Smartphone Photography Course

Lesson 1 • Storage, File Formats, and Resolution

Covers JPEG, HEIF, and RAW file formats alongside resolution settings. Students choose formats strategically based on workflow and storage constraints.

Lesson 2 • White Balance and Colour Profiles

Teaches how white balance affects colour temperature and mood in images. Students learn to override auto settings for consistent, intentional colour rendering.

Lesson 3 • Focus and Exposure Controls

Explains tap-to-focus, exposure lock, and AE/AF separation. These controls are the most direct tools for intentional image-making on any smartphone.

Lesson 4 • Camera Hardware Fundamentals

Covers sensor size, lens types, and aperture mechanics in smartphone cameras. Establishes the physical foundation needed to understand all subsequent shooting techniques.

Lesson 1 • Indoor and Artificial Light

Addresses mixed lighting, tungsten, fluorescent, and LED sources common indoors. Students correct colour casts and expose correctly without dedicated studio equipment.

Lesson 2 • Supplemental Lighting Tools

Introduces portable reflectors, diffusers, and clip-on LED panels for smartphone use. Students enhance available light without expensive or bulky equipment.

Lesson 3 • Using the Histogram for Exposure

Teaches reading the histogram to evaluate tonal distribution and avoid clipping. This analytical skill prevents unrecoverable highlight and shadow loss in any scene.

Lesson 4 • The Nature of Light

Introduces hard vs. soft light, direction, and quality as foundational photographic concepts. Understanding light quality is the single greatest factor in image impact.

Lesson 1 • Perspective and Camera Angle

Explores how shooting height and angle transform subject relationships and mood. Students experiment with low, high, and eye-level perspectives to diversify their visual vocabulary.

Lesson 2 • Negative Space and Minimalism

Introduces intentional use of empty space to isolate subjects and create impact. Minimalist composition is a powerful tool for editorial, product, and portrait work.

Lesson 3 • Breaking Rules Intentionally

Examines when and why violating composition rules creates stronger images. Students develop creative judgment by understanding the purpose behind each rule they break.

Lesson 4 • Core Composition Rules

Covers rule of thirds, leading lines, symmetry, and framing within a frame. These rules form the grammar of visual communication used in every genre of photography.

Lesson 1 • Shooting in Low Light

Covers night mode, long exposure, and noise management for dark environments. Students capture sharp, detailed images in conditions that challenge automatic modes.

Lesson 2 • Understanding the Exposure Triangle

Explains the interdependence of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture in achieving correct exposure. This conceptual model is the foundation for all manual and semi-manual shooting.

Lesson 3 • Using Pro and Manual Mode

Walks through setting ISO, shutter speed, and white balance manually in pro mode. Students override automatic decisions to achieve creative and technical control.

Lesson 4 • Scene and Automatic Modes Strategically

Evaluates when automatic and scene modes outperform manual settings for speed and accuracy. Students use automation as a deliberate tool rather than a default fallback.

Lesson 1 • Portrait Lighting Setups

Covers Rembrandt, butterfly, split, and loop lighting patterns achievable with natural or portable light. Each pattern creates a distinct mood and flatters different face shapes.

Lesson 2 • Environmental and Lifestyle Portraits

Integrates subjects into meaningful environments to tell richer personal stories. Students balance subject prominence with contextual background elements for editorial-quality results.

Lesson 3 • Posing and Directing Subjects

Teaches verbal direction, body positioning, and natural expression techniques for non-models. Confident direction produces relaxed, authentic portraits rather than stiff, posed images.

Lesson 4 • Group and Family Photography

Addresses spacing, layering, and expression timing challenges unique to group shots. Students manage multiple subjects simultaneously to produce sharp, well-composed group images.

Lesson 1 • Travel Photography Storytelling

Frames travel photography as visual journalism combining wide, medium, and close-up shots. Students build cohesive photo essays that convey place, culture, and human experience.

Lesson 2 • Architecture and Urban Photography

Covers geometric composition, perspective correction, and detail extraction in built environments. Students capture structures with accuracy and creative interpretation.

Lesson 3 • Aerial and Elevated Perspectives

Explores shooting from elevated vantage points, bridges, rooftops, and accessible high ground. Students use height to reveal patterns and scale invisible from ground level.

Lesson 4 • Landscape Composition and Timing

Applies composition rules specifically to wide natural scenes with dynamic skies and terrain. Students plan shoots around light conditions and seasonal changes for maximum impact.

Lesson 1 • Tonal Adjustments and Exposure Correction

Covers exposure, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, and contrast sliders in depth. Students rescue poorly exposed images and refine well-exposed ones to professional standards.

Lesson 2 • Editing App Overview and Workflow

Surveys leading mobile editing apps and establishes a non-destructive editing workflow. A structured workflow prevents over-editing and ensures consistency across a photo set.

Lesson 3 • Sharpening, Noise Reduction, and Detail

Addresses sharpening radius, masking, and noise reduction for clean, detailed final images. Students balance sharpness and smoothness to avoid over-processed, artificial-looking results.

Lesson 4 • Colour Grading and Correction

Teaches HSL adjustments, colour grading panels, and white balance correction in post. Students develop a signature colour style while maintaining natural skin tones and accurate hues.

Lesson 1 • Exporting and Platform Optimisation

Covers resolution, colour space, and compression settings for web, print, and social platforms. Students deliver images in the correct technical specifications for every intended output.

Lesson 2 • Selective Editing and Masking

Teaches radial, linear, and brush masking to apply adjustments to specific image areas. Selective editing allows precise control unavailable through global adjustment sliders alone.

Lesson 3 • Skin Retouching and Portrait Finishing

Covers healing, cloning, smoothing, and frequency separation concepts adapted for mobile apps. Students retouch portraits naturally, preserving texture while removing distractions.

Lesson 4 • Presets, Styles, and Batch Editing

Introduces creating, saving, and applying custom presets for consistent editing across a series. Batch editing dramatically reduces post-processing time for large shoots.