Why your phone’s wide-angle camera keeps taking bad photos

phone's wide-angle camera keeps taking bad photos

Smartphones increasingly have more and better cameras. However, many users are quickly disappointed when their new terminal of more than a thousand euros ends up taking photos with almost the same quality as their previous model. Although there are exceptions, this happens very often with the wide angle lens . Why do the photos with this camera turn out so bad? Let’s clear up some doubts.

Why do I take such bad photos with the wide angle of my mobile?

It’s not the lens. Are you

And no, we are not belittling your skills as a photographer. Using a wide angle lens is not easy . It is much easier to take a good photo with a normal lens or a zoom than with a wide or ultra wide lens.

Mainly, the wide angle has a perspective that is far from our human vision, adding a lot of distortion . If a lens correction is not applied or the distortion is not taken into account when taking the photo, we will have very strange results. Use this lens only for photos of landscapes or architecture . If you use it to take a group photo, the edges will be highly distorted, although you can use this lens for portraits if you are looking for a creative way to use it.

Second, composing with a wide angle lens is a bit more tedious, especially for inexperienced people. Hence, you are almost never convinced by the results you have with this lens.

Photos at night… in moderation

tripode noche foto smartphone

It doesn’t matter if your mobile has night mode. The ultra-wide lenses that we have on our mobiles are very dim when compared to the main lens. And they don’t usually mount a sensor as good as the other lens. Unless you have a small tripod and use manual exposure , it’s best not to use this lens if there’s no light. The chances that the photo will be blurred are very high.

Use distortion to your advantage

distorsion gran angular

Crouch down and take a low angle shot of a building so that lens distortion adds to your photo, rather than detracting from it. If you’re shooting something from above, do just the opposite, making lens defects play a favorable role in your photos .

Keep it simple: place your subjects in the center

angular sujeto centrado

Although off-centering the subject is always a plus in many photographs, it is not recommended to do this with an ultra wide-angle lens, since our subject will be affected by the distortion of the lens.

Take your time

composicion ultra angular

The ultra wide angle lens of our phone is intended to be used in very few situations. Once we have internalized that, using it will be somewhat easier.

Instead of taking your smartphone out of your pocket and shooting like crazy, take your time. Only use this camera for photos of nature, landscape and architecture . And reasons a little each photo. Find an element to fill the frame , like a puddle to make a reflection, or a plant to place in a corner and that it is that element that takes away the distortion instead of our main subject.

In the end, whether the photo is good or not is a matter of making a good composition . You can take advantage of a window to make a frame, place the camera vertically or horizontally depending on whether the subject you are photographing is tall or wide, or simply take advantage of the depth effect that angles make to compose with the vanishing point technique. .