Around campus

Modern smartphone cameras are set up to take great indoor and outdoor photography, often responsively. If your images are intended for print, then please submit an equipment request. Otherwise, the advice on this page will work well with your smartphone.

Consent

Before taking any images, it is important to make sure you are aware of our consent guidance. 

Framing

Campus photography may be both landscape and portrait, depending on what you’re focusing on.

Please note that unless you’re focusing on a striking architectural element, we should aim to show our campuses in action. This means showing students and staff doing things that paint a positive picture of Queen Mary life, and which show off our facilities.

Can you frame your shot naturally? To do this, search for in-scene elements you can use to frame the portrait, eg windows, walls, trees etc. You can use natural framing in front of the photos’ subject, or behind it.

Composition

Keep it simple. Look out for anything that might distract from the image you want to take and find a way to work around it, eg by changing the angle or moving position entirely.

Consider using the rule of thirds. This is a rule-of-thumb where you break an image down into thirds (horizontally and vertically), dividing the image into nine pieces and four gridlines. You then position the key elements of your shot along the gridlines, leading to a more effective composition. Your camera app should have a grid feature, or you can finesse this when you edit your images.

Lighting

Have the sun or main source of light behind you. 

If you shoot directly at the sun or main light source, the image will be out of focus and distorted
Also watch out for light glaring off surfaces.

If the sun’s behind you, your images will have a natural light, which is great for highlighting interesting details.

For indoor photos, place your subject near a window to achieve a flattering and soft lighting. Avoid harsh lighting such as office ceiling lights.

You can make a scene darker or brighter (adjusting the exposure) with your camera app. If you’re an iPhone user, drag the sun icon (on the right of the focus confirmation box) up to brighten an image or down to darken it. Android phones users will see a +/- icon for exposure adjustment.

Phone settings

• Set the resolution to the highest option available.
• The standard 4:3 ratio is perfect for general photography.
• Turn on HDR mode for high-contrast scenes, especially if you’re shooting in bright light.
• If your camera app has the option to focus manually, use it for sharp and focused images.
• Avoid digital zoom.