WebUser 01 May 2019

64 1 - 14 May 2019

discard the normal photoinaddition to

the HDR photo.

Force asharper focus

The iPhoneandsomeotherphones

havea focus andexposurelock, which

can prove veryuseful. Point the camera

atthe subject, thentap and holdyour

fingeronit untilan AE/AF Lock

message appears onthe screen. Now,

whenyou composethe scene,the focus

andexposure remain lockedonthe

subject, evenif itisoff-centre. Tap and

holdagain tocancelit.

Use exposure compensation

Acamera’s automaticexposurecan

bethrownbycertain situationssuch

assnow, beaches,whenthe sun is

behindthe subjectandscenes with a

lot ofsky,resulting inpoor-quality

shots.Openthe camera app onyour

Androidphone,tap the menu button

orswipe toaccessthe manual

featuresandtap the exposureicon:

a split black/white iconwith plusand

minus symbols. Onsomephones,

suchasthe iPhone, you can tap to

focus andslide afingerup ordown

A

phone camera’s default mode

ispoint-and-shoot, which is

quick andeasy for taking

photographs. But you can go beyond

these basic settingstoaccessmanual

camera featuresif you wantmore

controlover yourimages.

The processvariesdepending on

yourphone andcamera app,but if

you wanttoadjustthe ISO(light

sensitivity), shutter speed, light

balance and any otherattributesin

yourquest for the perfect shot, look

for acog icon, amenu button ortry

swiping leftorright. If the camera

app doesn’t havethese features or

you findthemtrickytouse,install

Camera FV-5 (bit.ly/cafv4 74 ) or

ManualCamera (bit.ly/mancam4 74 ) on Android; orMuseCam (bit.ly/

muse 474 ) orVSCO (bit.ly/vcs 474 ) oniOS.There are freeversionsof these

appsandtheymake accessing manualsettingsmucheasier.

Improve your mobile snaps using manual settings

Use HighDynamic Range
The sceneyou wanttoshoot might
includebothlightanddarkareas, and
regular camera settingsmay set the
exposurefor one arealeaving other
parts darkorwashedout. HDR (High
DynamicRange)combinesthe bestbits
frommultipleexposures tocreate
photos thathavebetterexposureand
coloursaturation. Turnit oneitherwith
anHDR option onthe screenorinthe
camera settings. It almost always
improves how aphotolooks.
Onan iPhone, gotoSettings, Camera
andturnoff Smart HDR if itisavailable.
You can thenmanually turnit on oroff
inthe Camera app whentaking aphoto.
There isalsoanoptiontokeepor

Find your camera’s manual

settings or use an app,

such as CameraFV-5

Tweak the

exposureto

lighten or

darken

a photo that

has awkward

lighting

If you seewords thatlook like

they’ve been typed in a

typewriter, follow the instructions

and type themexactly as they

appear, paying closeattentionto

spaces and punctuation.

Web User Masterclass

Take better phone photos with

hidden tools and manual apps