Shooting with a Phone

You may (or may not) have noticed that sometimes my pictures are a little different from the usual white background ones that I'm used to posting on this blog. These shots generally feature a more homely background, maybe that of a living room or cupboard. These are the photos when I'm on the move, either at another house or a friend's place. During this time, I would never miss the opportunity to snap a few shots of any awesome figures that may be lying around.

Of course, I do not have my camera with me all the time. Sometimes I forget, other times, I just don't have the luxury of lugging about my whole setup. Times like this is where my phone really comes in handy and is more than capable of the task at hand. Sporting a 41 megapixel sensor and a handy tripod mount, I do consider my phone's camera to be a crop above the rest. Nevertheless, it isn't perfect hence, the slight discrepancy in photos compared to my usual "studio" setup.

Here's a quick run through of just different things are.

For starters, overexposed shots can become rather harsh. I generally shoot my photos with around +1.3-1.7 exposure compensation. With the phone though, bump the exposure up even slightly and things tend to get really harsh pretty fast.

Then, there's the fixed aperture that all smartphone cameras have. An f2.2 aperture lens is great especially where low light shots are concerned but, this comes at a cost of focus. In a close up shot like this, even a slight focus deviation causes everything else to go out of focus. Not so great when you're trying to capture something in maximum detail.

Still, have such a wide aperture lens has it's benefits. For example, you can pull off some pretty neat shallow depth-of-field. Great for those artsy shots.

 

If you're wondering what depth-of-field refers to, just compare the two pictures above and observe Mami's twin tails specifically the one on the left. You'll see in the picture above, it isn't focused while the in the picture below, it is.

White balance has a tendency to go out of whack at times too! Something I hadn't noticed until after I had completed my photo shoot hence, the off-blue shade in the background.

 

Nevertheless, using a smartphone's camera does come with its own set of benefits too. For starters, you're able to get up real close without having to worry about focusing distance. Many, if not most, smartphone cameras handle macro focusing like a champ and put many dedicated cameras to shame in that aspect.

 

All while maintaining very good image quality. Granted you get the focus right, you can capture even the finest of details. Notable in this scenario, Mami's ring which is right in the center of focus.

 

Color reproduction varies, especially when it comes to smartphones. Manufacturers have the tendency to have their own post-processing on top of photos that are take. Some make the photos taken have a higher saturation to give the image an illusion of looking more lively. Others apply sharpening while, there are those who alter the brightness and contrast. 

Personally, I prefer a camera which takes shots as color neutral as possible without any added post-processing. While that is one of the benefits of my phone's camera, it still isn't completely color neutral as such the color reproduction is still a tad bit off.

At the end of the day though, the best camera you have will always be the one in your hand. And I'm glad that my phone's camera is able to hold up well on its own. This way, regardless of where I am, I'll always have someway of bringing high quality content to Tiro Finale.

Well, that's all for now with this little out of the usual post. I hope you enjoyed it and who knows perhaps I'd start providing tutorials on taking figure photos with your smartphone. Until then, have a great day everyone!

Bonus Images