The quality of smartphone cameras is improving rapidly. In many situations, they work quite well as stand-ins for 35mm cameras. Therefore, dragging around a heavy camera, hoping not to miss that great picture opportunity, is no longer necessary. A good quality smartphone camera may work almost as well.

This class is for those interested in producing high-quality images with their smartphone cameras. That means learning and understanding the camera controls as well as when and how to use them. Doing so will put the photographer in better control of their camera. And that will mean significantly improved photographs.

Please note: This class will not cover the taking of selfies.

Everything necessary for taking great smartphone pictures will be addressed, including:

Learning how to use the camera controls on your specific smartphone

Basic photographic theory

Discussing and, if desired, installing other smartphone camera apps

Suggestions for hand-holding your camera

Specific steps to follow when taking a picture

Useful accessories for your smartphone camera

And, how to compose your photographs to produce truly wonderful results

In addition, I’ll be introducing two types of editing programs: One will be an app for your smartphone and the other an editing program for your computer. You’ll see how the quality of your images can be vastly improved with just a little editing.

You’ll have an opportunity in class to practice taking pictures with your camera. This will help solidify what you’ve learned about photographic theory and the operation of your camera. And it will be your chance to experiment with you own composition ideas.

Finally, please take some of your current smartphone pictures – the good ones and the problematic ones – and save them to a thumb drive so they can be viewed in class. This will be helpful when we discuss composition and aesthetics. And, just as important, it will allow you to show images you like and to get help with images where problems exist.

A very complete handout will be distributed on arrival. It contains lots of information and will greatly simplify the process of understanding what’s being taught in class. You’ll also find it quite useful for review after the class ends.

Don’t forget to bring your fully charged smartphone, the smartphone’s charger, any accessories you have, and the thumb drive with your pictures.