5 tips for better winter photos (not only) with the Oppo A94 5G

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0. Preparation: Protect yourself and your cell phone
1. Night mode at Christmas market & Co.
2. Long exposures for the flow
3. Portraits in winter: where is the light?
4. Macro camera for icy details
5. Ultra-wide winter landscapes

0. Preparation: Protect yourself and your cell phone

Even if it’s not a “real photo tip”, we still want to give you a few recommendations on how to protect your smartphone and yourself from the cold. It is simply not as good to take a picture with pierced fingers or a cold battery. First, it’s your turn.

Get gloves that ideally either have conductive fingertips – or which have the fingertips that can be folded back. So you can use the touchscreen without getting numb or shaky hands. Your photos will thank you. You don’t want to exchange your favorite gloves? Then you can press the shutter release button on the OPPO A94 5G and many other smartphones using the volume buttons. You may have to activate this option in the settings of the camera app.

In addition to warm hands, a warm cell phone is also important: When the battery is cold, the charging capacity is reduced. TÜV Süd recommends storing smartphones at less than 10 degrees on the body. Instead of your handbag or backpack, you should put the phone in the inside pocket of your coat in winter. This also avoids rapid temperature changes that can cause condensation of moisture in the smartphone.

Are your smartphone and fingers warm? Then we come to the first camera tip.

1. Night mode at Christmas market & Co.

Despite all fears, there is this year: Christmas markets. If you want to take beautiful photos between mulled wine, bratwurst and fairy lights, then there is a very simple tip: Use the night mode. With the OPPO A94 5G you will find the night mode prominently in the camera app. Depending on the portrait or landscape format, you simply swipe two options to the left or up from the normal photo mode.

This is how the smartphone gets the most out of hands-free photography. Despite night mode, make sure to stabilize the smartphone as well as possible. You can do this, for example, by holding the cell phone with both hands and placing your elbows against your body. Another possibility is to hold the smartphone against a lantern, wall or the like and fix it in this way.

Very important when photographing fairy lights: Make sure that no traces of bratwurst can be found on the lens of your camera. Because fingerprints spoil the contrasts in the picture and cause unsightly halos, lens flares, etc. – so wipe the camera module with a scarf or glove before each photograph.

2. Long exposures for the flow

There is more freedom for image design in Pro mode. Here you set the white balance, light sensitivity, exposure time & Co. manually. And here you regain control of the image result from the various algorithms. For example, you can transform passing cars into long trails of light with a shutter speed of several seconds. And with exposure times of between one and a tenth of a second, you can visualize movement, for example when there is a flow of people in busy shopping streets.

When playing with shutter speeds, the question is always important: Can you still take photos freehand or do you need a tripod? As a rule of thumb, you can still photograph the reciprocal of the focal length freehand. With the 25-millimeter main camera this corresponds to 1/25 of a second, with the ultra-wide-angle lens with an equivalent focal length of 16 millimeters you land at 1/15 of a second. Shutter speeds that are around five to ten times longer are possible by supporting the smartphone and holding your breath. For everything above you need a tripod or you have to clamp or lean the smartphone somewhere.

Now let’s go: Working in Pro mode is very easy with the OPPO A94: You swipe up or right in the camera app in the menu until you reach the point “More”. At the top left in the menu you will find the expert mode with the settings for sensitivity (ISO), shutter speed (S), white balance (WB), autofocus (AF) and exposure compensation (EV). We are interested in the shutter speed and exposure compensation.

The starting point for any photo is finding the correct shutter speed. Tap on “S” and adjust the shutter speed with the controller. Every motif is different and requires different exposure times. Here are a few things you can do with experimenting:

• Turning the headlights of passing cars into light trails: 8 to 32 seconds
• Photographing fireworks (more details behind the link): 1 to 8 seconds
• Blurring people (masses) in motion: 1/10 to 1 second

Did you find the perfect shutter speed to visualize the movement? Then you can use the exposure compensation (EV) or the sensitivity (ISO) to adjust the brightness, for example, so that lights do not shine. If the color rendering is unnatural, you can adjust it using the white balance. For very dynamic subjects, such as fireworks, it makes sense to set the focus manually.

A tip at the end: activate the RAW function in expert mode. On the OPPO A94 you will find the option behind the screw symbol. The raw data images in DNG format allow you to edit more flexibly afterwards.

3. Portraits in winter: where is the light?

One of the most important things for a successful portrait photo is the right light – and that is exactly what is often a problem in winter. When the sun disappears behind the horizon from 4 p.m., you are dependent on artificial light sources. The following always applies to portraits: the larger the light source is relative to the model, the softer the shadows and the more flattering the lighting. In addition, a light direction of light to the side – about 15 to 45 degrees away from the nose – ensures a more vivid image effect.

Then it is immediately clear that the LED flash in the smartphone is not an option. The tiny lamp creates hard, unsightly shadows and flashes precisely from the front. Instead, keep an eye out for illuminated areas. An illuminated shop window, for example, is a great source of light in winter – or neon advertising, where you can also play with colors if necessary. Now position yourself and your subject so that the light falls slightly from the side on your face and you can capture an interesting background as possible.

For portraits, we recommend that you use the appropriate mode on your smartphone. With the OPPO A94 5G, you simply swipe one position up or right from the photo mode to activate the portrait mode. Then use the small circle icon to set the intensity of the bokeh effect. The background blur looks particularly nice if you place points of light here, for example a chain of lights or a busy road.

It all sounds complicated. But if you just keep your eyes open on the way, you will always find places that offer optimal conditions for portraits, even in the dark season. And if you really want to be ultra-flexible, you can also buy a portable photo and video light.

4. Macro camera for icy details

Wherever you can photograph colorful flowers and glowing leaves between spring and autumn, everything is primarily brown, gray or white in winter. But especially with the macro camera you can also discover great details in winter. Go in search of large ice crystals, frozen plants or icicles. You activate the macro mode in the A94 5G by selecting the “More” item and tapping the last item in the following dialog.

Light plays an important role, especially with icy details. For example, use the low sun to make ice crystals shine by taking pictures against the light. Or hold a frozen leaf up to the light and let the details shine. If the sun has already set, street lights & Co. will help you – or the flashlight of a second smartphone.

5. Ultra-wide winter landscapes

“Foreground makes picture healthy” is a motto from the photography school. This is especially true for pictures taken at wide angle or ultra wide angle. If everything in the picture is very far away from the viewer, the photo looks very flat afterwards. With elements in the foreground you can give the subject depth and at the same time put it into context. Take photos, for example, through a fence or plants or let a bicycle or a tree stand in the foreground.

An alternative to creating depth are lines. For example, photograph a path that begins in the foreground and leads the viewer’s eyes deeper. In order to find a successful end point for the image composition, you can also use the rule of thirds as a guide: Let the lines or the path end at one of the intersections of those lines that divide the image into nine equal rectangles.

And you?

Now it’s your turn. Grab your smartphone, gloves and hat and: let’s go outside! And of course we look forward to your feedback. Which tip did you like the most, which tip did you use to take beautiful photos? And do you have any other tricks up your sleeve that you would like to share?

If you are interested in the OPPO A94 5G: The smartphone is currently available at Amazon, Saturn and MediaMarkt with a good 30 percent discount. You save almost 120 euros compared to the recommended retail price.

This article is part of a cooperation between NextPit and OPPO. Of course, this cooperation has no influence on the editorial opinion of NextPit.