It’s not because you can get your smartphone out of your pocket in a flash that you should not take the time to properly approach your subject. A great photo is first a well-composed photo.
Look In Depth
Watch for the foreground:
- Is your subject masked by unwanted objects?
- Is it possible to play with the plan superpositions and to have a foreground marrying well with the subject?
And the background:
- Is it harmonious or contrast it well with the subject?
- Is the subject not drowned in the depth of the scene?
- Are there any lines of force you can play with? Etc.
Move Your Body (!)
Use your legs:
- Turn around your subject
- Get closer to your subject in order to let it take all the necessary space within the frame
- Or move away to avoid close-up portraits (see below on why avoid close-up portrait)
- Kneel if necessary to be on the same level as the subject
![Turn around your Subject](https://photovideocreative.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Tourner-autour-sujet-1024x451.jpg)
![Far or Close](https://photovideocreative.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Loin-ou-Près-1024x382.jpg)
Use your arms:
- Is it necessary to move higher your smartphone?
- Or lower?
Use your hands and wrists:
- Does it have to be properly aligned with the scene/subject horizontal and vertical lines of force?
- Or play on bold obliques?
- Should we be in high-angle shot, facing down, to accentuate the tiny side of the subject or the scene?
- Or in low-angle shot, facing up, to accentuate the imposing side?
- Or stay on the same level as the subject to remain on an equal footing?
![Right or Oblique](https://photovideocreative.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Droit-ou-Oblique-1024x678.jpg)
![High or Low-Angle](https://photovideocreative.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Plongée-ou-Contre-plongée-1024x338.jpg)
Choose your framing:
- Should you be in landscape mode?
- or in portrait mode?
![Landscape or Portrait](https://photovideocreative.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Paysage-ou-Portrait-1024x488.jpg)
But do not choose too fast between square format, 3: 2 or 16: 9: postpone this choice after shooting and stay in 4: 3, the largest format.
Keep A Record Of Your Experiments
Do not take only one picture:
- The storage space being practically infinite, do not hesitate to trigger with each new composition
- By being in contact with the subject, you will understand what is going to be the best composition according to you
- It is often by reviewing the photos after the fact, that our perception of the scene matures and makes us finally choose another composition than the one during shooting.
![Collection of composition experiments](https://photovideocreative.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Expérimentations-composition-EN-576x1024.jpg)
Get Help
Use the visual aids of your photo application:
- Are the points of strength of the subject/scene aligned with the framing: rule of thirds, golden ratio, …?
- Are not the vertical or horizontal lines of the scene slightly oblique?
![Visual aids for composition](https://photovideocreative.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Aides-visuelles-composition-FR-576x1024.jpg)
Was this article helpful to you? Leave me your comment, I will answer with pleasure.
You Want To Know More About Smartphone Photography?
Read 11 other insightful tricks in my free e-book “Take Beautiful Smartphone Photos: 12 Mistakes to Avoid when Shooting“.
- A complete guide of more than 60 pages to adopt the right reflexes
- Valuable tips for iPhone and Android smartphones
- Available on your PC, tablet or smartphone in PDF and ePub format
- Free and without any obligation: no payment card, no personal information