8 Tips to take great pictures with your low cost phone

take-pictureThere is the mistaken belief that to make good photos you have to have a high-end phone and it is not. Knowing the camera of our phone and applying certain basic photography tricks are two key factors that you can apply to any phone and make fantastic shots. Today we are going to give you some tricks and tips for you to put them into practice.

Basic tips to take good pictures with your mobile phone

We make it clear to you: forget about the idea that with your cheap phone you can’t take good pictures. As we said a few lines above, it is obvious that having a good photographic material helps in the task of taking good shots, but if then there is no talent or certain rules of photography are applied, it is of no use.

With this tutorial we do not intend to discover the wheel, but we want to give you some basic guidelines that, although they are very well known, we do not always apply when taking pictures. With them, it is very possible that your captures improve significantly and you can squeeze your terminal much more even if this is a low-cost smartphone such as the Redmi Note 8T that we use in our tests.

· Clean the lens

Although it seems very obvious and even very silly, the truth is that few people have a habit of cleaning the lens of their camera when taking pictures.

Usually, we take our phone out of our pocket or manipulate it so that it is very easy to touch the cameras unintentionally with our fingers. This leaves marks on the glass (fingerprints, grease) that then “clouds” the photo, preventing a good photo. It is not necessary to take a suede with you, which would be ideal for cleaning, but before shooting, make sure the cameras are clean, passing for example the inner area of your sleeve or shirt through the glass in a smooth way.

Xiaomi - Redmi Note 8T

A trick: if when you take a picture at night, you see that the lights have flashes, it is that the glass is dirty – as you can see in the first image of the upper composition. Clean it up!



· Control exposure

Expo what? Wasn’t this a basic tutorial? Quiet, the exhibition is an element in very basic photography and you don’t have to be afraid of it. In the interface of all current cameras it is possible to easily control the exposure levels of a photo. It is a good way to get everything in a scene with too much light, everything burns out or in a capture with more precarious light, everything appears too dark.

Xiaomi - Redmi Note 8T

It usually appears as a regulator bar that when you go upwards “puts” more light on what you are seeing on the screen – upper right corner of the image you have on these lines – and when you go down, the scene darkens – lower left corner. Although there will be situations where, due to limitations, it will not be enough, in many others, it will help you to be able to take a much better picture.

· Use the rest of your camera options

Don’t just open the camera app and give it a shot. Your phone has different shooting options or modes that you should know. Find out if you have an HDR mode available – almost certainly – portrait mode, macro mode … With the first one, for example, you will be able to compensate for the changes between very sharp shadows and lights, while with it you will get that camera effect professional in which you blur the background and give prominence to something in the foreground – image under these lines.

Xiaomi - Redmi Note 8T

Not all phones have macro , but for example the Redmi Note 8T that I show you in the video does have this extra lens, perfect for photographing things in detail and much more closely.



Xiaomi - Redmi Note 8T

· Do you know what bursts are?

Bursts are a type of shot that is rarely used. In most cases, just leave your finger touching the shutter, which makes the phone take several continuous photos without rest. Do not cut yourself, shoot without fear and then you will eliminate those that do not convince you. Surely you are surprised by what you capture!

Xiaomi - Mi Note 8T

· Know the Pro mode of your camera

Virtually all phones also have the so-called Pro mode. We tell you the same as with the exhibition: that the name does not impose on you. What makes it easy for you in Pro mode is to be able to precisely control certain aspects that affect the capture (and that you cannot handle automatically) such as sensitivity (which I recommend you have in automatic or at a minimum; it is the ISO call) , exposure time (especially useful at night) and focus.

I warn you that this mode will cost you a little more at the beginning but I encourage you to be patient: you just have to practice and try the different options to see what you get on the screen and get to know its possibilities.



· Move on!

Reaching and shooting will not always work for you. I recommend that you be active and move. Look for the frame that best suits you to tell what you see and get down if necessary to take a new perspective – in the photo below see how it changes from taking a photo from above to almost flush with the ground. It will also be useful to take advantage of the different focal points that the camera includes: do you have anything in detail? Approach and use the macro. Are you going to take a picture of something broad? Try putting the wide angle.

Xiaomi - Mi Note 8T

If you pay a little attention around you , you will see that you have many resources to throw from. You can, for example, frame a person or object with a window, use the lines of urban elements to direct the attention of those who look at the photo to the point you want, use the reflections of a fountain … there are many things you can take advantage of around you to improve the composition of your photos and that surely before you had not fallen into what you could use.

Xiaomi - Mi Note 8T



· The rule of three thirds

You will have heard a thousand times talk about the famous three-thirds rule. This composition technique divides the image into 9 parts so that you distribute the object better in the scene, in the strong parts instead of in the center, and so that the final scene is more attractive – lower example. It is a very basic rule that helps more than you think and I recommend you practice.

Xiaomi - Redmi Note 8T

· Get a tripod

The tripod will not only help you to be more stable in certain catches (for example when you shoot at night and have increased the exposure time); It is also perfect for taking photos where you appear.

Xiaomi - Mi Note 8T -

In that sense, we recommend the Xiaomi selfie tripod-stick . This accessory is a selfie stick with lower legs that unfold, becoming a tripod – in the video you can see it better. The device is connected via Bluetooth to the phone with the use of a shutter button, so you only have to frame the image, place yourself and touch the control when you are ready. Of course, keep an eye on where you leave the phone when you leave it …

With all these tips we are sure that you will make better photos with your phone and without spending so much money on it. We refer to the tests with the smartphone so economical that we have used in this tutorial. To shoot!