Smartphone Photography Tips

Most web articles benefit a great deal from visual aids like photographs, and while relying on the public domain and Creative Commons for visual content is always an option, including your own, high-quality, high-resolution photographs can really make your article stand out. This is especially true for articles that help readers follow a step-by-step process, like building a cabinet or weaving a wall hanging. 

Most of us, however, are not professional photographers, and while some of us have access to high-end cameras, most of us simply rely on the smartphones in our pockets to document our lives. Luckily, smartphone cameras have come a long way, and it's totally possible to take beautiful, high-resolution photos using your iPhone or Android device. 

Tips for Better Smartphone Photographs

• Clean your lens before taking photos: No matter how good your phone's camera is, your photos will only be as clear as your camera lens is clean. 
• Avoid zooming in: The zoom feature on most smartphone cameras doesn't actually work like a telephoto lens—it simply crops the image so it appears larger. High-resolution is a must, so get close to your subject and use your camera's exposure feature to make sure your subject doesn't appear too bright or dim. 
• Stabilize your photos: You can do this by using a cheap tripod or steadying your phone against a solid object before taking photos. The less your phone is moving when a photo is taken, the clearer that photo will be. 
• Use the right light: The flash feature on most smartphone cameras provides less-than-ideal lighting. For most photographs, indirect outdoor light yields the clearest results. 
• Focus on your subject: This is usually done by touching the area of the screen that contains the subject you wish to focus on. A yellow box may appear briefly to indicate the area of focus. 
• Take a set and choose the best: Try taking 5–10 shots for each photo you might want to include in your article. Shoot from different distances and angles, then choose the photo that does the best job of depicting your subject in a clear, accurate, and detailed manner. 

Good luck! Good smartphone photography comes with practice, so it never hurts to take pictures of anything you find interesting during the day. You can always delete unwanted photos later, so don't be afraid to experiment with your camera app's features. 

Image Credit: Tyler Mullins via Unsplash; Canva

How to Craft an Effective Author Bio

Did you know that you can have multiple author bios? If you write on multiple topics, it's probably in your best interest to create several different author bios. That way, each individual bio can be as relevant as possible to your article's content. 

Here's an example: If a fictional author named Joyce liked to write articles about both gardening and business, she could create a generic author bio for all of her articles, like "Joyce has been writing online for several years on topics including plant cultivation and marketing." This is a fine bio, and it would certainly serve its purpose.

Since the HubTool allows for the creation of multiple bios, however, it would be a good idea for Joyce to create two separate ones—one for each of the topics she writes about. The first could read, "Joyce has been gardening both outdoors and in greenhouses for seven years and has sold cuttings and starts for three." The other could read, "Joyce has worked in business for most of her career—first as a marketing lead and then as an HR professional."  Each of these bios is specific and provides evidence of Joyce's expertise in a particular field. 

The HubTool saves each bio you use, so once you create one, you can simply select it from the drop-down list each time you write another article on a similar topic. Creating a unique bio for each topic you write about is a good way to share your background and expertise with both readers and search engines. 

Theodore Turnquest II, From Lakeland, Florida, 5 Fans, 5 Hubs, Joined 2 months ago

Theodore Turnquest II

Theodore "Teddy" Turnquest is a Florida-based cinephile who loves to write film reviews for ReelRundown. Check out their articles about the  editing and cinematography in Schindler’s List and Scorsese's 70s classic, Taxi Driver. 

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