Jo is keen that everyone should be a bit more adventurous. This writer is guilty of sticking with a very small toolbox of editing apps, mainly VSCO and Snapseed, and I’m not alone. So don’t feel compelled to shoot raw, but it’s well worth trying – there’s a raw-editing tool in Snapseed too, which automatically opens when it recognises the file.’ Editing smartphone photos and Instagram Even with photos taken on an older iPhone, there is hardly any image degradation. You can end up being able to print really big – I go on stage at The Photography Show and invite people to come and ‘pixel peep’ at my prints. As the noise is randomly generated in each image, when the app stacks them, the noise is automatically removed. If you stack images when shooting in low light, using an app like Slow Shutter Cam, it can be a great way to reduce noise. ‘You can get great quality in your photos without needing to shoot raw, however. Shot in a studio using an iPhone 11 Pro Max, with lighting provided by two torches covered in coloured cellophane recycled from sweet wrappers. As you say, when you shoot raw on your phone it enables lots of flexibility at the editing stage, but it does override the often excellent JPEG algorithms that makers have spent a lot of money developing. ‘The apps I use – Moment, Halide or Camera Pro – enable me to do this.Įverything I produce will either be printed or exhibited, which is why I prefer TIFF. With algorithms now so advanced, often producing perfectly exposed images straight from the phone, is there still much point bypassing them and shooting in raw? ‘I do shoot in raw but save out the images as a TIFF rather than a JPEG,’ Jo explains. ‘Most of the time even total beginners will get a shot with a phone, but beyond that, there are lots of ways to get more- sophisticated results – for instance, by using advanced apps, using the phone cameras in manual mode to control exposure, and so on.’ The raw debate People with very different skill levels can still get good images from smartphones, which is a big part of their appeal for Jo. The fun is in the creativity – trying to do something different and problem solving.’ So, I started to look at more complex images that people make with conventional cameras, such as image stacking and panning, and explore how you can do it on a phone. ‘I wanted to show just how powerful smartphones can be when combined with creative thinking and a bit of know-how. ‘I still shoot with analogue and digital cameras, but I find myself reaching for my phone more and more in my professional work,’ she explains. Jo wrote the new book to show just how creative smartphones can be, pushing the boundaries of how they are mostly used – typically for selfies, street candids and conventional landscapes. The hardware is coming on in leaps and bounds, too, and you’re seeing a lot of handsets with three, even five, cameras on the back.’Ī painterly scene was created by panning handheld with a slow shutter app on an iPhone 11 Pro Max. The algorithms are using the image data in a much more intelligent way. ‘As well as powerful image processing, the latest iPhones and Android phones have very effective night modes, for example. ![]() ‘Every year more people embrace smartphones, but the biggest change I’ve seen since my first book is the rise of algorithms and computational photography,’ Jo observes. We caught up with Jo to get some expert advice for better smartphone photography, including handset choice and the editing side. From panning to pinhole, and should help convert any last remaining smartphone photography sceptics. Jo’s latest book, Smart Photos: 52 Ideas to Take Your Smartphone Photography to the Next Level, is full of intriguing and original ideas for smartphone photos beyond the obvious. ![]() ‘When I wrote that book I was not convinced that anyone would buy a book about phone photography – but it remained a best seller for four years!’ ‘ Smart Phone, Smart Photography was the first book about smartphone photography to top the digital photography best-selling book lists on Waterstones and Amazon,’ Jo notes with justifiable pride. ![]() Jo’s first book, Smart Phone, Smart Photography, was published in 2018, and since then she’s become a regular fixture on the camera club circuit, as well as running workshops for the RPS and appearing on the judging panels of several prestigious competitions. Top smartphone photographer, teacher and author Jo Bradford shares some tips for better smartphone photos that go beyond the predictable with Geoff Harrisīooks on smartphone photography are (almost) ten a penny, but Jo Bradford is internationally recognised as an authority on the subject.
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