Recently i took a trip to Chicago just for some photos using my Cell phone (Samsung Note 9) - i have pro equipment but wanted to travel light.
my goals were:
enjoy the scooter ride on the lake front
take photos of my scooter with the Cloud Gate - Aka ‘The Bean’ - chrome Large Bean…
take some shots of the skyline buildings (with Cell Phone and 360 Camera)
take the shots at Blue Hour and later on in the night
my prep:
visually know what are the Iconic structures of the Skyline in Chicago so you can frame and take the shots with out wasting time
know what settings you want with your camera’s (with Cell phone i often shoot in manual so knock down the highlights, because i can bring up the lows better than lower the highlights in post
get to the location with 20 mins to spare because you have to lock up your bike or scooter
be aware:
Chicago Downtown is always busy, especially Friday night so be patient as many people are around doing the same thing you are doing taking photos
Blue Hour isn’t one hour, it is more like 15 mins… so work quickly… (if your shots are not panning out, switch off and do another shot and don’t waste time on the same shot as it is better to get more output than fight for 10 mins on one shot !
post work:
i was able to post process all of these shots on free software called SNAPSEED
all was done on my cell phone - shots and post work - unless you see a 360 tiny planet shot or inverted then the shot was taken on my insta360 camera
Great photos once again and thanks for the tips! I always find it hard to take photos right before it gets dark. Usually the first pictures are blurry until I manage to fix the settings or I just simply take a nice shot with the current ones.
Since I am looking to buy a new cell phone, do you recommend yours as a good camera phone as well?
Wow! As someone who has traveled to Chicago in the daylight with a good camera…your photos still surpass mine, @Phamstagram360 !
I need to take your tips and try some more photography with my Pixel. I’ve never tried much night photography but you have inspired me! Also, how did you enjoy Chicago?
@Phamstagram360 Your photos are amazing. Can’t believe they are from a smart phone. Did you use a tripod? Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
@JordanSB i really like chicago, we live about 2 hours away and always ride our bikes on the lake front… we are lucky to have this bike trail to ride on… plus the food after is always a great bonus…
now with your great pixel phone that will out shoot my note 9, go out there and use it late in the evening ! lol
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@PaulJahn thank you for the nice comments… 360 images are very new to me and now i look for places to take photos of with the 360 chicago makes it easy to compose…
@Ant_Bad_Yogi thank you for the nice comments, i don’t use a tripod as it will weigh me down, but conversely, i do take 3-4 shots of the same frame just to assure i have a sharp image at night !
