Smartphone Photography: A Hands-on Workshop

This is a whole day workshop on how to maximize the features of your smartphone camera to help you take better photos for personal use or for work-related photos.

• Common smartphone camera features
• Acquainting yourself with your smartphone’s capabilities and limitations
• What is “proper lighting”
• Shooting in your smartphone camera’s auto mode
• Shooting in your smartphone camera’s “manual” mode (if feature is available)
• Solving common problems:
  • Image is too dark or too bright
  • Out-of-focus images
  • Blurred images
• What makes a beautiful photo
• What catches viewer’s attention
• Composing your shots with your smartphone camera
• Some useful smartphone camera accessories
• Tips on using your smartphone camera for work-related shots
  • Product photos
  • Event photos
  • Travel photos
  • People photos
• Popular photo enhancing apps

• Want to maximize their smartphone camera’s features;
• Want to achieve better (or “acceptable?”) photos for work/business (company photos, simple product shots, blogs, etc);
• Want to take better or acceptable photos without investing in expensive, high-end cameras;
• Intend to graduate to “serious” photography but need to start somewhere, gently

Note: Point-and-shoot, DSLR, and mirrorless camera users may also pick-up important and useful pointers, but the camera features that will be emphasized are those that are similar to a smartphone’s.

Only your enthusiasm. No prior knowledge in photography required.

• Each participant is required to bring his/her own smartphone camera.
• Cellphone tripod or regular tripod, if any.

At the end of this course, the participants are expected to:

• Know more about the capabilities of their smartphone camera
• Spot what to correct in their shots
• Be more aware of where the light source is or where they place the light source before taking a picture
• Be able to shoot with natural light or artificial light, and know when to use which
• Apply the necessary techniques when photographing products,people, or places
• Enhance their shots using popular smartphone editing apps

This course is not intended to replace commissioned, professional photos but it aims to temporarily bridge that gap between shooting your own photos for now and hiring a professional photographer in the near future.

Dail Deri A photographer, instructor, and writer, Dail Deri combines her father’s techniques with her own. Her experiences in running a portrait studio and on-location portrait service, and photographing celebrities and everyday people, have allowed her to understand what new photographers need and want to learn as well as how they can learn those skills the most practical way.

She has shared her knowledge in photography through her photography tutorial articles in IMAG Photography and Manila Bulletin, and through various seminars and workshops in the country. Dail took up Communication Arts, Major in Photography at De La Salle University and is one of the Canon Professionals holding lectures for Canon Imaging Academy events. She is also one of the Pixel Masters of Asus Zenfone. A Photography NC II holder, Dail is also a certified instructor and assessor for Photography National Certificate II.