Taking Better Smartphone Pictures Lesson 103: Brighten or Darken   

Smartphone Cameras generally do an excellent job of determining how bright or dark your picture will be. But how do you change the exposure when your smartphone gets it wrong? 

In Smartphone Camera lesson 103, you will find out how to change the exposure of your intended picture. 

Before we get started, grab a hold of your smartphone, open the camera app, and follow along.  All smartphone cameras will have the functionality I describe, yours might look different. If you know the functionality exists, you can find it, figure out how to use it, then practice it so it becomes an action you can take when the great picture you want to take presents itself. 

Exposure 

I have found three common situations requiring adjustment of your camera’s exposure:

• The subject is much darker than the picture as a whole. Taking a picture of someone in the snow is a good example.  Your camera will likely expose to the bright snow.  To properly expose your subject, increase the brightness.
• The subject is much brighter than the picture as a whole. You may need to darken the image.
• You want to darken the image to show silhouettes.

While we are on the subject, turn on your camera, touch the screen, and utilize the brightness slider. Do it now and practice so you can easily adjust the brightness when the greatest of all images presents itself.