How To Take Stock Photos With Your Phone

ART & DESIGNPHOTOGRAPHIC FOCUSTIPS & TUTORIALS

Dec 10

Written By Sankara Yambo

By Josiane Faubert

PICHA is nowaccepting phone/tablet photography submissions.

As the quality of phone photography is getting better every day, PICHA is now accepting phone/tablet photography submissions. This is great - growing your stock photo portfolio is now easier than ever!

In order to help you submit your best phone photos, please go over the guidelines below.

The Benefits of Phone Photography.

The increasing quality of mobile phone cameras allows you to experiment freely with your photography craft. Your phone is not as intrusive as a DSLR and will allow you to easily capture candid moments. Whether it’s photos of your kids, a selfie of a kiss, family celebrations or family meals - it's so convenient to grab a great photo with your phone.

It should be noted that PICHA will curate your phone submissions with the same requirements as any DSLR submissions.

Submission Requirements:

Image resolution needs to be 4 MP (megapixel) minimum
Jpeg format
No watermark
No noise
Great lighting
Great composition
Great Storytelling

Mobile Photography Advice

Make sure you are familiar with your phone and with its photography features.

Clean your lens using a lens cloth

Capture candid moments. Think about spontaneity to depict those special and unique moments of life as they unfold.

Immersive point of view: Shoot so that the viewer feels like he/she is part of the scene.

Focus: Some phones allow you to focus on your subject by tapping on the screen where you need to set focus.

Zoom: Don’t ever use your phone zoom as most zooms in phones are just digital zoom. It is best to move closer to your subject.

Be steady: Make sure you hold your camera steadily. If you have shaky hands make sure you take several photos or shoot in burst mode.

There is a camera app called Camera+ which takes the photo only when the phone senses that you are being still.

Post processing. There are many apps you can use to edit your photos. Photoshop and Lightroom are also available as apps. Feel free to experiment with other third-party camera apps but, you can also download and edit the images on your computer for full control. This is great because some phone cameras even allow you to shoot in RAW format.

When uploading on PICHA, make sure you add the keywords: mobile photo + your phone brand.

Here are a few images taken with my Iphone. I edited them on my computer with Photoshop.