Sep 25, 2014, 04:07
Like most of you should know, photography is all about light.
That’s why I'm giving you some tips on how to use your cell phone LED flash to get that extra light that you need for the perfect exposure you are after.
First of all you need to understand that different types of light are required to different types of photography.
As you saw in previous posts the use of a flash is a must in certain conditions.
For example, if you are taking portraits of someone, you should know that a soft light is more flattering than a direct light, because it cuts off the strong shadows, giving a more natural look to people.
To make the light of your cell phone softer, you just need to put some white paper or napkin in front of it, so the light source will became bigger and then softer.
You can find some “Do it yourself” videos on YouTube who will help you to do a “soft box” so you can use it on your cell phone, but the principle is the same.
Bigger the light source, softer the light will be.
Now instead of using your camera flash, that limits your range of operation, you can use your cell phone as an off camera flash.
Try different settings and positions and see the difference between a varieties of angles. The best way to improve your skills is to make a lot of experiences. Putting the light beside the subject you are shooting at makes, most of the time, your capture more powerful and with character.
Other thing that you can try is making your subject holding the cell phone, using a smaller shutter speed (1 or 2 seconds should do it), and tell him to make a draw with the light of the cell phone during the capture. That will give you those fancy light trails.
This technique, called light drawing, can also be used on stationary objects. For that, use the same principle (1 or 2 seconds exposure), and with your cell phone flash out of the frame, make quick movements in order to bring light to a different number of spots in the frame (as the background, foreground, and subject in different areas etc.) the results can be great, as you will get pretty the same as if you have used 2 or 3 different light sources.
So keep it in mind, your imagination will always be rewarded in photography, no matter what gear you use.
