and tap on the subject and click the photo. But in the low light hold your mobile steady otherwise your photo will be shaken and you will not get the steady shot. You could keep your elbow to your ribs for the best support. Be aware of using the wide angle lens in your mobile because the distortion will come if you go closer and the face will look more oval than reality. Keep a good focus distance. And after all, it is your creativity how you would show your subject or the face as everyone has his or her best angle or side angle where he or she looks good. I cannot see your subject through my imagination, jokes apart, click your photo without hesitation.