While some organizations are equipped with the latest and greatest photography equipment, this isn’t the case for many. When you are on the go at an event, such as a fundraiser, tradeshow, or sporting game, your camera may not always be on hand. Thankfully, however, we are almost always carrying a phone.
Today’s phones have excellent cameras that take crisp and well-lit photos but sometimes the images don’t turn out quite how we want. To make the most of your phone photography, consider these six tips for expert photographs of your custom mascot.
1. Clean the camera lens – This one may seem straightforward, but it is something that we often forget to check. Our phones spend a lot of time in our hands, pockets and bags. Take a moment to wipe the lens with a clean cloth for crystal clear photos and colours that pop.
2. Manually adjust the focus – Your phone’s camera may not always focus on your mascot when you want it to. To quickly adjust the focus, compose your photo, but before hitting the shutter button, tap the screen where you want the focus to be and the image will quickly focus on the object you have chosen.
3. Manually adjust the brightness – Similar to focus, if the exposure on your phone is not where you want it to be, you can adjust the brightness manually. How you do this will depend on the make of your phone. On most Androids, compose your photo and tap the screen where you want your focus to be. A brightness slider will appear, adjust accordingly. For an iPhone compose your photo and tap the screen where you want your focus to be then swipe up or down to adjust brightness.
4. Use HDR mode – Have you ever noticed that the image you have taken doesn’t look quite the same on your phone as it does when you look at it through your own eyes? High dynamic range (HDR) helps solve this issue by creating more evenly lit photos. To turn on HDR on an Android open your camera settings, scroll to HDR and turn HDR to “On or Auto”. On an iPhone you simply have to select HDR from the upper menu in camera mode and turn it to “On or Auto”.
5. Use burst mode for action shots – Burst mode takes 10 images a second to help increase the likelihood of getting a sharp shot when there is a lot of movement. To use burst mode on an Android or iPhone, press and hold down the shutter button.
6. Don’t zoom in – Unless your phone is specifically equipped for zooming in, such as iPhones with dual lens, avoid zooming in, as it can cause distortion. Instead, try to move yourself closer to the object.
7. Easily apply the rule of thirds – As we mentioned in our previous blog, titled 'Mascot Marketing: 5 Steps to Capture the Perfect Mascot Photo’, the rule of thirds creates images that are visually pleasing by dividing your images into thirds and then placing your main subject on one of the grid lines. While you can always edit your images to change the placement of the main subject after the photo is taken, your phone can make it easy to get the right shot the first time by placing grid lines on your screen.
To activate the grid lines on an Android phone, open the camera, go to settings and scroll down to grid lines, open the grid line menu and select 3x3. On an iPhone go to your phone settings, scroll down to Camera and turn on Grid.
By taking the time to compose a great mascot photo the first time, you will save time editing and adjusting your images while creating a fantastic library of images to share with fans across your marketing platforms.
Don’t have a mascot to take pictures of? Contact us today to start designing!
