Dussehra photography: Simple tips to make your iPhone, Android photos look stunning

With the festive season in full swing, your smartphone's camera has to do overtime. After all, it is these memories that you want to last, and share on social media. Modern day smartphones boast of a gazillion megapixels and witchcraft features to match and even beat DSLR cameras at times. Hence, when it comes to shooting photographs at Puja “pandals” and those fun get-togethers, your 50MP camera equipped smartphone should be good enough, right? Sadly, that's not the case.

Even if you are rocking the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max this festive season, know that the camera itself can only do so much. It is still the user who has to make the most out of what is available. Hence, be it the newest iPhone or an entry-level Xiaomi smartphone, keep note of these easy tips to get the most out of your phone's camera.

Dussehra photography tips for iPhone, Android

Frame properly

The most crucial aspect in still photography. Framing your subject right can make it look amazing, no matter what camera you use. For human and idol portraits, ensure you leave some space above the head and below the feet. If you want to do a close up, ensure you cut your subject from the bust and leave some headspace. Also, use the grid lines to help you position your subject better.

Use ultrawide for pandals

If decorations is what you are after, make use of the ultrawide camera. You get to fit in more of the decorations into the frame. Keep your framing right to avoid the fisheye effect.

Try to place subject in good lighting

You want your photo taken inside the pandals or against the idol, but lighting is often poor inside. Ensure you stand in an area where the ambient light is at its brightest. Look for spotlights or chandeliers to give your camera more light to play with. Do not use the flash at any costs, try using the Night mode.

Use zoom camera for portrait

The telephoto camera, if your phone has one, is of great help in shooting someone's portrait as well as the Durga idol. The zoom camera will allow for no loss in quality despite all the magnification. Note that if your phone has a 3x optical zoom camera, don't go beyond 3x magnification; anything beyond that is digital crop and the quality suffers.

Night mode works great for light decorations

If light decorations is what you are after, employ your phone's night mode. You may have to wait for a few seconds after clicking the shutter button but you can get photos with more details, better exposure control, and overall brighter subjects. Keep your hand steady, or use a tripod, if possible.