Hi Karen again from the photography playground. Welcome back. In this lecture I want to talk about two major composition mistakes most smartphone photographers make. The very first common mistake is the way you hold your camera. In smartphone photography, it's very common and easy to photograph in a vertical format. I can see why because it's the way you usually hold your phone.

It's also very easy to photograph something quick, sometimes even while you're walking. photographing in a horizontal or vertical format is the first choice you make when it comes to composition. I want you to change your default vertical mode to default horizontal mode. There's a number of reasons for that. When you photograph vertically, it's easy to photograph quick and it doesn't force you to stand still and pay attention to what you're photographing. I'm sorry to say but you'll become a lazy and inattentive photographer and we don't want that vertical photo can come across Quite static and formal.

As a result, it's more difficult to connect with a vertical photograph. your smartphone has a wide angle lens that causes distortion at the edges, this distortion becomes unpleasing and unnatural in a vertical format. The visual elements above and below the subject are usually not very interesting. It doesn't contribute to the image. When you photograph in a horizontal format, you need both hands, it forces you to stand still, and actually pay attention for a little more than just one second. This increases your involvement in what you're photographing, you'll become a more active and attentive photographer.

Horizontal photos have more of a personal dynamic feel to them. We are right in the middle of things and we can easily connect. This is because we have a horizontal view ourselves. With a horizontal format, the distortion from the wide angle lens is less disturbing. Usually the visual elements on the left or the right side of your subject will contribute to the image mistake Number two is zooming in on your subject using the zoom function. your smartphone has a digital zoom.

This means your camera is fooling you, it zooms in by using only a part of the whole sensor, making it seem like you've brought the image closer, but all it does is cropped the image on the sensor. Well to do then when you want your subject to be close, well, you use your legs, you walk towards the subject, because when you're zooming in your sensory uses only part of the pixels it has inside, it results in fuzzy and pixelated images. When you use your zoom to bring your subject closer, you'll become a static and distant photographer and you will have less freedom to photograph from different angles and standpoints. When you're walking to bring your subject closer, you'll use all the pixels your sensor has and it will result in sharpened detailed images. Bringing your subject closer by walking towards it makes you an active photographer, and you'll become more evolved into senior photographing You'll also have a lot more freedom to choose your standpoint, and you'll be able to make more interesting compositions.

When you avoid making these two mistakes your smartphone photography will improve almost by itself. It may seem simple but it has a huge impact on the way you're photographing and on the visual quality. Once you familiarize yourself with this default photography mode of holding your smartphone horizontally and walking towards your subject to get closer, you're ready for the next compositional steps. Happy photographing