Smartphone Photography - Tips, Tricks, Insights, Discussion

[SigmundChurchill]

I have all kinds of cameras, but I am finding that they are leaving my home less and less as smartphone technology gets better.  Of course, if I really need professional photos, no amount of technology is going to beat physical size.  At least not yet.  No digital enhancement at this point in time will replace a large sensor in a real DSLR or mirrorless camera, or a large telephoto lens.  

But for most cases, I am fine with my iPhone camera.  It is the only camera I am willing to have with me at all times.  I currently have the 14 Pro Max.  I was excited to have the new 48 mpi raw camera, until I got it and found out that the shutter speed is so slow in 48 mode that you basically need a tripod and a non moving subject for it to be worth it.  I hear the Samsungs are much better at this.  But the 12mpi pics are stunning, both in regular and raw+edited, and the new sensor is definitely better in low light than the 13 pro.

So, with a smartphone camera, does anyone have any good tips for taking close up pics of cigars, while leaving distant backgrounds IN focus?

I have some luck with a couple of different methods, but neither is perfect.  Sometimes they work great, other times not so great.

First, I will take a wide angle photo with the cigar held with my outstretched arm, far from the camera lens.  Then crop it to look like the cigar was taken close up.

The other way, is to take it in portrait mode, and then up the f stop all the way.

But here is a case where neither was really working for me.  I think the tree and the fence were adding too many additional focal points for the camera.  So basically what I did was a burst, when the camera was shifting it's focus from the house, to the cigar.  So the picture I chose from the burst (the second one), is the one where neither was in perfect focus, but both were "good enough".  And then I sharpened it up as much as I could to make up for it.

Has anyone out there come up with a better way to do this?

 

Also, I would love to know any other cool tips and tricks for taking good smartphone pics you guys have.

[Ford2112]

My camera phone sucks. I need help too.

[Bijan]

This did motivate me to get a camera app with more manual settings.

But for the problem at hand I feel that you can take a picture with cigar in focus and another with background in focus and either use Photoshop or a phone app to combine those two photos into what you want (a photo with both in focus).

Edit:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_stacking

 

I might try to make this as an app, where you select the points of focus and it takes enough pictures and stacks them 🤔

[Namisgr11]

I think the physics works against you.  A cellphone camera has a much smaller sensor than a dedicated digital camera, and so the relatively limited amount of light it can take in limits the depth of field.

Personally, I like the effect the narrower depth of field produces, anyway.  When the focus is on an up-front object like a cigar, putting it against an out-of-focus background makes it the main point of interest for the viewer.  

[Lamboinee]

I also wish my cigar pics looked as good as others...mine never seem to "pop". 

I have no idea how to keep the far away stuff "in-focus" other than to do what you  suggested.  Maybe try time lapse pics/vid but change the center of focus in between frames? Or....??

[Hammer Smokin']

if on android, touch the screen where the cigar is. it'll sharpen the cigar without overly blurring the background (unless the background is much brighter). 

I usually do it on the cigar label. 

Works really well on my old Samsung A52. I have an iphone 13 work phone, but it doesn't take as nice photos as the A52. 

[SigmundChurchill]

2 hours ago, Bijan said:

This did motivate me to get a camera app with more manual settings.

But for the problem at hand I feel that you can take a picture with cigar in focus and another with background in focus and either use Photoshop or a phone app to combine those two photos into what you want (a photo with both in focus).

Edit:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_stacking

That is a solution that would work.  Seems like more work than it should be though.  But you did give me an idea.  The new iOS lets you pull people out of photos and place them in other photos.  Maybe it works for cigars too?  I'm going to give it a try.

1 hour ago, Namisgr11 said:

I think the physics works against you.  A cellphone camera has a much smaller sensor than a dedicated digital camera, and so the relatively limited amount of light it can take in limits the depth of field.

Personally, I like the effect the narrower depth of field produces, anyway.  When the focus is on an up-front object like a cigar, putting it against an out-of-focus background makes it the main point of interest for the viewer.  

Well, yes, in general I like that effect too.  Most people do.  It's the bokeh effect.  Most often, that is a great way to highlight the cigar you are smoking, but sometimes, you not only want to show what cigar you are smoking, but the surroundings in which you are smoking it.  

[Fuzz]

I find the Samsung camera is a better all-round camera than the iPhone (like for like models, eg iPhone 13 Pro Max vs S22 Ultra). The iPhone can do a bit better shots than the Samsung under certain conditions, but for an all-rounder phone camera, go Samsung.

As much as I like the convenience of a camera phone, I still prefer my DSLR for photography.

[Bijan]

7 hours ago, SigmundChurchill said:

That is a solution that would work.  Seems like more work than it should be though.  

Yes, that is why I'm going to try and make an app for it, when I get back from vacation. It really would be an easy thing to do in the camera software. But it would be somewhat of an advanced feature. The user would have to know to select this mode then choose two or more objects/distances to focus on and then the phone camera could take the 2 or more photos at different focus settings in quick succession and layer them.

But in general as @Namisgr11 said the depth of field will dictate what is optically possible in a single photo.

As @Hammer Smokin' said you can play with the focus on Android. It seems you're saying you can do the same if you're setting the f-stop in portrait mode.

I just got an app called Manual Camera on Android which allows you to lock the focus and manually focus in the smallest increments. That would let you choose how in focus the cigar should be vs the background. But there's no getting around the optics of the lens plus sensor.

[Fuzz]

@Bijan Try the app "Open Camera". Has a lot of functionality.

[Chibearsv]

17 hours ago, SigmundChurchill said:

I have all kinds of cameras, but I am finding that they are leaving my home less and less as smartphone technology gets better.  Of course, if I really need professional photos, no amount of technology is going to beat physical size.  At least not yet.  No digital enhancement at this point in time will replace a large sensor in a real DSLR or mirrorless camera, or a large telephoto lens.  

But for most cases, I am fine with my iPhone camera.  It is the only camera I am willing to have with me at all times.  I currently have the 14 Pro Max.  I was excited to have the new 48 mpi raw camera, until I got it and found out that the shutter speed is so slow in 48 mode that you basically need a tripod and a non moving subject for it to be worth it.  I hear the Samsungs are much better at this.  But the 12mpi pics are stunning, both in regular and raw+edited, and the new sensor is definitely better in low light than the 13 pro.

So, with a smartphone camera, does anyone have any good tips for taking close up pics of cigars, while leaving distant backgrounds IN focus?

I have some luck with a couple of different methods, but neither is perfect.  Sometimes they work great, other times not so great.

First, I will take a wide angle photo with the cigar held with my outstretched arm, far from the camera lens.  Then crop it to look like the cigar was taken close up.

The other way, is to take it in portrait mode, and then up the f stop all the way.

But here is a case where neither was really working for me.  I think the tree and the fence were adding too many additional focal points for the camera.  So basically what I did was a burst, when the camera was shifting it's focus from the house, to the cigar.  So the picture I chose from the burst (the second one), is the one where neither was in perfect focus, but both were "good enough".  And then I sharpened it up as much as I could to make up for it.

 

Has anyone out there come up with a better way to do this?

 

Also, I would love to know any other cool tips and tricks for taking good smartphone pics you guys have.

Just a guess here.  I think the trouble is that your arm isn't long enough to get the effect you're looking for.  Maybe if you put the cigar on the fence post and zoomed in from your original vantage point?  I think that's how I used to do such things with the SLR back in the day.

[SigmundChurchill]

1 hour ago, Chibearsv said:

Just a guess here.  I think the trouble is that your arm isn't long enough to get the effect you're looking for.  Maybe if you put the cigar on the fence post and zoomed in from your original vantage point?  I think that's how I used to do such things with the SLR back in the day.

True, but then it's a different picture.  If you want the fence to be a separate part of the picture, you cant do that.  You have to get so close up to the fence, to get the close up of the cigar, that it is not really part of the picture anymore.

With an SLR, you don't even need to go through all that.  Just use a lens with a high f-range, and set it to like f-16.  It will work like the iPhone, in portrait mode, only it will do it 100 times better.

[GolfT3]

iPhone has definitely gotten better over the last few generations but the focus function is still way too oriented toward portrait/subject photography, even though they have added a great wide angle lens. In my experience that type of shot works best when the phone goes into night or low light mode and takes a number of long exposure shots and then superimposes them. Pano mode also does a good wide angle focus but you end up with a terribly sized picture you have to crop.

I also definitely recommend adding Lightroom to your phone. If you’re used to basic photo processing you can get a lot more out of those phone pictures than what the stock phone app will give you.

[LLC]

Nothing like using a real camera. When I don’t feel like carrying my DSLR, I have a couple of different Ricoh GR’s that have APS-C sensor but literally fit in my pocket. 

[rolaand]

On 9/30/2022 at 7:48 AM, Bijan said:

This did motivate me to get a camera app with more manual settings.

But for the problem at hand I feel that you can take a picture with cigar in focus and another with background in focus and either use Photoshop or a phone app to combine those two photos into what you want (a photo with both in focus).

Edit:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus_stacking

 

I might try to make this as an app, where you select the points of focus and it takes enough pictures and stacks them 🤔

Ryan brenizer was a master of this. Apparently they even have a method named after this kind of composite imagery

 

You are almost always going to compromise on a motile phone but you can focus on different areas to focus/lock your exposure, focus, or aperture that can help a lot. It is similar to on a dslr when you use the “spot exposure” hold down the ae lock and then recompose your picture

[SigmundChurchill]

1 hour ago, GolfT3 said:

iPhone has definitely gotten better over the last few generations but the focus function is still way too oriented toward portrait/subject photography, even though they have added a great wide angle lens. In my experience that type of shot works best when the phone goes into night or low light mode and takes a number of long exposure shots and then superimposes them. Pano mode also does a good wide angle focus but you end up with a terribly sized picture you have to crop.

I also definitely recommend adding Lightroom to your phone. If you’re used to basic photo processing you can get a lot more out of those phone pictures than what the stock phone app will give you.

Do you use Lightroom mostly for raw images, auto, or both?

[GolfT3]

@SigmundChurchill raw gives you the most flexibility but it can still help fix some heavy handed auto-edits. It also gives you decent chromatic aberration and lens correction functions. It’s a pretty handy tool.

[traveller]

On 9/29/2022 at 6:31 PM, Namisgr11 said:

I think the physics works against you.  A cellphone camera has a much smaller sensor than a dedicated digital camera, and so the relatively limited amount of light it can take in limits the depth of field.

Personally, I like the effect the narrower depth of field produces, anyway.  When the focus is on an up-front object like a cigar, putting it against an out-of-focus background makes it the main point of interest for the viewer.  

Actually this is the opposite of how it works, the smaller the sensor the greater the depth of field at the same aperture. This is why medium format and large format cameras can achieve such shallow depths of field and go higher in aperture number generally then smaller formats

[Tstew75]

If you're really serious, get an SLR with a much deeper depth of field.

[SigmundChurchill]

9 hours ago, Tstew75 said:

If you're really serious, get an SLR with a much deeper depth of field.

Well, yes, I have Nikon and Cannon SLRs, as well as a Sony mirrorless camera.  But that defeats the purpose of the thread, which is, "getting the most out of your smartphone camera".

A photographer once told me, "The best camera, is the one you are carrying with you at the time."  And I'm not the type of person that carries my big SLRs around with me everywhere I go.  But I do carry my phone with me everywhere I go, so I am always looking for ways to get better at using it.

[targa88]

@SigmundChurchill

This might not totally apply to the specific request.

On an iPhone when in the camera app = choose portrait mode. In the top right hand corner you will see "f" as in f stop - once that is chosen a slider will appear at the bottom of the screen. Don't know the specific specs of your phone - you should be able to get to F16 which would provide some decent depth of field

[SigmundChurchill]

9 hours ago, targa88 said:

@SigmundChurchill

This might not totally apply to the specific request.

On an iPhone when in the camera app = choose portrait mode. In the top right hand corner you will see "f" as in f stop - once that is chosen a slider will appear at the bottom of the screen. Don't know the specific specs of your phone - you should be able to get to F16 which would provide some decent depth of field

Yes. That is one of the two methods I regularly use that I mentioned in the original post.  It is pretty good, but it has it's limitations.  Definitely works better in some situations than in others.  In previous iOS versions, it was complete garbage, but has gotten a lot better in recent iOS updates.  

[anacostiakat]

My Samsung/Android phone pics are ok.  But I am no pro.  Had a digital camera that worked fine for transferring to my laptop but stopped working with Windows 10.  LOL  Have not been able to fine another reasonable costing replacement.  So greatly limited with pics.  

[Tstew75]

13 hours ago, SigmundChurchill said:

Yes. That is one of the two methods I regularly use that I mentioned in the original post.  It is pretty good, but it has it's limitations.  Definitely works better in some situations than in others.  In previous iOS versions, it was complete garbage, but has gotten a lot better in recent iOS updates.  

For clarity I knew you were looking for iPhone recs, I just immediately went to a SLR suggestion b/c your example photo is extreme...it's F-stop settings don't go far enough to grab the depth of field in your photo. 

I do agree with @SigmundChurchill, the iPhone F-stop settings will certainly help in less needy situations.

[SigmundChurchill]

Update:  Since my original post, IOS added a macro setting.  Unlike the macro in DSLR and Mirrorless cameras, this one keeps the background in focus.

It does have to be turned on in settings for it to work.  You just have to turn it on once and it stays on.