Hound Hacks

Take Better Photos with Your Phone

By Timothy Murphy '19

Smartphone cameras have advanced to produce high-quality photos. Still, following some basic principles of photography can help you capture the best images. We asked Timothy Murphy ’19, who graduated with a degree in computer science and minors in photography and math and was the photographer for the Moravian College Dance Company, for his tips on how to take better portraits with a smartphone.

• Take more photos and look at them afterward, preferably on your computer’s screen. Practice helps you get the results you want more often.
• Choose an unobtrusive background, which allows for more focus to be brought to your subject.
• Look for even lighting across the face of your subject. You want to avoid the harsh shadows cast by a nearby building, for example, or the leaves of a tree.
• Soft lighting, such as from cloudy skies, at dawn, or through a window curtain, makes for diffused shadows with softer edges.
• Look at photos others have taken. See a shot you like? Try replicating it.
• When you’re ready for the next level, take more control of your camera with manual photo settings. If your phone has multiple cameras, try the telephoto lens to get more flattering portraits.

Note: Once you know the rules of photography, experiment without them; the results could be great.