Scale

Scale is a frame of reference for the viewer of your photographs. Many budding photographers focus on their subject matter in front of them without realizing they may need to provide context. Common items such as: person, a dollar bill, a coin, a balloon, a pencil are all items which can be added to a frame to create a whole new sense of awe to your images.

If I am a product photographer creating images of toys for sale online and I provided this image to the manufacturer, it may not be sufficient information considering this helicopter is a model kit. Yes, the website can provide measurements...but the sale may be more successful if the following images were provided.

The hand adds scale and a new sense of difficulty to the model being sold. However, is that a woman's hand? A child's? A man's?

This image in addition to the image with the hand would be satisfactory scale portrayals for this product. What about the next image? How large are the Storm Trooper, Obi Wan and Yoda? 

What about if they started playing limbo with a cigarette? The reference in your mind of the size of the cigarette completely changes the scale of the image.

 What about on a larger scale? You may have to use a human for reference. Here's some images from the web:

In the above image, the scale of the rocks and cliff are put into perspective by the person on the beach. In the below image, the ship seems large, but exponentially larger once you notice the two sailors below.

Scale is important in all mediums of art. When you attend a museum, information provided with paintings provide the title, artist's name, the medium and the size. This is relative when analyzing detail and technique. Many images of art shared online go uncredited without this information, which makes appreciating the work of the artist that much more difficult. The image below is an oil painting on panel by Eloy Morales.

Eloy is able to create this hyperrealistic effect by adding small details over a large scale. Cover the blow image with your hand, without knowing the size of the painting, you may think its a photograph, because the details are panned out to a larger image. The painting is actually 5'x5'. This is why full credits are necessary when displaying art in photographic images.

Let's take a look at another image which absolutely needs a sense of scale to appreciate the technique:

We've visited examples of scale in photographs, paintings and drawings...but it is also useful in movie props. You've probably seen 1997's Men In Black, the scene with the dying Arquillian prince shares his last words is pictured here:

A 1:1 model was used for shots including Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, but for the detailed shots a much larger model was constructed.

Your eyes will fool you! Scale is used both to create context and to add detail...in any medium it is applied!

Smartphone camera settings

Your smartphone camera has many helpful settings available that you may not utilize, understand or knew existed! Let's take a moment to review what it all means. I am using a Samsung Galaxy S3, your settings menu may not look the same, but the terms are transferable.

 In-camera effects are a fun way to mix up your typical portrait. It's easy to add filters after the shot is taken; these settings are meant to save you that extra step. Pictured: negative effect.

Changing the exposure value in your settings is helpful if you are in an extremely bright or dark space and the camera's automatic settings are not able to achieve a properly lit image. Below is an example of -2, 0 and +2 exposure adjustments. I am sitting indoors lit by an overhead incandescent.

 Guidelines are helpful when composing an image. The overlay is set up to use the "rule of thirds" as a reference. See the "composition" post on this blog for more help in composing your photos.

When turned on, auto share shot allows you to easily connect the devices you want to share pictures with by bringing the devices together back to back. Contextual filename pairs with GPS tag, adding the location where the photo was taken to the filename saved on the device. Voice control allows you to snap a photo with vocal commands such as "smile", "capture", "shoot", and "cheese".

Don't want to hand your phone over to a stranger for the group shot? Want to take a selfie without arms extended? Use your timer, just be sure to focus the frame before setting.

GPS tag works with the location settings in your camera to add metadata to photo files. The geographic location will be added, so this is helpful while exploring during vacation and adding images to Google Earth but should not be used everyday for security and privacy reasons. Parents should take care that children with smartphones are not using this setting. 

Photo note allows you to "write" on the back of your digital photos in various colors and widths of pen. When the image is displayed in your gallery, a peeled back corner looking button will appear in the top right corner. This is a fun and easy way to add and memorable facts to your photos. Photo frame will give you framing options for your image.

 For more tips and tricks on using your smartphone camera, watch this 3-minute video from COOPH.

Lighting

Lighting is a way to directly change the mood of a photograph. Controlling the the type of lighting (natural or artificial), intensity, and if outdoors-time of day, will give your images a new intent. Understanding how various types of lighting affect a subject is by far one of the highest priorities for a professional photographer. You can ensure flattering photos of yourself and your loved ones by taking a moment to look around at lighting options available in your area at the time. I have included examples of various lighting options available around my home to demonstrate (in traditional selfie fashion):

 Indoor backlit by natural light: I am indoors with my back to an indirectly illuminated window. You can see my form well, and some details on my face but mostly the eye travels around my silhouette rather than on my face.

 Indoor frontlit by natural light: I am indoors now facing the indirectly illuminated window. My facial features are illuminated quite well, with no harsh shadows or piercing highlights. However, my hair and form are mostly lost to the dark background.

 Indoor sidelit by natural light: I am indoors standing perpendicular to the indirectly illuminated window. Details in my hair and face are well defined and the shadows are present but not distracting. If anything, the shadowing creates more form on my features.

 Outdoors, frontlit by direct, natural light: This is the least flattering scenario you can ever take a portrait. I am looking directly into the sun, so I am squinting. Harsh shadows are always the focus on these types of photos. Under my nose, under my eyes and under my chin are the only focus of this image and distort the true shape of my face. My cellphone's shadow is also visible. Try to avoid taking photos in direct sunlight.

Outdoors, backlit by natural light: If an outdoor direct lit photo is inevitable, this is the best case scenario. The sun is behind me so I am no longer squinting and most of my facial features and form are present. However, any lens pointed directly into the sun will capture flare (the lines streaming across my face from the top right corner of the photo. This adds distracting elements to the photo and also greatly reduced the clarity.

In the car: most selfies happen in the car because of the natural, indirect lighting available. My form is mostly visible except for some hot spots on my left shoulder due to extreme highlights from direct lighting. My facial features are detailed, but there is not much hair detail.

Indoors, incandescent bulb: Most of my facial features are recognizable, but lacking detail due to the lack of brightness in the room. The bulb is overhead as you can tell by the shadows under my nose and chin. Also, my skin tone is a bit more yellow than it should be. 

Take a moment to look through your cell phone's camera settings. White balance is a term used to define the temperature (color) of a light source. White balance temperature ranges from the cool blue of a natural sky to the warm yellow/orange of candlelight. Fluorescent lighting tends to add a blue tint, tungsten (incandescent) lighting tends to be more yellow. Natural sunlight is considered normal temperature. The auto setting on most cameras will do but venturing into manual settings may give you more control (and faster shooting since auto is choosing settings on a shot-by-shot basis).

In this final image I have changed my camera's white balance setting to incandescent. There is not too much of a difference, but the temperature is slightly cooler than the before example.

Etiquette

They're all around you. They're on the bus. They're in the local grocery store. At the little league ballpark. In your Doctor's office. At the table next to you in your favorite restaurant. Driving in the next lane. They're smart phone addicts, and they're everywhere. WebMD shares 

"According to a 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center, 46% of all American adults now own a smartphone -- up a whopping 25% from 2011...According to a 2011 study published in the journal Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, people aren't addicted to smartphones themselves as much as they are addicted to "checking habits" that develop with phone use -- including repeatedly (and very quickly) checking for news updates, emails, or social media connections. 

That study found that certain environmental triggers -- like being bored or listening to a lecture -- trigger the habits. And while the average user checks his or her smartphone 35 times a day -- for about 30 seconds each time, when the information rewards are greater (e.g., having contact info linked to the contact's whereabouts), users check even more often."

Regardless of your addiction status, you may want to consider eliminating or limiting the following habits:

• Any cell phone use while driving. This includes as a music player, navigation device or just checking at traffic stops. Yes, our devices are multifunctional conveniences, that doesn't mean you're not going to be tempted to check a Facebook notification while your music is playing during your drive.
• Using your device at the dinner table. Relationships require consistent care. The conversations you're missing (or half paying attention to) could make all the difference. They will appreciate the effort and return the favor! If the temptation is too grand, consider making it a competitive game: place all of your phones in the center of the table. The first person to reach for theirs pays the bill!
• Using your phone, tablet or laptop at bedtime. The New York Times shares "Increasingly, researchers are finding that artificial light from some devices at night may tinker with brain chemicals that promote sleep. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute showed that exposure to light from computer tablets significantly lowered levels of the hormone melatonin, which regulates our internal clocks and plays a role in the sleep cycle."
• Not cleaning your phone or case. Think about it: how often do you touch your phone? How often do you drop it on the ground, hand it to your young child, set it on the bathroom counter, and then press it to your face? For information on how to clean your dirtiest appliances: http://www.today.com/home/find-out-how-clean-your-cell-phone-other-dirty-gadgets-2D79591843
• Not spending time with your loved ones. Consistent notification checking or playing games like Candy Crush Saga can distract your focus. Your spouse, your child, your mother...consider making a commitment to allot at least a half hour of electronic-free time a day to nurture relationships most important to you. 
  

Smartphone distracted lovers by street artist, Banksy. 

Fill the Frame!

It happens every time: you ask a friendly passerby take a photo of you and a friend. You check the image and the two subjects are entirely encircled by empty space. You can't see your expressions at all! You can't even see your faces! An early lesson to learn: fill the frame.

If your photo is not as attractive as you think it should be, get closer and try again! This lesson applies to any subject matter, I've included three still life examples. Try this in your home! #smartphonephotographychallenge

Megapixels

Let's talk about megapixels. Image resolution is measured in megapixels. A megapixel is a measurement of one million pixels. The average image size in your Facebook feed is 1200x900 pixels, that's just over one megapixel.

A megapixel is a measurement of one million pixels. 1200x900=1,080,000 which is also 1.08 megapixels. This resolution will not have very sharp quality if printed larger than 5"x3".

This is a determining factor when purchasing a DSLR, but what about your everyday cellphone? Have you ever chosen to print your images taken with your cell phone? Have you ever printed images downloaded from a social media site such as Facebook, Google+, or Instagram? Many online print companies such as Shutterfly, and print kiosks at stores such as Target or Walmart, offer shortcuts to import images from these pages.

The more pixels a camera has, the more detail it can capture. Cameras with a lower megapixel count may result in images with a more blurred or pixelated look, especially when enlarged. The newest cell phones currently available are the IPhone 6 which has 8 megapixels and the Samsung Galaxy S5, which has 16 megapixels. Now, the megapixel count of a camera is not the most important feature: the image sensor will by far effect your image quality.

Light enters through the lens, which goes through the light sensor, which converts it to an electronic signal.  Then the processor converts the signal into an image again with adjustments to flaws and noise. Bottom line: light. The more light you can capture, the better the quality of the image. Larger image sensor, more light.

Thanks to Sprout Social, here's an interesting link with a consistently updated Google Doc for social media image resolution sizes:
http://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-image-sizes-guide/

Composition

Composition: the placement of relevant objects and elements in a work of art.

Composition is one of the most important elements of a pleasant photograph. This element is the difference between a candid snapshot or a planned execution. Suffice to say: photographs are nothing without composition. There are many "rules" available which define why composition works, but for simplicity sake let's begin with the rule of thirds.

The rule of thirds is a guideline for composing an image. If important features of an image align with the two horizontal or vertical lines versus perfectly centered, the image will have more of an aesthetic impact on the viewer. This is a way the photographer can create emphasis on a particular subject. The two screenshots below are from the crop portion of an Instagram post. Which crop would you prefer? Most cell phone camera settings have a "guidelines" option available. Share your images with emphasis on composition with the hashtag #smartphonephotographychallenge