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Even if you take every photography course and read all the resources available, there’s always room for improvement. Being self-aware and critiquing my own images has helped me step up my smartphone photography game. Here’s how I do it.
1Writing Down What I Like and Dislike About the Photo’s Story
In my opinion, an “ugly” image with an interesting story is better than a photo that’s pretty but doesn’t have much substance. I try to tell interesting stories each time I capture images, and after taking photos on my smartphone, I like to assess what I do and do not like about what the photo portrays.
This level of awareness has been vital forbecoming a better visual storyteller, but to be honest, I don’t set strict parameters. Sometimes, I’ll write full pages in sentence form; on other occasions, a few bullet points are more than enough. I normally write these in a physical notepad, but you can achieve the same result with any note-taking app. I used the above notes for this picture:
One idea you could try is creating a workspace in Notion and keeping all of your notes together. Alternatively,micro-journaling appsallow you to quickly and easily critique your photos.
2Waiting Before Looking at the Image
In my early days as a photographer, I always rushed to edit and share my pictures. Sometimes, I would post my smartphone images from trips while I was still on them. This might seem like a good idea, but to be honest, it felt like my edits—and the content I posted—would’ve been better if I had waited a bit. This is one ofthe most common smartphone photography mistakesthat people make.
When you look at the pictures you take just after capturing them, several biases are running through your head. You’ll also be more emotionally influenced than if you waited some time before critiquing your images.
I like to wait at least a few weeks before looking at the smartphone photos I take, and ideally, I won’t look at them for at least a month or two. I don’t really care if they end up on Instagram much later, and doing this actually improves my engagement.
3Asking for Feedback
Being receptive to feedback on any of your creative work is sometimes difficult; I’ve certainlyy been guilty of taking things personally in the past. You probably put your heart and soul into your work, and when we’re closer to something, we often treat it like our baby.
However, this is the exact reason why I think it’s so important to ask others for feedback. Getting other people’s non-biased opinions is essential for finding mishaps that you might not have noticed yourself. Moreover, others might have interesting ways to improve your image that you wouldn’t have thought about.
Of course, there’s a huge difference between someone being helpful and mean. If someone leaves nasty and non-constructive comments, don’t listen to what they say. I often ask people I already know, but forums like Reddit are also full of people who will happily assess your images. Considermaking your Reddit account more privateif you still want to keep a level of anonymity while asking for opinions.
4Assessing the Technical Aspects
I don’t think that your photo has to be technically perfect for it to be a great shot, but getting the basics right will definitely help. So, when critiquing my smartphone photos, I look at the technical elements to determine if I’ve done a good job.
Composition is particularly important to me. Whenusing the rule of thirds, for example, I want to ensure that I’ve lined up my subjects as they should be. For other composition techniques, such as leading lines and foreground, middle, and background, I like to determine how well I’ve done in getting these technical aspects right while still telling an interesting story.
I’ll also look at other technical aspects, such as what to bring into focus next time. And if I didn’t intentionally overexpose or underexpose my images, I’ll try and figure out how to stop this from happening in the future.
5Outlining What I’d Do Differently if I Took the Same Photo Again
I’ve taken many of my smartphone photos more than once, and each time, it helps to think about what could be done differently if I captured the same scene again. For example, I often think about whether a different time of day could improve the shot.
I also like to think about whether to include elements that aren’t in the original shot, such as extra people. Doing this is particularly useful if I want a different result, but it’s just as handy if I’ve already captured something that I deem to be a solid image.
Again, you can organize your thoughts however you want; pretty much any note-taking app will do the job. Bullet points or sentences will both achieve the same result, too.
6Analyzing How the Photo Works in a Sequence
Social media has gotten better in the way that you can now post multiple pictures to the same Instagram post or tweet on X, but much of the time, we think about how smartphone pictures work in isolation. By doing that, I think we miss out on becoming even better storytellers.
For example, I posted both of the images below on a trip to Italy a while ago; one signaled the end of the day, and the other highlighted something I did during it.
When out on a lengthy photoshoot, I like to think about how my smartphone pictures work in a sequence. Turning on Burst Mode is one way to get better context, but you can also determine how one image fits among others you took in the same day or throughout a trip.
By knowing where my image fits within a sequence, I know what kinds of things I want to look out for on my next adventure. This is one of manyways that I take better travel photos.
7Using the Live Photos Feature
One reason I like watching photography vlogs is because you gain insight into what the photographer was thinking when they took a picture. you’re able to see how they positioned themselves and what they were looking for in the scene, meaning that you get a more fully-rounded understanding of the final result.
You don’t need to be a YouTuber to learn more about your photos, though. As an iPhone user, I likeusing the Live Photos feature. Doing this, I can see the build-up to my picture and determine what I would do differently next time. If my image was blurry for whatever reason, I can also understand why.
Critiquing your smartphone photos is easier than you think, and I like to look at my favorite shots to understand why they’re good. On the flip side, it’s also handy to know why I don’t like specific pictures. From using Live Photos to making notes for all of my images, I’ve managed to become a better smartphone photographer this way.
