Simple Photography Tips For You - Landscape v Portrait Photographs

Ten Simple Photography Tips on landscape v portrait photographs - Camera and Phone Camera

• Landscape is when you hold your phone or camera horizontally

  The width of the image is greater than the height - usually w3:h2

• Portrait is when you hold your phone or camera vertically

  The height of the image is greater than the width - usually h3:w2

• There are no hard and fast rules for domestic images

• Both have their advantages

• If you want to convert a landscape to portrait image by later cropping, you will lose some resolution

• On most social media account postings, a portrait aspect image will occupy about seventy percent of the display, and a landscape orientation less than fifty percent.

• Experiment - try them both

• Beware of unwanted stuff on the sides, or top/bottom

Ok, so a very simple discussion here, landscape v portrait photographs. One of the main differences between using a film camera and a phone is the 'normal' orientation of the image. This is based on how each is naturally held. With a conventional camera the natural position is horizontal - otherwise referred to as 'landscape'; whereas with camera-phone photography, the norm is vertical - otherwise referred to as 'portrait'.

Neither is right or wrong, and all I'm saying is, don't forget to experiment with your camera or I-phone (Android) flip your camera to vertical, or your phone to horizontal.

Landscape photograph of rowing boats on Bois de Boulogne lake in Paris

The two photographs shown, taken on one of the Bois de Boulogne lakes, are both taken using my iphone 14 pro, but in different orientation. The first was taken with the phone tipped over, and if I'd chosen the ultra-wide setting would have given the opportunity to get down low and make much more of the boats in the foreground.

Portrait photograph of same rowing boats on Bois de Boulogne in Paris

One oddity that arises with social media is that because of the way that the images upload the 'portrait' version is 'bigger', occupying much more of the screen.

Depending on what you have available, if the ultra-wide were selected, there would be opportunity to make more of the foreground. But in this case there were quite a lot of messy bits that put me off doing so.

Being aware of clouds in the sky can often improve an image if you balance the framing carefully.