Mobile Camera Pro or Manual Mode Tutorial

It's time to take closer look at that often neglected mode in your camera app. Software has truly pushed mobile photography to the new heights, but there's something to be said about putting more of that control back into your own hands. 

That's where a phone's pro or manual mode can step in with tools that better emulate how a DSLR camera performs. You may have skipped over that mode Everytime, but you don't need to be intimidated by it. A little knowledge will go a long way in helping you capture even better photos than you expected.

How pro or manual mode work?

At first you must know that what a pro/manual mode consists of Shutter Speed, ISO, White Balance and Exposure compensation. If you're unclear what each of these things do, here a quick rundown:

ISO:

ISO refers to how sensitive the image sensor is to light. The lower the ISO, the less sensitive it is, and the sharper your image is with less noise. The higher you go and the brighter the image gets, the more you risk noise into the shot.

Shutter speed:

Shutter speed refers to how long the image sensor is exposed to light when it passes through the lens, you generally go higher when it's a bright scene or you're trying to shoot faster action such as birds or wildlife photographs.

White balance:

White balance affects how much white light is in a shot, which ultimately affects all colors. This determines how warm (yellow) or cool (blue) a shot will look. 

Exposure compensation:

Exposure compensation is easy to identify because of its + and - symbol even if you have set the exposure to where you want it to be, this setting can tweak it to go a little lighter or darker.

The one key setting that's missing is aperture, and that's because it's fixed on smartphone. Aperture is important because it determines how wide or tight the hole is for light to pass through.

Other phones may not always offer such a helping hand, but here are some additional tips to try based on specific shooting scenarios:

Sunset or sunrise

you want some extra flair in your shot? Adjust white balance to bring out more yellow, orange and red in the shot. Lower the ISO and use a moderate shutter speed. 

Light trail

This one is a bit tough because you can't change the aperture, but it's still doable. Set the timer for 5 seconds countdown use tripod to avoid any camera shake when snapping the photo. Focus on something static, like an unmoving object set ISO anywhere between 50-200, and shutter speed to a range anywhere between 10-20 seconds based on what you wish to create. 

Action

Much easier to do during day time or indoors with good light as you just have to lower the shutter speed and avoid shaking of phone, but in low light or night time, you will struggle to freeze the action and maintain enough light without introducing noise into the shot. Adjust shutter speed and ISO to get the desired composition.

Learn those tools, and not only will your photos get better, but so will the eye you shoot with.