Belfast freelance photographer Carrie Davenport has put together a short video featuring all her tips on how to take great photographs with your smartphone.

Carrie, who is one of the city's most in demand photographer, would normally find herself shooting gigs and weddings at this time of year.

However, with none of those big events happening at the moment due to Coronavirus restrictions, she's had to get to grips with new ways of staying creative.

As part of our #InThisTogether campaign to highlight businesses and creatives during this time, Carrie has shared some tips for those out there who want to get creative with taking pictures on their phones.

In the video above, she shares 5 straightforward pointers on how to get the most out of your smartphone camera.

The five tips are:

1 - Keep it clean - Your phone lives in your pockets and various other places, which means that it will pick up a lot of dirt and grim. That will have a big impact on your photos, because if the lens is smudgy the photos won't look sharp. When you're out taking photos, get in the habit of cleaning the lens before taking a photo.

2 - Think inside the box - Whenever you're taking your photographs, remember that whatever you see in the little rectangle which is your screen - that is your frame. Photographers tend to use centre-framing - where you put your subject slap bang in the middle of the frame - or rule-of-thirds framing - where you place your subject off to either side of the frame. You can play about with framing in order to add variety.

3 - Think about your subject - Ask yourself, 'What do you want people to look at?' You can use your framing techniques and everything else to draw the eye towards your subject. Don't be afraid to move around to think about the background behind the subject. Getting down lower tends to make things more dramatic, while going up higher tends to soften the frame.

4 - Don't be scared to play about with the settings on your camera - Don't be afraid to get out of auto and try the other modes available on your device. Camera phones are very powerful tools, so it's useful to play about with the various modes on offer.

5 - Do stuff with your photographs afterwards - The joy of digital photography is that you can play about and edit them afterwards, as well as share them. Apps like Snapseed, which is free on the App Store, are great, free tools for editing. You've also got the chance to share your photographs really easy, with apps like Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp groups. You might inspire others to pick up the camera!

Some of Carrie's amazing pictures and booking information can be found at her website, www.carriedavenport.com. Carrie also specialises in wedding photography and you can browse her stunning natural style at www.crazyhappylove.com