How to Make Subjects Stand Out and Create Depth in Smartphone Photos

A really simple but effective way to make your subject stand out in a photo is to create a shallow depth of field. This blurs the background, allowing the subject to take center stage with nothing else to distract the viewer.

What is shallow depth of field in photography?

Shallow depth of field is a photographic technique in which one element of the image is kept in focus, while the rest of the image is out of focus or blurred. The element that is kept in focus is usually in the foreground, while everything in the background is blurred. But it is not a hard and fast rule.

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As a photographer, your job is to draw people into your photo and direct them to what you're trying to convey. And when done well, shallow depth of field can draw people's attention to a particular part of the photo, making them think more about it.

With a DSLR, achieving a shallow depth of field is relatively simple. By zooming in on your subject, adjusting your aperture and focal length, you can let the hardware do the hard work.

With smartphones, it's harder, especially if your phone doesn't allow you to change settings manually. But you can get better results by combining shooting with a shallow depth of field and editing to enhance the effect.

How to make your subject stand out when taking photos with your phone

The best way to create a convincing shallow depth of field is to shoot with an idea in mind. Because while clever editing can fix almost anything, you still have to rely on the original shot. So when composing your smartphone photos, keep in mind the desire to make your subject stand out on screen.

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If your phone has a Manual or Pro mode, achieving a shallow depth of field is easy. The key is to adjust the aperture of your smartphone camera, making it wide enough to let in a lot of light without being so wide that everything in the photo is blurred, including the main subject.

However, if your phone only has preset modes, the best thing you can do is switch to Portrait mode before taking the shot. Portrait mode is designed to create a shallow depth of field by focusing on the subject in the center of the photo while blurring the background. Some phones can also create a nice bokeh effect, but it's a little different than the usual blur effect.

To take a shallow depth of field photo, switch to Portrait mode and frame your shot. To enhance the effect, you can move further away from your subject and zoom in on it. If you have the ability to do so with the subject in question, you can also shoot a lot of background, as although the background will be blurred, it can add to the overall effect. However, it is important to keep your subject centered and in focus.

How to Make Your Subject Stand Out Through Editing with Snapseed

Now that you have a photo of the subject you want to draw attention to, you can edit it to exaggerate the effect and really make it pop. There are plenty of photo editors that can do this, but I recommend SnapSeed (available on Android and iOS) for editing smartphone photos right on your phone. And it's just as good at creating artificial shallow depth of field as any other editor.

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Snapseed boasts a powerful Lens Blur tool that can be used to create an artificial shallow depth of field. You can choose which part of the photo is in focus, the size and shape of the part that stays in focus, along with blur strength, vignette strength, and transition settings.

To create or accentuate a shallow depth of field effect, open a photo in Snapseed and tap the Tools tab . Then, find and select the Lens Blur tool. You'll see a blue dot surrounded by two concentric circles. Tap to select the focus point, with the circles representing the amount of blur.

At this point, you can change the focus point, the size, and the shape of the circle (use the pinch-to-zoom gesture). You can also change the blur strength, vignette strength, and transition settings. It's best to experiment with all of the above options until you find one that works for the photo you're working with.

Marvin Fry

Update 05 September 2024