❤ LG V20: How to deal with basic camera manual mode

Launching the Camera app

Great photos are usually the result of one being at the right place at the right time. Having quick access to a camera also helps. That’s why the LG V20 has a shortcut for launching the camera from stand-by – you double-press on the volume down button to launch it. The option is found in Settings > General > Shortcut Keys, but you should have that enabled by default. What’s not enabled is the option to take a photo instantly after triggering the shortcut, so enable that if you find it useful.

Burst Mode for fast moving subjects

Burst mode is useful for taking photos of fast-paced action, such as sports events, but I’d also recommend using it while taking group shots to ensure you have a photo where nobody blinked. It can also be used for shooting awe-inspiring images of moments frozen in time – the splashes of rain drops falling on the ground, for example, or a flock of birds taking flight. (Just a reminder, the V20 is NOT water-resistant.)

HDR or High Dynamic Range

HDR, as some of you may know, takes multiple images at different exposures and combines them to produce a single high dynamics range photo. In other words, dark areas in the image aren’t overly dark and light areas aren’t overly bright. Most of the time, I have the HDR mode set to Auto, and it seems to work pretty well.

Aperture to gather more light in dark situations

The main camera on the LG V20 boasts a wide, F1.8 aperture, which allows a lot of light to hit the sensor. This optical property also creates a shallow depth of field effect, most noticeable when taking close-ups. What this means is that objects in focus look nice and sharp, while those behind or in front of that point are blurry. You won’t be able to achieve the bokeh you’d get out of an expensive camera, but you might be able to put more emphasis on your subject if you try using the effect to your advantage. Remember that the closer you get, the greater the background blur you’ll be able to achieve.

Wide angle shots for tight spaces and wide scenes

The secondary camera on the V20’s back takes super wide-angle photos. This lets it fit a lot more into the frame compared to the regular camera, which makes it great for shooting grand monuments, picturesque sceneries, large groups of people, or any scene where moving further away to fit more isn’t an option.

But there’s a good reason why you don’t want to use the wide-angle camera all the time. Firstly, there’s some noticeable distortion, meaning that photos have that GoPro-like fish-eye look. Secondly, the camera is technically inferior to the main one, so it can’t capture low light images as clearly. There’s no image stabilization or autofocus either.

That aside, the wide-angle camera comes in handy when you want to capture a scene from a different perspective. It is not only nice having in tricky situations. It can also serve as a creative tool – one that will surely make your photos stand out on Facebook or Instagram.