THROUGH YOUR LENS - Your Photos Are Good.They Could Be Brilliant.
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
Helen had been photographing Poundbury for two years. Bright mornings the Great Field at golden hour, the little details most people walk straight past. She had a good eye for capturing images. Her phone, a perfectly decent Android. But every photo she took looked… a bit flat. A bit grey. Nothing like the vivid, warm images she saw others sharing.
She assumed it was her phone. It wasn't.
It was the fact she'd never once touched the photo editor that had been sitting there the whole time.
THE EDITOR YOU NEVER KNEW YOU HAD
No apps. No subscriptions. No faff. It's already on your phone.
On iPhone Open any photo → Tap Edit (top right) → Slide, tweak, done | On Android Open any photo in the Gallery → Tap pencil icon → Same thing, different button |
FIVE SLIDERS. TRANSFORMED PHOTOS.
You don't need to understand photography. Just move a slider and see what happens. Take a little time to experiment and see what works best for you.
☀️ BRIGHTNESS Makes the whole photo lighter or darker. Poundbury's limestone buildings photograph darker than they look in real life — nudge this up and watch them come alive. ● CONTRAST Makes the bright bits brighter and the dark bits darker. Adds drama. Brilliant for big skies over the Great Field. 🌸 SATURATION Intensifies colour. Turn it up and those window boxes explode with colour. Go too far and it looks like a 1990s holiday brochure — a little goes a long way. 🔍 SHARPNESS Crisps up edges. Essential for architecture. Brings out the texture of the stone, the detail in ironwork, the grain of old timber. 🌅 WARMTH Pushes toward golden tones or cooler blues. Golden hour shots want warmth. Grey morning mist actually looks better cool. Try both. |
HELEN'S 90-SECOND ROUTINE
She does this on every photo now. It takes less time than making a cup of tea. Try a few changes for yourself and see what you like.
1st Step - Brightness +15 - Lifts the whole image without washing it out
2nd Step - Contrast +10 - Adds punch and stops it looking flat
3rd Step - Saturation +12 - Colours pop, but still look real
4th Step - Sharpness +15 - Crisps up edges, brings out detail
5th Step - Tap done - Phone saves automatically. Original kept separately if you change your mind.
WANT MORE? THREE FREE APPS WORTH KNOWING
SNAPSEED Free • iPhone & Android Has a "Healing" tool that removes unwanted objects from photos. That bin that walked into your perfect shot? Gone. That stranger in the background? Vanished. It sounds like magic. It basically is. LIGHTROOM MOBILE Free version • iPhone & Android Professional-level editing in a free app. The "Presets" feature (one-tap filters) alone makes it worth downloading. Tap a preset and see your photo transform. Tap another. Keep going until it looks right. VSCO Free basic • iPhone & Android Beautiful film-style filters that make Poundbury's warm stone look like something from a coffee table book. Very popular. You'll understand why immediately. |
ONE THING THAT MATTERS MORE THAN EDITING
Back your photos up. Seriously.
Editing is wonderful. Losing 3,000 photos because your phone was dropped, stolen, or just gave up the ghost is devastating. It happens to someone every day.
iPhone (iCloud) Settings → Your Name → iCloud → Photos → ON ££0.99/month for 50GB Worth every penny. | Android (Google Photos) Google Photos app → Back up → ON Free in Storage up to 15GB, £1,59/month for google one up to 100GB |
THE POUNDBURY PHOTOGRAPHER'S SECRET
Best times to shoot Poundbury: 🌅 Golden hour — one hour after sunrise or before sunset. The limestone glows. 🌧️ After rain — everything reflects. Surfaces shine. Colours deepen. 🛒 Market days — people, movement, life. The best community photos happen here. |
Next week: Smart Plugs — The £15 gadget that makes your home work harder