How To Shoot Portraits With A Smartphone

As Apple fans are getting excited about the release of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus tomorrow, which promises better HDR photos and a camera that responds quicker, we thought that now's a good time to share some tips on capturing images with smartphones. 

Instead of going for general picture taking tips, we thought we'd go portrait specific with the help of our friends COOPH who have put a quick tutorial together that features 8 simple tips and tricks on how to shoot great portraits with smartphones. 

They actually use the Huawei P10 but the tips aren't, generally, smartphone-specific so anyone can follow them. There are a couple of tools, such as applying grids to help with framing and using a depth of field tool, which your phone may not have but there are apps available that can help with this.

Topics covered include general photography advice such as choosing the right backgrounds, using frames, composition (using grids for guidance), experimenting with lighting, posing, tips on using angles and focusing (using depth of field). But, right at the end, if you're a budding street photographer, there's a piece of advice that's just for you and that's to be brave. Don't be afraid to approach strangers you want to photograph but do remember to be polite and if they do say 'no', walk away and find someone else. COOPH also suggest using filters, something most smartphones offer now in-camera or you can use an editing app such as Snapseed to apply the effect after. 
 

If you have a cracking portrait you've captured with a smartphone, do share it with us in the gallery. We also have 10 top smartphone suggestions for those who consider the photographic capabilities of smartphones to be an important factor when purchasing a new phone.