Taking professional portraits is no longer limited to advanced cameras or having to go to a photo studio with a professional photographer. Thanks to the development of smartphone cameras, you can now achieve great results using your mobile device. With some simple techniques, the right tools, and a few additional tips, you can easily improve the quality of the photos you take and achieve a professional look.
Learn the steps and tools that will help you get the best selfies using your smartphone. Check out What is the difference between selfies and portrait photography?
Check camera format
The default camera format for most phones will be standard quality, which is usually fine. For professional portrait shots, you need high quality from the moment the shutter clicks.
On iPhone, go to الإعدادات -> الكاميرا -> التنسيقاتFrom here you have two quality options: Camera Capture and Photo Capture. Select High Efficiency for the best quality, and turn on Apple ProRAW for the ability to capture images in RAW format.
Shooting in RAW format captures the most detail and color, which improves later editing. Standard settings may lack color depth and may be more grainy. Once you have Apple ProRAW turned on, from your iPhone camera, turn RAW on or off for each photo.
If you have an Android device, you can also capture and edit RAW photos with the Samsung Galaxy S23 and other models.
Use a tripod or have someone take your photo.
Although selfies are my favorite way to take photos of myself with a smartphone, having an arm poking out from the edge of the frame is not going to make for a professional selfie, no matter how pretty my face is.
Instead, you should use a phone tripod or even a trusted friend — especially someone with a good eye for photography. Having someone else take your photo will be faster and more accurate, and will provide direct feedback on how to improve your selfie.
Use natural lighting
Getting the right lighting can be tricky, especially for professional portraits. If you’re not in a well-lit studio, natural light should be your goal. You can still take your photo indoors with natural light by lining up with large windows at the right time of day. If indoors isn’t an option, taking portraits outside is another option.
Consider the time of day if you're relying on natural lighting. Shadows can be a threat when the sun is high and bright, while golden hour color tones may be too romantic for your professional shots.
If you have the time and patience, shoot throughout the day and test different locations that use the sun — an overcast day provides flat, natural light for your shots, too.
Consider the background.
Whether you're taking your portraits indoors or outdoors, the background plays a big role in how professional you look.
Consider setting up a space similar to the industry in which you're using your portrait — an office worker could take portraits in a well-lit office, for example, using office props discreetly in the photos.
For a neutral background indoors or outdoors, avoid clutter and too much texture: a solid background like a wall works well. Alternatively, using a neutral, neutral background can work well too.
Since you are the subject, keep the background neutral, clear, and less in focus than you are.
Dress appropriately
For professional portraits, even if taken with your smartphone, dress appropriately for the job you are doing. If you have time, you should change clothes or items of clothing and accessories.
Make sure all your clothes are ironed and free of lint or hair. Don't wear clothes that look unprofessional, such as pink or clashing colors and textures.
You can always add personality to your outfit with colored glasses, a fun tie, a pocket square, or a touch of your favorite color. Professional photos don't have to drain your personality.
Create contrast between you and the scene.
Given the previous two points, you and your photographer should make sure that there is a great contrast between you as the subject of the portrait and whatever you have chosen for your background.
Setting your camera to RAW format will also help you improve contrast when it comes to editing your portraits, as you will have more control over the colors.
High contrast doesn’t mean stark—just enough that it doesn’t wash out into the background, shadows, or colors in any way. For example, an interior office photo might have a setting of bright white and neutrals or grays, so if you’re wearing a statement color—like a burgundy jacket—and have dark hair, there’ll be enough contrast with the scene to naturally stand out. Check out the reasons why you need a tripod for smartphone photography.
Don't stand up straight.
Unlike taking passport photos with a smartphone, a professional portrait doesn’t require you to face the camera straight on without smiling. In fact, you should experiment with different angles and facial expressions for your portrait.
Standing or sitting at a slight angle adds some dimension to your portrait. While you should hold your smartphone at head level, and parallel any vertical and horizontal lines in your photo — such as the corners of interior walls or door frames — you, as the subject, don’t need to be in a strict line.
Although a headshot is traditionally just your head and upper torso, depending on the purpose of the headshot or the intended professional role, you can experiment with incorporating the full length of your body into the frame.
From this, you can then add shape and dimension to your limbs, so you should think about arm, hand, leg and foot placement as well.
Keep default focus and zoom settings.
Most smartphones offer wide-angle zoom as well as macro zoom, both of which have their uses. However, for a professional portrait, I recommend keeping the camera’s default focus settings.
The wide angle, called 0.5x zoom on phone cameras, distorts a lot of the subject as well as the background, giving unprofessional results. Great for taking photos at a coffee shop or party, but not for promoting your LinkedIn profile.
You should also avoid using Portrait mode. This artificial way of creating a harsh depth of field can look tacky and overdone. Avoid using any zoom on your smartphone — if you need to get closer, zoom with your feet and move your tripod or photographer closer to you instead. The background will naturally blur, creating a natural depth of field and keeping you in focus.
Use relay mode.
Even in a well-prepared portrait session, it can be difficult to time the perfect blink or smile. Using burst mode on your smartphone is a great way to capture those missed moments.
Burst mode allows you to take multiple photos within seconds, which means that if you're the type who usually blinks when the shutter closes in the first minute, this provides insurance against that.
Don't over-edit.
While there are countless ways to edit your smartphone photos, whether on your phone, through an app, or even transferring them to a computer to use a desktop app, to get professional results on your selfie, you want to keep the editing light. Lightroom Mobile and Snapseed are both great options for easy editing on the go, if you need it.
If you've used natural lighting, set up good composition and contrast, and taken a good number of photos for all purposes, the photos should look really great.
Shooting in RAW format allows for fine-tuning to enhance details or correct color balance. Professional portrait shots aren’t the place to apply any kind of filter — save them for your Instagram feed. Check out some of the photo editing effects I’ve stopped using, and why.
Using AI as a last resort
AI can do a lot for your smartphone photography, especially for professional portraits. If you’re a desktop photo editor, your photos could benefit from Retouch4Me’s AI-powered precision editing app. Check out the best AI-powered photo editing apps without photo editing knowledge.
If you’re struggling to take selfies that you’re happy with, there could be a variety of reasons, such as not having the right setting or background, not having the right wardrobe choices, or simply having a bad hair day. But there are plenty of AI selfie generators you can use. Fotor, an affordable AI tool, offers an AI selfie generator if your photos aren’t coming out the way you’d like. Now, check out why I prefer browser-based photo editing apps over desktop editing apps.
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