Smartphone photography keeps improving year after year whether it’s from new hardware or software. I can remember many years ago in middle school when I took a photography course and the teacher said we could use our phones for one of the assignments; the technology was still quite a bit behind the quality you could get with a digital camera, however our teacher ensured us we would still be able to create quality pictures. This inquiry reminded me a lot of that class, and reminded me of some of the tips and tricks I learned in middle school (such as rule of thirds) while also showing me some new tricks such as editing through VSCO and showing me how to set up my camera settings so that I can start off on a strong picture before I edit anything.
After adjusting my settings, I started snapping some pictures with the rule of thirds in mind. While positioning your subject in the middle of your rule of thirds isn’t always the most effective way to do it, it’s important to keep in mind what you are trying to capture. In the pictures below, positioned my camera so it was on the floor looking up at the notebook and bookshelves to make it seem like the notebook was looking up to all the books on the shelves (I think it kind of gives a ‘David and Goliath’ feeling)
I then played around with the picture in VSCO and tried to free-hand edit it. I mostly lowered the exposure, and increased the colour aspect, however, I think it makes the green notebook stand out and look more prominent, with the books in the back having a bit more “pop”. Just from looking at the photos I took, it made me think of how fun incorporating photography could be in different assignments from English to PHE (especially outdoor education classes).
As someone who uses an iPhone and does not plan to move away, I found this video from YouTube also has some great tips and tricks for getting great photos without having to use other apps.