Summary

The majority of us now use our smartphones to shoot photos.

However, too many people rush their shots, and end up with terrible photos as a result.

What do I mean by that?

Person taking a photo of a beautifully plated salad with a smartphone, emphasizing food photography and culinary presentation.

Fedorovacz/Shutterstock / Adobe Firefly

The subjectshouldbe the main focus, and shooting it in the right way is important.

Consider a photo that has a nondescript subject at its heart.

If that’s the only aesthetic element, then that photo will be instantly forgettable.

A photo of a train waiting at a station, including interesting elements

This ensures that your photos are much more interesting than they would be otherwise.

Because you have the subject of the photoandother elements surrounding it included.

And that’s the key.

A local park on a sunny day to demonstrate the need to fill the frame

A good analogy for this is how the different elements of music all aid a song as a whole.

That’s the key, and it really is that simple.

Point your smartphone camera at your subject exactly as you would have done before you read this.

But before you take a shot, look at what else your lens is capturing.

Is there something in the foreground that can lead the viewer’s eyes to the subject?

Is there something in the middle ground that can be used to frame the subject?

Use what’s there rather than dismiss everything other than the subject as surplus to requirements.

So I purposely filled the frame to build a picture that could otherwise have been boring.

Too many people use their smartphones to grab snapshots rather than strive to shoot photographs.

Beautiful, artistic photographs that employ composition the way professional photographers do.