Last month I taught a phone photography workshop to a group of PhD and masters students at the University of Manitoba in their micro diploma program in scientific communication.

It was such an inspiration to hear about their pursuits in advanced science and research while I got to share the wonderful world of creative visual communication with them.

We discussed how art, emotion and storytelling take centre stage in photography and how much easier it is with our phone cameras to break into photography. It’s a craft that doesn’t always require a perfect formula to follow, but one that requires intention, emotional awareness and a sensitivity to storytelling.

Photos require technical know-how, but more importantly, they require intention in communicating a story, a message or an emotion.

We started the practical portion of the workshop by trying to make instruments and beakers look visually striking in the middle of a busy, clinical lab.

We used composition, framing, lighting and background management to take some nice photos. Who knew a beaker could look so gorgeous!

So how do we approach objects that are boring to photograph or challenging to capture?

Here’s an easy-to-follow checklist when approaching your next object photo shoot:

#1 – What are you trying to communicate? In the case of the beaker, we wanted to showcase that it is impressive, shiny and important.

#2 – What lighting can you use to further the communication? We placed two lights, one pointing from the left side and another pointing from the right side. We wanted to highlight the edge of the glass while minimizing glare on the larger surface of the glass. We also turned off the overhead lights in the lab so that the fluorescent lights wouldn’t cast a pink or green glow onto our subject.

#3 – What kind of angle can you use to further the communication? It’s a very small and short object, so in order to make it look more impressive, we had to take the photo from an angle that makes the beaker look bigger and more imposing. To do this, we angled the camera low, almost exactly at the same height of it.

#4 – What kind of lens can you use to further the communication? We zoomed in to about 2x or 3x so that the beaker wouldn’t be captured with a wide angle lens. A 1x wide angle lens would distort its shape, making it look wonky (and almost comical). By using a zoomed in lens, it controlled the distortion and gave the beaker a shape that looked formal and professional.

#5 – What composition can you use to further the communication? We wanted the beaker to look prominent in the frame, so we centered the beaker for a clean, uniform composition. The image is symmetrical, giving more importance and clear view on the subject, we no other distractions. We also added a grey shelf board in the background to hide the clutter and other distracting elements that we didn’t want included in the photo.

#6 – What editing can you use to further the communication? We wanted the photo to look dark but with the beaker shining bright. This was mostly done with the lights we had and the dark background, but to further enhance this, contrast, clarity and sharpening were boosted in Lightroom Mobile. I also added a mask over the light spot in the upper left area of the background to further accentuate the touch of light.

The final result?

An average beaker in an average-looking lab getting a full transformation, thanks to:

• intention & storytelling
• lighting
• angle
• lens choices
• composition
• editing.

So next time you’re wanting to take a photo of an average subject, follow this checklist, and watch your photos get completely transformed.

So what does a professional iPhone photographer love?

In one of my latest blog posts, I share my 4 favourite phone camera accessories.

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