I recently had the pleasure of running a one-to-one smartphone photography workshop at the stunning Ushaw College, near Durham. The workshop came about after a regular visitor, and long-time member, of Ushaw College got in touch. At each of her visits she was keen to take photos of the beautiful architecture at different times in the day. But the results had proved disappointing and never quite captured what she wanted them to.
My aim in our session was to see how she was approaching her photography and from here suggest small changes and tips that would get her images looking their best. As her main focus was on the historic architecture, both inside and outside of the college, grid lines were our first port of call.
Using gridlines
On most smartphone cameras you can enable the gridlines under the camera settings. This allows you to make sure your images are lined up horizontally and vertically. It also allows you to see where the main focal point of your image is sitting. Depending on the subject of the shot, and the space and features around it, it can mean that either exactly centring, or placing the subject just off centre, creates the strongest effect. As you can see through these images, symmetrical long rooms or corridors, and brightly coloured focal points can work well centred, while others look best just off. Throughout the session, we returned to using gridlines to see how they would improve her composition.
Adding interest to images
After these basics, I introduced methods to create added interest to her shots, rather than just sticking with standard landscapes. Using a lens ball or finding water (even just a puddle) can refocus or broaden a shot. We also played with the exposure of her shots to help enhance the colours, especially of the many beautiful stained glass windows about the college.
Editing tools
Towards the end of our session, I introduced her to some simple, but effective, editing techniques to really make her images stand out. Cropping and enhancing colour and contrast can be particularly effective with architectural shots, and using a free app like Snapseed makes this process quick and simple.
You choose the location!
If you have a particular location you are in love with and really want to capture it on camera, do get in touch. We can run one-to-one sessions all over Newcastle and County Durham, as well as London, Hertfordshire, Oxford, Cambridge and Brighton.
Becky runs 1:1 and group smartphone photography workshops in Newcastle and Durham. To find out more, email becky@jetblacksquares.com.
Jet runs 1:1 and group smartphone workshops in London, Hertfordshire, Brighton, Oxford or Cambridge. To find out more, email: jet@jetblacksquares.com.