I think your service is great! I have used it, and I booked 2 sessions for my 83-year old husband who bought himself a new Ipad, but didn't know how to use it. He's been ill, so it was a great help that you came to the house. Thanks for the service.
If you’re like most grandparents, you’re counting the hours until you get to be with your grandchildren. If you live far away, this may be the only time of year that you can see them! You want to have lots of memories of the days that you spend together. And what better way to keep these memories fresh than to take photos? You can print them out, frame them, and hang them in your living room. Even if you don’t want to do that, you can scroll through photos on your phone whenever you want to. However, you may be used to taking photographs on a traditional camera. If you don’t have one anymore or don’t feel like developing film, never fear. You can still take great pictures. This is thanks to the fact that today’s smartphones are capable of incredible photo quality.
When you’re faced with a room full of grandchildren, ready to have their picture taken, what if you freeze up because you don’t know what to do? What if you can’t zoom in or get the flash to work? If you’ve taken a few pictures with a smartphone before, you may be familiar with the principles of pointing and shooting. There’s so much more you can do, though! From selfies to taking family portraits, a smartphone can do it all. If you’d like to figure out how to make the best of your smartphone, we’ve got some tips and tricks below to help you out.
Use a soft cloth on your two camera lenses to make sure they’re clean.
Be sure to hold your phone or tablet with two hands. If you shake a little bit, no worries! There are tripods available for phones and tablets to hold your device still.
If you like taking selfies, there’s such a thing as a ‘selfie stick!’ It helps position your camera farther away from you so you can see more in the photo.
Use the rule of thirds. To do this, imagine four lines. Two lines stretch horizontally across the image. Two lines stretch vertically across it. This creates nine even squares. Some images look better with the subject in the center square. Others look better if the subject is slightly off-center.
Usually, your camera will have all its settings on auto. This means that the focus and the flash will automatically adjust as necessary. You can also make manual adjustments, but the phone will auto-focus for you. You can also tap on the screen where you want the focus to be. That directs the phone’s camera to know what you want to see clearly.
Smartphone cameras have changed many things. The biggest changes involve film. Purchasing film, running out of available shots, or keeping the film from being ruined are problems of the past. With smartphone cameras, you can take pictures to your heart’s content and review them immediately. If you don’t like your photos, delete them and take more! There is a limit to the pictures you can take, though, based on your phone’s storage capacity.
What if you want to edit your photos though? Once you’ve taken them, you can still make your photos look better. Most phones and tablets have some editing features built-in. After you take the best photo you can, make it better. Lighting, red-eye, and more can be fixed. If you want to make changes, like adding filters for creativity’s sake, you can do it!
There are many free apps available to supplement your phone’s editing features. These apps often have fancy features available for a fee, too. When downloading apps, check the iTunes app or Google Play first. This depends on whether you have an iPhone or an Android device.
Basic photo adjustments start with cropping. This allows you to remove the top, bottom, or sides of the image. It also allows you to set the photo in a specific shape, too. You can crop out mistakes, too. If you accidentally put your finger in the corner of the camera lens, crop it out!
Rotation is another useful adjustment. If the horizon in your picture is off, adjust it so that the photo is straight. If you’d like to get creative, add crazy angles to your photos!
Brightness is a great way to increase the contrast between dark and light elements of the picture. If you increase contrast, light areas become brighter. Dark areas become blacker.
Filters offer a fun element to your photos. Do you miss Polaroid instant cameras? Your smartphone can put a filter over your photos to make them look like that! Whether you prefer black-and-white, or Instagram-style overlays, you can pull it off.
Some of these features are already built into your phone. Others are only available when you download convenient apps. Three of the best apps are Snapseed, PicsArt, and Adobe Photoshop Express.
Snapseed
Snapseed is a free app created by Google. It is well-loved by both iPhone and Android users. It has the ability to filter, crop, rotate, layer, and more. Some of this app’s features make it a favorite of both amateurs and professionals. This app applies automatic quality filters to your photos. You can also make adjustments to color and lighting in real-time. This lets your photo manipulation occur in a very precise way.
Snapseed’s approach to photo manipulation is useful because you can undo changes. It stores a log of all changes you make to a given photo. In this way, you can go backward in the editing process.
PicsArt Photo Studio
This app functions as a photo editor, collage maker, and camera all in one. There are also a lot of stickers and embellishments. This lets PicsArt mimic a digital scrapbook. It’s highly rated because it is very easy to use, which is great for amateur photographers. There is a free version and a paid one. With the free version, you have to put up with some advertisements. It still has more than enough features to keep you busy!
Adobe Photoshop Express
Adobe’s app is a scaled-down version of its photo editing software. This app is very rich when it comes to editing features. You can crop, rotate, resize, sharpen, brighten, blur, and more. If you can name it, this app probably does it! It has limitations, such as not being able to upload photos to social media. For a free app, though, it has amazing capabilities.
Taking advantage of the great options available will make your holiday photos shine. It’ll be easy to discover that your smartphone is a great way to capture memories from your holidays!
I think your service is great! I have used it, and I booked 2 sessions for my 83-year old husband who bought himself a new Ipad, but didn't know how to use it. He's been ill, so it was a great help that you came to the house. Thanks for the service.
I had a serious issue with my bank website not being secure. This was a very technical problem. I used the Remote Session option to get help. My GroovyTek trainer kept at it until we finally resolved the issue.
I was so pleased to find GroovyTek. Although I am pretty tech savvy in some areas there are others where I need help. GroovyTek has helped me fill in that gap of information. I made an appointment to help me sync my devices and also help me learn how to organize my photos. The trainer was knowledgeable and able to explain things very clearly.
I was just delighted and on my way to practice new found skills. My trainer was on time, friendly, knowledgeable, and very patient with this little old lady (age 78). I didn't have to take notes to remember - he recorded it on his tablet and sent me a copy to download so I have my instructions, step by step. So pleased with the service and the follow-up.
I'm very pleased with my session today with GroovyTek. My trainer was able to fix both my computer and my printer (problems with both) and instructed me on how to correct the issues if they occurred in the future. We also made plans for my next session. I find GroovyTek sessions extremely helpful and convenient since they are in my home.
I have been very pleased with the IT trainers from GroovyTek who have been to my house. They were very helpful!
We have had several help sessions with a GroovyTek trainer. WE could not be more pleased. My trainer takes all our questions and while answering types up his answers so even after he leaves, we can refer to his notes. I would recommend GroovyTek to any of my friends or family without hesitation. BTW, ALL the employees at this firm are extrememly knowledgeable and friendly.
I have always had the best computers that Apple offered, but the problem was that I never knew how to use them. Thanks to my GroovyTek trainer, my tech skills have increased exponentially and I am feeling more competent and confident with each lesson.
Very pleased with the experience. Knowledgeable trainer who was most helpful. Highly recommend the service.
I had a session with GroovyTek over the phone today. It was extremely helpful to me because I was able to see everything that he was doing on my computer as he was talking. I was then able to follow his actions to do what he was doing as well. What a way to go!
Dear GroovyTek team, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this very supportive and beneficial service you provide! I am so grateful!
The trainers are so friendly, and helpful. They certainly have lots of patience and knowledge. They make you feel so comfortable asking questions you would not dare ask your family to show you again how to do. They are always welcome in my home, sometimes I hate to see them go!
I have had two great sessions with GroovyTek and finally I have learned to use my smartphone calendar! I'm looking forward to my next session.
Spectacular people. Knowledgeable, professional, customer focused and easy to work with. I have used their services a couple of times (because I am over 40) and they are great to work with.
Excellent help from our GroovyTek trainer. He spent an hour explaining issues that I was confronted with, on my computer, and corrected all my issues and problems. He was concise, knowledgeable and forthright and I will call on him and GroovyTek again whenever I need help and support. I highly recommend GroovyTek services!