How to Rule at Photography: 50 Tips and Tricks for Using Your Phone’s Camera

by Chronicle Books

How to Rule at Photography features 50 bite-size tips and tricks to help you improve your photo skills with your phone's camera. Creating brilliant photos with your phone isn't as hard as you might think, and the easy-to-follow advice in this book goes way beyond selfie help.

Let these deceptively simple tips help you unleash your inner creativity and upgrade your social media feed as you start snapping great shots using only your phone. You'll not only learn actionable tips to make your photos better—you'll learn how to develop your own personal style along the way.

• Simple and effective instructional content
• Features tips for amateur documentarians and aspiring social media influencers
• Advice on how to pose for a portrait, get the best lighting, and edit images like a pro using nothing but your smartphone

This book is the perfect easy-breezy volume for the person who wants to up their phone photography game.

Part of the How to Rule series, a collection of tiny how-to books you can take anywhere to improve your creative skills.

• A perfect gift for aspiring and hobbyist photographers, art students, Instagram addicts, and selfie takers
• Makes smartphone photography easy, approachable, and super fun
• Great for readers who enjoyed How to Create Stunning Digital Photography by Tony Northrup, The Beginner's Photography Guide by Chris Gatcum, and BetterPhoto Basics by Jim Miotke

Genres: Nonfiction, Creative, Photography

104 pages, Hardcover

Published April 7, 2020

Reviews

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The tips are things that you’ve already learned by looking at the various tools in a photo editing app and playing around, or things that are common sense.

Here’s a sampling of the tips:
2. Make sure your thumb isn’t covering the camera lens.
13. When taking a photo of yourself, make sure you stick out your neck to prevent the dreaded double chin.
25. When applying a filter, scale it back to at least 50 percent.
34. Never underestimate a black and white photo.
47. Be curious. Pause. Look down alleys, through windows. Look up.

The illustrations and full bleed color pages are pretty, but the substance is lacking.

[Kimia Domire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Im famously bad at taking photos, therefore this is the perfect book for me.

There were plenty of good ideas for small ways to improve photos, both in the taking and in the editing. I learned useful tips, like how filters will age photos, and how it's always better to take photos at the end of an exhale.

Illustrations were also really pretty. I liked how colourful and accessible it made the subject matter, without intimidating the reader.

Would recommend to anyone who wants to improve their basic photography skills in an un-intimidating way.

[Mina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although I'd be considered a beginner when it comes to photography, I did not find any valuable advice in this little book. Perhaps someone who has never looked through the settings their phone camera or someone who has never ever before looked up quick photography how-to's offers might benefit from a tip or two. Even then, most was filler in my opinion. While I think some might find the illustrations charming, I do think it would have been more appropriate to include actual photos, maybe using illustrations for aids in demonstrating certain concepts. This just didn't work for me, and I would sooner recommend articles, YouTube videos, and other tutorial resources for absolute beginners. I do respect the effort of the artists and anyone who contributed as I know they only intended to help and entertain people, and I do feel guilty for not being able to appreciate their work.

[Anders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aimed at the absolute beginner who wants some handy tips, this is probably a helpful and inspirational book. It's easy to scroll through and the illustrations (not photographs?) are very nice.

Most of the tips were good, but I would have preferred if the author kept to positive "do this or that" tips. Why advise against taking backlit pictures?

I wish I could give it 2.5 stars.

[Zhelana · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was no detail to this. It was literally just one sentence per two pages with the idea of the tip, but then it didn't tell you anything. Like "5. make your subjects comfortable" but no tricks on how to do that or what that would accomplish. There weren't even photographs in this book, just ridiculous drawings I didn't get anything out of this book, what a waste.

[Er Mendoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple book and short read (about ten-minute read). It was a useful read to me because some of the advice I never thought of and now I am definitely taking better pictures because of said advice. Like the rule of thirds and group shots.

[Reading Rambo · Rating 1 out of 5]

No value. Waste of paper, and I borrowed the digital
version (after weeks on a waitlist). There's more useful content in your camera's manual, YouTube tutorials, online courses, even Google. Definitely do not recommend.

[Hysope · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mouarf, rien d'incroyable ou de révolutionnaire mais les illustrations sont top
Vraiment si vous avez jamais photographié de votre vie avec votre portable ça peut peut-être vous aider.

[Two Readers in Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid tips in a simple and engaging illustrated format. The illustrations are charming but some actual photo examples would have been a useful addition.

[Bailey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely useless lmao

[Siyka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concise and informative!

[Nan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice looking small book with lots of obvious information. Enjoyed looking at it, but didn't learn anything new.

[Gurkiran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book with nice illustrations.

[Extreme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet.

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! It’s like a “spoof” of a how-to book, but the examples of the tips are drawings, not photos.