HONOR 20i (20 LITE): Three Tips for Stunning Close-up Photography

The Honor 20i is packed with a 24 MP ultra-wide-angle tri-camera system, offering unmatched value at its price. But did you know that there are some handy settings that can vault your pictures into the realm of professional quality? To find out, take a look at some of the tips below.

1.    Assistive Grid

Do you find that your pictures often come out crooked or out of balance? The "rule of thirds" is an important principle in composition, and a helpful rule of thumb for any aspiring photographer. Under the rule of thirds, the important elements in an image can be placed along the intersecting lines of a 9-box grid. The Assistive Grid works like a cheat code. By laying out a 9-block grid within the frame, it enables you to make sense of even the most complicated setting, and snap well-proportioned images with depth and texture, hassle free.

2.    Audio Control and Timer

When snapping a close-up picture, even a slight hand jitter or movement can cause the image to blur. Even exhaling when you press the shutter can ruin an otherwise great shot! This is because you're dealing with such a small scale, which requires an extremely high degree of precision. By fixing the correct angle for the picture in advance, and activating the shutter at a planned instant, you can get perfect execution.

Fortunately, the Honor 20i comes with voice activated photography and timer settings that do precisely this. Simply set an appropriate duration under Timer, and Audio Control. Say "Cheese" and after the set amount of time, two seconds in the example below, the camera will automatically take the shot.

3.    Pro mode

The Honor 20i is capable of taking dazzling macro shots, but if you want to get even closer, and to capture greater, activate Pro mode, and try your luck!

Metering mode, ISO, and EV

Metering is the method for calculating the optimal shutter speed and aperture, utilized by the camera's light meter, and based on the light intake and ISO. Three main metering settings are best utilized.

-          Matrix metering is mainly used for landscape scenes, and involves a complex series of calculations that determine the best exposure for the overall image.

-          Center-weighted metering is applicable for medium-range settings with a main element that dominates the image in the center of the frame, most commonly portrait shots.

-          Spot metering is most suitable for close-up settings such as insects, flowers, and headshots.

ISO refers to the sensitivity of the image sensor. In principle, our eyes work the same way, adjusting their perception of the scene in front of them, according to how much light they take in. A higher ISO means that the sensor is more sensitive to light due to higher light intake, resulting in brighter pictures. A lower ISO results in darker pictures, due to reduced light intake.

Exposure value (EV) is a single number that describes how much light reaches the image sensor. It relates closely to ISO, in that the camera can compensate for low ISO by adjusting the shutter speed and aperture, thereby raising the EV. This method counteracts the effects of weak lighting, and successfully avoids overexposure in the bright areas of a dark scene.

Let's say you come across this scene, and want to take a close-up shot. Follow the process below, and your picture should most likely come out the way you envision it.

1.    If lighting is sufficient, as in the image above, adjust the ISO to a minimum of 50, to ensure the best image quality.

2.    Under Meter mode, select Spot metering.

3.    Set the focus mode to MF (manual focus), drag the slider to the left, until the image within the frame is most clear.

And you should be able to get something like this! Amazing, right? Try it out for yourself!

Summary

The Honor 20i contains a abundance of fun and useful camera features, but many users are unaware of convenience of manual settings that can improve their photography to even greater level! Go closer for astonishingly detailed shots, and learn the true meaning of the phrase "everything is relative". The world is your oyster!