Your bluish face on the monitor of your video chat interlocutor is unlikely to please her eyes. However, according to Hal Wilder, video conferencing specialist and organizer of the website www.videoconference.com, with the right approach, even the cheapest webcam can show you in all its glory.
That color
Problem. The light emanating from the computer monitor you are sitting behind, although weak, is sufficient to distort the broadcast picture. Whichever color predominates on your desktop, your face will be painted exactly the same. However, if you are a Chinese person sitting in front of a yellow desktop, then everything is fine.
Solution. “Turn on the desk lamp. Its more powerful light will overpower the monitor's lighting,” suggests Hall.
That's how absent-minded
Problem. Your desk lamp was so strong that its light literally whitened your face. The black eye is no longer visible, but you look like a Kabuki actor.
Solution. If your lamp does not have a function to reduce the light power, you can diffuse it in another way. Tape a piece of tracing paper onto the lamp. This will soften the relentless rays of electric lighting. If your desk is located next to a light wall, Hall has an even easier way to dim the light bulb. Turn it away from your face and point it at the wall. The reflected light will still be strong enough to eliminate the monitor effect.
How's the glass?
Problem. Its roots lie in distant childhood, when you ate little markings and read while lying down. As a result, you ruined your eyes and now wear glasses. And everything would be fine, but now the monitor is reflected in their glass. Because of what your interlocutor cannot see what color your eyes are (the horoscope promised her a meeting with a man with eyes the color of wet asphalt.)
Solution. In your monitor settings, reduce its brightness. “Usually the reflection disappears after the brightness is reduced by 25-30 percent. In five minutes you will already get used to the slightly darkened desktop,” promises Hall.
All in white
Problem. You did everything right, but for some reason your complexion turned crimson.
Solution. “The camera’s automatic exposure adjustment selects the brightest spot, which is defined as “white,” and adjusts all other colors based on this,” explains Hall. If the present white was not in front of the camera, then other colors will be distorted. To prevent this from happening, simply wear a white T-shirt, giving the camera a sample of snow-whiteness. But you don't have to wear pants at all. Your lower limbs are hidden by the table anyway.
Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine a smartphone that does not have a camera installed. The shooting module has become an integral part mobile device, like Wi-Fi or a second SIM card slot. And of course, every user tries to take a good photo using a mobile camera.
Looking at the pictures posted on social networks or blogs, you can see that even with a high-quality camera it is not always possible to take an equally high-quality photo. Sometimes the reason for this is the human factor - well, in principle, a person is not able to catch a beautiful shot - but most often the matter is that the user ignores or sets the camera settings incorrectly.
You can significantly improve the quality of photos and videos in three ways:
- Using your own camera settings;
- Through the engineering menu;
- Using a special application.
In our article, we will give basic tips for improving pictures, and also tell you in detail how to set up the camera on Android.
Before you start setting up your camera, you should understand the basic rules for shooting with a smartphone. By following these recommendations, you will already be halfway to quality photography.
- Keep the lens clean. Clean the lens before shooting soft cloth so that the picture is not spoiled by spots and dust particles that inevitably fall on the lens;
- Consider the light. It is extremely important that the subject is well lit. If you are photographing a person or object in a room, do not place it in front of a window so that the picture does not end up with one continuous white spot. We'll talk about how to adjust the camera to the lighting below;
- Don't overuse zoom. Smartphone cameras are usually equipped with a digital enlarger, which greatly distorts the photo. If possible, it is better to come closer to the subject so that you don’t end up with a picture like this:
- Use the flash only for its intended purpose. If photography takes place at dusk, sometimes you can’t do without a flash. In this case, set it to Auto mode. The smartphone itself will “figure out” when it needs to be used. During the day, it is better to completely avoid flashing:
In order to achieve a good picture, the user needs to set the right combination of camera settings that match the shooting conditions.
Let's look at the main camera menu items in order:
Exposition. This function determines the amount of light that will reach the camera sensor. Typically, exposure ranges from -3 to +3. If you are shooting in the evening, set the exposure to positive. On a bright sunny day, it is better to reduce the exposure. The picture below shows examples of how a picture turns out if the frame is overexposed or underexposed in uniform lighting:
Color effect. As a rule, there are 6 main effects available in color settings:
- Monochrome;
- Sepia;
- Negative;
- Under the water;
- Chalk on a black board;
- White board.
These effects are useful if you need to add stylization to your photo. For example, for a more atmospheric and dramatic photo, you can turn on monochrome, and sepia will help if you want to take a photo in a retro style:
Shooting mode. Here the setting depends on the time and place of shooting. Use the appropriate modes if you are shooting on the beach, in the snow, in the city during fireworks, photographing a car race or taking night portraits.
White balance. This feature adds warm or cool tones to your photo. The white balance setting depends on the lighting. The photo below shows an example of two shots. The left one is made in the “Shadow” mode, the right one is in the “Incandescent” mode:
If you are not sure exactly which mode to set, it is better to switch to auto balance.
In the image settings, you can adjust the sharpness, hue, saturation, brightness and contrast of the photo. By default, all parameters are set to “Normal”.
Frequency. This parameter determines the flickering frequency of the light source in hertz. To avoid racking your brains over this value, leave the parameter in Auto mode.
The size of pictures is set in megapixels. If your smartphone has a sufficient amount of internal or external memory, it is better not to skimp on the size and set this parameter to the maximum setting as far as the camera allows.
The ISO parameter determines the light sensitivity of the camera sensor. The higher this indicator, the more light will reach the sensor. Therefore, lighting conditions should be taken into account when setting this parameter. In a dark room, the ISO should be set higher, and in bright sunlight, it is better to lower the sensitivity to 100 or 200.
The photo below shows two shots that demonstrate extreme ISO values. The left image has a value of 100, the right one has a value of 1600.
Setting up the camera in the Android engineering menu
Access to the engineering menu is provided only on smartphones with a MediaTek processor and Android version no older than 2. To get into the camera's engineering settings, you need to enter a special combination on the numeric keypad. As a rule, this code is *#*#3646633#*#*. Camera parameters are located in the Hardware Testing section. Here you can find a fairly extensive list of fine settings:
- Camera sensor selection;
- Capture and shutter speed;
- Shade chart;
- Flash calibration;
- Focus settings;
- HDR mode options and others.
Please note that setting up the camera through the Android engineering menu is a rather complex and responsible task. If you are in doubt or do not know which parameter is responsible for what, it is better not to touch the root camera settings and try to improve the picture through the parameters in the main menu.
Applications to expand the functionality of the camera
Some programs that are downloaded from the Google Play store significantly expand the smartphone camera settings. Having mastered such applications, the user can improve the quality of the photo. We recommend paying attention to several paid utilities. They are inexpensive, but your shooting will not be disturbed by constantly pop-up advertisements.
Cost: 129 rubles.
An application that adds a huge number of settings to the photo module on a smartphone, turning it into a real professional camera. Using the utility, you can fine-tune camera stabilization, level exposure, focus, flash brightness, set the shooting interval, colors and scene illumination. A special scale shows the angle of the camera, so you can use it to maintain an even horizon.
Cost: 179 rubles
A convenient application designed for high-quality camera settings before shooting. It is worth noting the very well-thought-out interface of the program, thanks to which most of tools are available with one click on the screen.
Main functions of the application:
- two states of the shutter button - press to focus, release to take a photo; movable viewfinder to set the focus area;
- visual histogram; exposure compensation; exposure metering mode - matrix, center-weighted, spot;
- autofocus mode - single-frame, continuous, face detection, etc.;
- white balance;
- shutter mode;
- Scene setting;
- color effects;
- grids: rule of thirds, Golden ratio etc.;
- Volume keys act like shutter buttons.
If you seriously decide to improve the quality of your photos, in addition to the camera settings, pay attention to additional tools. When conducting a photo shoot outdoors or in nature, we recommend using special tripods for smartphones.
If you are filming small items indoors, get an inexpensive lightbox - a special box, which, in fact, is a mini-photo studio. A lightbox gives soft diffused light and allows you to avoid unnecessary noise and shadows in the photo. Also, do not neglect graphic programs. With simple manipulations, you can significantly improve the quality of the image. For example, this photo was taken using a lightbox and went through a little post-processing in Photoshop (color correction and sharpening):
Which smartphone to choose for high-quality photos
Many users believe that the quality of the camera is determined by the price of the smartphone. That is, according to this logic, the more expensive the gadget, the better the photo will come out. However, as practice shows, you can achieve excellent photographs using an affordable mobile device that will cost less than 10 thousand rubles.
An ideal example in this sense is the British company Fly, which since 2003 has been providing users with powerful, productive and inexpensive smartphones. One of the latest models with which you can safely go on a photo hunt is a new product for spring 2017 - a smartphone. The main 13-megapixel photo module will help you create an impressive photo even in difficult lighting conditions, and the 5-megapixel front camera will provide clear video communication and will appeal to lovers of spectacular selfies.
It is worth noting that the camera contains the most basic settings that will help you create the perfect photo. Here you can set ISO, white balance, color effect, tonality, and much more.
The smartphone is equipped with a powerful 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, which can easily handle the most voluminous photo post-processing application or utility for fine-tuning the camera. The size of the pictures can be safely set to maximum - volume internal memory 16 GB will allow you to save more than one thousand memorable photos. And if this volume is not enough, the smartphone’s memory can be increased to 64 GB using an SD card.
All created photos are displayed realistically on a bright and contrasting 5-inch IPS screen with FullHD resolution. On such a display it is simply impossible to miss even the slightest detail of the photo.
Now you know how to set up a camera on Android. Arm yourself with a powerful and high-quality smartphone, follow our recommendations, and you will not be left without great photos.
Instructions
First of all, check the connection between your webcam and your computer, and whether Skype detects it. To do this, launch the program by double-clicking on the icon on your desktop and try calling someone from your contact list. To test the voice volume from your microphone, press the call button for the Echo caller (Skype test contact).
If you do not find the camera, go to “Device Manager” and check for a line with the name of the webcam. To launch this application, right-click on the “My Computer” icon and click on the line of the same name. If there are no drivers installed, try installing them from a disk or downloading them from the official website.
Then go to the program, click the "Tools" menu and select "Settings". In the window that opens, go to “Settings". In the window that appears, click on the “Webcam Settings” button.
In the settings window for the image received from the web device that opens, find the lines Image Mirror Flip (mirror image) and Image Vertical Flip (mirror image). Select the required option by checking the box next to it and click OK to close the window and save the changes.
You can check the results of the changes made in the “Video Settings” block. Go to it and look at the window that displays the status of your web device. If no changes are observed, close the program and launch it again.
In some cases, it is recommended to update the webcam configuration files; this will require a reboot. Press the Power button on your keyboard and select “Restart” or use the standard shutdown applet in the Start menu. After your computer boots up, launch Skype and check for changes.
Sources:
- [Solved] Image from web
A built-in or connected webcam with a microphone is not always equipped with LEDs indicating its operation. In this case, you can check the webcam using the tools operating system and special programs.
Instructions
Go to the “Start” menu and select “Control Panel” (or double-click on the icon of the same name on the desktop). In Control Panel, double-click to open the System icon. In the operating system settings dialog box, go to the “Hardware” tab and click on the “Device Manager” button. The Device Manager window displays all physical and virtual devices installed on the computer, with information about their functioning. In the list, select the line “Image processing devices”, and click on the “+” symbol next to it. In the list that opens, select the webcam and make sure it is enabled (there are no question marks or red crosses).
In the same list, select the line “Sound, video and gaming devices” and expand their list. Make sure all of these devices are enabled. If any required device is marked with a "?" - install the appropriate drivers for it to work. If the device line is marked with a red cross, right-click on it and select the "Engage" command in the context menu. After checking using the operating system, proceed to testing the device in practice.
The cameras of modern smartphones are not yet capable of completely replacing a good point-and-shoot camera, not to mention professional cameras. But nevertheless, you can achieve a tolerable image even from budget smartphone with the help of several secrets, programs and a couple of simple tricks.
Unfortunately, in in social networks There are quite a lot of not just terrible photographs, but ones that are generally embarrassing to show. Moreover, the “authors” usually do not stop, but use dozens of all kinds of “popular” filters that they can find, believing that this can really correct a deliberately incorrect composition.
We want to convey that really good pictures can be taken with a not very high-quality camera. Of course, their quality will not be perfect, but it will not be a shame to show the photo on the same social networks.
Part one. Learning to take photographs
To take a really good photo, you need to know and understand the basic photographic techniques that are sure to make your photos incredibly beautiful, no matter how many pixels your camera has.
Lighting
Of course, when shooting with your phone's built-in camera, there's no question of using professional lighting equipment to sharpen your photos and improve color. But don't despair - you can always use sunlight or artificial light to your advantage. But it’s still better to rely on natural light. It matches much better with almost any camera and provides a natural color palette.
Artificial lighting can often ruin your photography. Incandescent lamps, as you know, will give off a yellowish tint; moreover, they will not be able to sufficiently provide the required level of illumination. Fluorescent lamps, on the other hand, can provide overly bright and harsh light, which is also not a good aid for photography. Natural sources light will provide you warm shades, which can highlight the subject of shooting and not “wash away” the details. This is why, if possible, avoid using camera flash.
So, you've found the perfect light source for your photograph, positioned your subject to make the most of the light, and ensure that the light illuminates the subject of the photograph, but does not hit the camera lens, otherwise you will end up with an overexposed image.
Experiment, don’t be afraid to shoot from different angles, with different lighting brightness - morning, afternoon, evening. Advice is, of course, good, but it will give you absolutely nothing without practice - only for personal experience you can understand how it all really works.
Exposition
Exposure, in its simplest sense, is the effect of the amount of light entering the camera sensor on the overall brightness of the image. IN regular cameras You can change this parameter by experimenting with the shutter speed, aperture and ISO value. This combination will determine how much light hits the camera lens and how sensitive it is to light. The better the lighting, the lower the sensitivity should be selected. And vice versa - in poor lighting, more light-sensitive settings are needed, although this, of course, can result in a grainy image.
The “native” Android camera is mostly deprived of customization options, and in most cases it only allows you to adjust the exposure with a moving slider. More advanced applications allow you to carry out almost the full range of manual settings - change ISO, aperture, etc.
Sleight of hand and no fraud
Of course, we will talk about focus, because a well-chosen exposure and good lighting are not everything. Before you take a photo, you need to make sure your subject is in focus. Fortunately, almost all modern smartphones can adjust focus and most have quite “smart” autofocus, but even the fastest ones require from one to several seconds to adjust. During this time, it is important to hold your hand as firmly as possible, otherwise you will get a smeared photo.
Also, most cameras offer the ability to randomly focus - focus in an area that you select by tapping on the screen. There are also many different automatic effects that would be quite difficult to achieve manually on such a camera (for example, background blur - “bokeh”).
Image composition
Now that you know some of the intricacies of the photography process, you can apply them all to get a high-quality picture, just remember to practice. But even with all these subtleties, your photo will only be as good as the correct composition. One of the main principles of photography is the “rule of thirds”. It divides the image area into nine equal parts using horizontal and vertical lines. The main concept of this rule is that the subjects (or object) should be located along the lines or at their intersection.
Unfortunately, in reality, natural lighting will not always be ideal, the moment may be fleeting, the subject itself may be constantly moving, etc. All these nuances make you rely more on memory than photography. Luckily, there are many software options for enhancing a photo you've already taken.
Part two. Programs for processing and shooting
No, we won’t talk about Instagram filters and other “popular” things on the Internet. We want to get the most out of the resulting photo, so we will try to do everything manually, because this is the only way we can get a result that will suit us.
This application is installed by default on most Android smartphones. It has a simple user interface and minimal settings, but it has several unique photo modes, as well as several effects.
With Google Camera, you can overlay a grid on the camera interface, adjust exposure, and it can also provide you with an HDR mode that allows you to "stretch" nice picture even in not the most better conditions. You can also create 360-degree panoramas with this camera.
This application provides you with a number of settings that not every professional camera can boast of. With it, you can manually adjust exposure, ISO, focus mode, white balance, etc.
This camera also has several night shot modes, HDR time-lapse photography, and a self-timer. Using this camera will allow you to experience the power of manual photo adjustments, allow you to practice with different shooting modes, and with this application you will be able to take really high-quality photos.
Of course, you can’t do without Photoshop even on Android. This application will allow you to customize and improve the photos you take right on the screen of your phone without the help of a computer.
Of course, this application does not have even a tenth of the settings of its “big brother”, but this is quite enough for you to eliminate red-eye, adjust contrast, exposure, adjust color, brightness, shadow and much more. And of course, everyone’s favorite filters are available here.
Don't have a professional camera or is it just clogged?
Your phone will help you take wonderful pictures. Modern smartphone cameras have come to have almost all the functions of compact cameras and have perfectly replaced them. But only for our readers we publish 4 simple secrets on how to take a bright and high-quality photo, and how to improve the quality of photos. The recommendations are suitable for almost any modern phone.
Most modern smartphones now have a feature called HDR, short for High Dynamic Range.
When you take an HDR photo, the camera actually takes three photos, in three different meanings exposures: low, standard and high. Your phone then combines all these photos and creates one composite image that looks as sharp as possible and close to what the human eye sees.
You can find HDR either in your phone settings, or by downloading and installing a program for creating such pictures from Play! Google (Android) or iPhone app store.
When to use HDR:
– Landscapes. You'll get blue skies and richly detailed trees and buildings;
– Direct exposure to sunlight. For situations where the sun is directly behind the subject. In HDR mode the photo will turn out wonderful and interesting
When is it better not to use HDR:
– Dynamic frames. Fast moving objects in a photo will blur the main image;
– Portraits. The intensity of detail in the design of the Eiffel Tower in Paris is remarkable. Increasing wrinkles and blemishes on human skin is bad :) Therefore, if you don’t famous photographer like Scott Kelby, don't use HDR when shooting portraits.
Remote release
The camera's shutter button on the display isn't the only way to take a photo. If you want clearer photos, easier controls, and just a better grip on your device, here are a few more ways how to take even better pictures.
On an iPhone or Android smartphone, use the Volume Up key to take a photo. Or use headphones connected to your phone with a volume control, which will also work for remote shutter control. Recently, special release buttons have gone on sale.
By the way, such a button can be adapted to create “selfie”.
For some Android phones such as Samsung Galaxy S4 or LG G Flex You just need to say “Cheese” to take a photo without pressing a button.
Continuous shooting mode
When it comes to photographing children, animals or fast-paced sporting events, then Burst Mode will help you get clear shots every time.
On iPhone:
Press and hold the shutter button on your mobile for as long as you want. You will be able to see the number of pictures taken on the counter. When you finish shooting, all photos will be saved in one folder (on iPhone 5S), where you can select the frames you like and delete the unnecessary ones. You can take 999 pictures at a time at 10 frames per second, but generally you don't need that many in normal situations.
On the Android platform (it all depends on the model):
Press the settings button and select continuous shooting mode from the menu. Holding down the shutter button will take up to 20 shots in quick succession.
Focus/Exposure Lock
By the time you read these lines, you probably already know that clicking on the screen installs focus and exposure. But the moment you or the subject moves a little, this parameter will be lost.
To make your phone lock focus and exposure Press and hold the square on the screen until a beep sounds or the settings are locked. Now, even when you move, exposure and focus remain the same. True, it’s more difficult to press the button.
We wish you good pictures, post them in our comments and share your secrets. We will be happy to listen and take note.
