It’s no wonder that today’s business owner is expected to wear many hats from strategy to finance, sales and marketing and to always be on the look-out for new and exciting methods to get new customers, increase customer retention and increasing business profits. So, it’s fair to say that photography should also be thrown into the mix. Fantastic photographs can be a great source for instantly updating your social media channels or for your marketing collateral.
You might think you need to carry a bulky single-lens reflex (SLR) camera but think again. You can capture cover-worthy shots with the latest smartphones and free apps. Technology has vastly improved the quality of cameras in smartphones where you’d be hard pushed to tell the difference from an SLR. Features that were just recently only found in SLR cameras like optical image stabilisation (OIS), larger sensors, bright lenses, and optical zoom are inbuilt today into even the most basic model smartphone.
So which smartphones and apps are leading the way? Here are just a few of the best selected from review sites to help you snap like a pro.
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
Review site ePHOTOzine rates the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus its top camera for photography. It features an ultra-bright f/1.5 – f/2.4 aperture lens for excellent photos in low-light, a 12-megapixel sensor and OIS and the front selfie camera is an 8mp f/1.7 camera with Auto Focus (AF.) In manual mode you can shoot raw images, so you can take complete control of your image processing.
The Samsung Galaxy S9 is also waterproof to a depth of 1.5m for up to 30 mins – a convenient feature if you’re planning to take some underwater shots! You can expand the memory with a microSD card and the tough Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the screen makes it resistant to inevitable knocks while you’re on the go.
iPhone X
CNET’s Scott Stein reviewed Apple’s iPhone X and concluded ‘the 10-year anniversary iPhone feels the same, but different. Weird, but good. But tough it out – because after a few days, you’re probably going to like where you end up.’
The iPhone X features 12-megapixel wide-angle ƒ/1.8 aperture and telephoto ƒ/2.4 aperture cameras. The 2x optical/10x digital zoom is impressive and it uses its dual rear cameras to produce great portrait shots. Like the Samsung S9 it includes image stabilisation and fast autofocus. It can also shoot a panorama view up to 63 megapixels – great for business landscapes.
Body and face detection makes for sharper captures, burst mode means you won’t miss any of the action and a self-timer lets you capture group photos. Like all high-end smartphones, the editing suite is impressive without a shortage of options.
Google Pixel 2XL
After putting the leading smartphones to the test including the Galaxy S9 Plus and the iPhone X, Tom’s Guide said Google’s Pixel 2 XL leads the way when it comes to phone cameras. ‘Google’s phone has the best low-light performance and it uses computational photography to produce high-end photo effects. We’re convinced that Google makes the smartphone with the best camera.’
The Pixel 2 XL performs more consistently in lower light and excels at taking self-portraits. Google packed some smart features into the phone’s camera, most famously Pixel Visual Core which is a purpose-built sub-processor specially designed to improve the processing of HDR+ photos, making the beautiful images you capture look even more polished.
Trusted Reviews rates the Pixel 2 XL camera as ‘the best there is’ at capturing fantastic pictures in varying conditions. The 12-megapixel camera is optically stabilised, has a wide f/1.8 aperture for striking low-light shots and a portrait mode for effectively blurring the background.
Android apps for better snaps
Whatever the capability of your smartphone camera, there are plenty of apps available that can boost its performance and snap even better photos. These are three of the best Android camera apps available for free via the Google Play Store.
Camera FV-5: Puts DSLR manual photography capability straight to your phone giving you full control over ISO, light-metering focus, white balance, shutter speed etc.
Camera MX: Create animated photos and videos with plenty of effects, filters, and frames for image editing.
Candy Camera: A great app for taking selfies. It comes with a lot of functions and filters including makeup tools, face slimming effects, and stickers.
So when you’re next out and about whether it’s on business or pleasure, make sure you pack your smartphone and accessories – charger, headphones, selfie stick, mini tripod, waterproof case – you just never know when the opportunity will present itself to capture that all-important photograph!
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Smartphone technology had progressed to the point where Business Owners can now snap high-quality images and videos to showcase to their customers. Social media marketing is used by many businesses to connect with their customers and to also grow their business. For more insight about growing your business network, download our FREE ebook: How to use Bartercard to grow your business – and get more in-depth advice and guidance on how Bartercard can work for you.
