Photography is super important to me, partly because it's my job (see my work here) but also because I have 4 growing girls and I like to document their growing up.
People assume because I'm a photographer that I must have the best photos of my kids. WRONG. I must have scared them because when I pull out my Nikon they run for the hills. So I've learned to use my iPhone instead. In this new age of digital, iPhones and camera phones in general are great as any point & shoot camera.
Today I'm going to give you some tricks to take amazing photos, with just your cell phone!!
- It’s all about the light. In all honesty I’ll chose light over location/backdrop any day.
If you are indoors try and find the most natural light you can think of. Window light and screen doors are your best friend. You know you've found good light if you can see the catch lights in your kids eyes like this below (the little white lights there in her eyes, are catchlights- if they are missing they make eyes dull, so check for them next time you take a pic!)
Make sure you focus (touch with your finger) on the subjects faces. This meters your light off of the face too so it won’t be dark (if you have a light source behind you instead of in front of you it will be blown out).
Window light is my favourite light, and having your subjects just to the side of the window gives them range. I took the following photo with my phone, and edited and posted to instagram in the middle of their maternity session!
- Try and avoid clutter by zooming in. And by zooming, I mean actually with your feet, not zooming in on your camera. No one wants to see your messy bedroom, or messy car (if you are like me) but rather your subject! In the example below you cannot tell I have laundry all over the floor around my bed, because I cropped in!
- Filters/Editing. I never bring a photo directly into Instagram. I always run it through PicTapGo first. This lets me crop, also bring in non-square photos. And I can purchase different filters that Instagram doesn't have (VSCO filters are my fave).
I took this photo last week in Mexico with my phone, ran a quick edit in PicTapGo and it's a fave for sure:
- Get creative, sometimes I see a great shot, and it’s dark in my house, and I don’t want to ruin a moment with flash. I use the flash light feature on my husband’s phone or ipad and light the kids with that instead. And use my phone or point and shoot to take the photo. See below (ipad example)
- Print/share your photos! And don’t forget to hashtag! These Sticky9 magnets are adorable, and you can also make little books with all of your photos at the end of each year using Blurb - which make great presents for grandparents! Print your photos people! You can lose your phone, or have it wiped, make sure you back them up and print
