Owen Tozer: 5 Tips To Improve Your Phone Photography
Simple tips to transform your day-to-day image-making, from my creative right-hand man and co-author of Looking Sideways Vol. 1
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Owen Tozer is my favourite creative in the world. As I always say, if he had a self-promotional bone in his body, he’d doubtless have taken over the world by now. Photographer, artist, director, designer, art director - whatever creative endeavour Owen turns his hand to is always embellished by his unique eye, impeccable taste, and unparalleled integrity.
He just (finally) sorted out a new online shop for his incredible photography, so to celebrate I asked him to write me a blog on five tips for taking better photos with your iPhone.
To celebrate the launch of Owen’s new store, we’re giving away a print and a copy of Looking Sideways Vol. 1 to the best question or comment for Tozer - you know what to do.
Introduction:
Apologies in advance, as I start this with a giant cliché. But the old saying ‘the best camera is the one you have with you’ has never been more relevant.
This is especially true given the enormous rise in photography over the last few years. Today, we all have increasingly amazing cameras in our pockets, as well as access to tools to edit and publish them immediately. Apps like Instagram have made photographers of us all, and have even enabled people with little or no photography skill to make a living from it. It's pretty wild, really, when you look back 10 years and realise that only genuine photography enthusiasts carried cameras around back then.
Today, it feels completely normal to have this tool/toy constantly available to us. No moment is missed; any event—or mishap—is covered from all angles. It’s a strange and unprecedented time for photography and creativity.
What I find interesting about the old ‘best camera is the one you have with you’ saying is that even when I do have my ‘proper’ camera with all its fancy settings (and price tag), I still often reach for my phone. Sometimes, when I use both for a similar shot, I find myself preferring the image made with the phone.
Why? Often because it’s quicker and easier to capture a moment. But it can also be because we have a very different relationship with phones than we do with big, intimidating professional cameras. People react differently when we take them out and wave them around. Phone cameras are also incredibly well-designed to work in challenging light conditions, often managing to get exposure right much quicker and with much less post-production. Sure, you might sacrifice a bit of resolution and image quality if you zoom in or print the pictures really large, but who cares when most people are seeing these images on a small screen?
Despite our phones making it easier than ever to create striking images, I often get asked for tips on how to make better phone photos. So, when Matt asked me the other day, I thought I’d give it a go. Most of these tips apply to any type of photography, but they’re all available on most modern-ish phones and should make a big difference to the images you’re making.
1. Step back and zoom in
If you’re taking pictures of people out and about, this little tip changes everything. If you have a phone with more than one lens, then stepping back and zooming in makes backgrounds or landmarks appear larger in the picture than they would with a more wide-angle shot. This works really well if you have a dramatic or iconic natural backdrop to work with, like a mountainscape.
2. Window light for portraits
My go-to spot for a portrait is always next to a window—ideally one that doesn’t have the sun shining directly into the room. This way, you get lovely, soft light coming from one direction, which is really beautiful for portraits.
Stand your subject next to the window and move them around until you like how the light falls on them. Most phones have something called Portrait Mode now, which blurs the background and helps isolate your subject.
3. Long exposure
I only recently figured this out on my phone, but playing with long exposures can be really fun. On an iPhone, the best way to do this is to take a photo in ‘Live Mode’ (where it takes a little video alongside the shot). Later in the settings, where you see the ‘Live’ icon, you can tap on it and change it to ‘Long Exposure.’ This can look great for sports or music photography, and even portraits.
4. Change your perspective
- Find your foreground It’s natural to try and get a clear shot of your subject and avoid obstacles, but having something in the foreground gives your picture depth and context. Try shooting through a house plant or include a few people or objects in the foreground.
- Change your height This might sound obvious, but getting down low or going overhead can make all the difference.
- Get close Modern phones can focus just a few millimetres from the lens, so you can get amazing macro details and beautiful abstracts.
5. Edit!
Grading images to create a trademark look is most photographers' real secret. iPhones have some good preset filters, and there are many built-in features for making changes to colour, contrast, brightness, and more.
If you want to go further, there are also plenty of great apps for grading and editing. I use one called Lightroom, which is pretty amazing. Another good one is VSCO. You’d be surprised how much of a difference it makes to your images.
Got any questions on photography or creativity for Owen? You know what to do:
Love your work Owen, and great article, I never knew about the options in Live mode, hours of fun to be had here!
So to pick up on Matt’s comment (which I’ve seen him write a few times!) about you ‘not having a self promotional bone in your body’, do you think that’s true!? If so why do you think that is the case and has it held back your photography career in any way?
Thanks 👊
So good.