News 13 receives a lot of great pictures and videos from users, either through its app or messages sent to its Facebook page. And the majority of them are done on their smartphones.

  • Learn how to take better pictures with your smartphone
  • How to operate your smartphone when taking videos, pictures
  • Be safe when taking photos, videos at emergency

But everyone, from the average person to even the pros, appreciates some pointers when shooting video or taking pictures on their smartphones for the web.

And here are some of those tips.

Hold your smartphone horizontally
When you hold your smartphone horizontally, you capture more with the camera than if you do if you hold it vertically.

This is more visually pleasing to the audience when they watch a video or look at a picture that is widescreen.

Peter Gray, from TechRadar.com, sends this point home.

“Shooting a video clip with your phone upright doesn’t seem like an issue at the time because you’re watching it on a device with a vertical screen, but as soon as you want to play the video anywhere else, your clip will be fighting for space with two black bars (if it appears on TV) on either side of the screen,” he writes.

Have a steady hand
It’s not easy to look at video that’s very shaky or it’s all over the place. Make sure you center your subject and keep your hands steady.

If you’re recording a moving object or trying to get a sweeping crowd shot, hold your smartphone with your elbows locked into your body and gently and slowly move with what you are shooting.

This will lower your chances of having shaky video.

Remember: No one wants to see jerky movements in videos and it will create blurry photos.

In fact, it doesn’t hurt to snap a few extra photos of whatever it is you are taking a picture of. Sometimes a photo looks clear, but when you see it on your computer it turns out blurry. So if you take two or three shots, at least one of them will be crystal clear.

And speaking of clear …

Don’t zoom!
Believe it or not, you shouldn’t zoom with your smartphone and Stan Horaczek from Popular Photography explains why.

“Many smartphone camera offer a digital zoom function, but you're almost always best served by pretending it doesn't exist. Even in the liveview preview, you'll be able to see how noticeably your images degrade the second you start to "zoom." The camera is simply extrapolating what's already there and basically guessing what the image looks like. It gets ugly fast,” he explains.

Know your phone
In the news business, we understand that things happen at a moment’s notice. That’s why many digital journalists make sure their equipment (smartphones in this case) is ready to use.

That means knowing your phone. Make sure you have enough memory on your smartphone to hold new photos or videos. If you have old pictures or videos on your phone, you can transfer them onto your computer or external hard drive and then delete the ones on your phone.

And nothing’s worse than recording video and then your phone dies out. Make sure your phone is charged.

In addition, keep your lens is clean and nothing is blocking it, like a thumb.

Watch out for the flash
A lot of people like to take pictures from their cars, but if you have a flash on and it reflects off a window, expect a glare in your photo.

Be sure to turn the flash function off on your smart phone if you are taking a picture and you have a window or glass in front of you. If you have to use the flash, take the picture from an angle, so the light doesn’t bounce back to the camera.

The Importance of caption information
A lot of our viewers and Facebook followers have been really great at giving News 13 caption information.

Caption information means what is happening in the photo. Things like, “This sunset was taken at Thursday, June 09, at 8:08 p.m., in front of my house in Rockledge, Brevard County.”

Or “This Mr. Tony’s truck carrying ice cream spilled its cargo all over Orange Avenue southbound Friday, June 17, at around 12 p.m. The driver was handing out spoons.”

This also increases your chances of getting your photo to be posted to News 13’s website and social media a lot faster, plus it helps people understand what is going on in the picture.

Remember to be safe, respect private property
Remember the most important rule: Keep yourself and others safe. Taking pictures of an accident, a police standoff or fires can be very dangerous. Anything can happen.

That’s why it’s important to stay at locations that police tell you to go. It’s for your own safety.

And if you happen to be driving and you see something, pull over where it’s safe to do so and take your picture. And make sure you check the lanes for traffic before you drive off.

And be mindful of private property. Don’t park your vehicle at someone’s driveway or parking spots designated for customers only.

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With these tips, you are now a better photographer.