12 tips for perfect shots with Android camera phones

HTC One M8 has a great camera. And most Android phones too. You can take great shots but here we are going to see some tips to help you take even better shots.

We have different categories for our tips and if you like photography and you want to play with your camera, the post is for you.

We tested the tips with HTC One M8 that has a lot of customizations that let you do things better. Not all the tips are working for all Android devices.

FOCUS & SHARPNESS

• HTC One M8 has autofocus, which works best on a subject that is not moving too much. The camera automatically focus on a subject. If you want to change the subject tap on the thing you want to focus on.

• If the subject is moving, on the Viewfinder, press and hold the subject to lock the focus.

• You can manually adjust the sharpness of a photo by editing the photo in Gallery. You can also set the sharpness before taking a photo in the Camera settings (press the three dots and check the settings)

• It is better to sharpen a blurry image rather than to reduce the sharpness in an image.

CONTROL THE LIGHT ON THE PHOTOS

• HTC One M8 automatically adjusts the focus and exposure. If the image appears underexposed or that it appears dark on the Viewfinder, tap a part of the image that is in shadow. Conversely, tap a well-lit object in the image if the image seems to be overexposed. Focus on an object with a neutral tone for a balanced exposure. Keep in mind that tapping on another object may shift the focus from your subject.

• If you are using the default settings and the photo still appears too dark, switch to Night scene, but place HTC One on a level surface to keep it steady. To go to Night Scene, press the 3 dots and tap on auto and then find and select Night.

• If there are parts of the image that are in shadows and others are in highlights, you can use HDR to capture multiple shots of different exposures and combine them into one shot. To choose HDR, you can go to settings (3 dots) and tap on Auto and then select HDR. You have to keep the device steady when using HDR because it takes multiple shots to combine it to a single one.

• When you take a panoramic photo, consider the whole scene and focus on an object that has a neutral tone to help keep the exposure balanced in the composite image.It’s difficult to take panorama in scenes with different light conditions.

• If your subject is lit from the back, use Backlight scene to highlight the foreground and keep some details of the background. To choose Backlight go to camera settings, press on Auto and then choose Backlight (face and light behind).

CLEVER PHOTO TIPS

• Choose the grid to help frame the subject better or improve the composition. You can enable the grid if you press the 3 dots to go to camera options, the select settings (right icon) and enable the grid.

• If you take photos under fluorescent or incandescent bulbs and the subject appears to be off-color. You can correct the colors, just play with the white balance setting. Check the image on the Viewfinder and select the option that displays the closest color to the natural color of the subject.

• In Camera settings, you can tap Image adjustments and adjust the exposure, contrast, and others before taking the photo.

CAMERA TIPS ON VIDEO