As a mom on the go, these days the less I can pack with me on my family adventures, the better. Even though I own the big fancy DSLR camera and I love it, there is this ebb and flow that tends to happen with my photo taking where I’ll go weeks without picking up the big camera, because it’s just so…..BIG. So I turn to the camera I always have with me, the one on my phone. The iPhone in my pocket is truly the star of the show these days. I love the ease the phone brings to our family memory preservation, because it’s always right there with us wherever we go! You can take better phone photos too.
The phone is our family’s storyteller.
It’s so simple to whip it out when we’re running around our backyard, observing the change in seasons on a walk around the neighborhood, or hanging out on playdates with friends. I also absolutely adore that there’s no prep work of packing a bulky camera and figuring what settings to try, while also wrangling busy kiddos to ‘sit still for a few more seconds’.
(shhhhhhh…sometimes I even think my iPhone takes better photos than my other cameras too).
Even so, the mobile phone has it’s limitations when it comes to photo taking and I’ve had to learn some tips and tricks along the way to make me fall head over heels in love with the photos it produces.
Perhaps you’re finding that, like me, you always have your phone with you, but the photos you snap don’t have that ‘extra something special’ to make them print worthy.
First let’s get something straight. The mobile phone doesn’t have the crispness and clarity that a DSLR can bring to the table. And that’s ok. But that doesn’t mean it still can’t take great photos.
[Tweet “Your phone photos have value! They tell your life story as you’re living it.“]
But, maybe you’re struggling to get your kiddos to look at the phone during your photo taking and you’re getting goofy grins or scowls, or perhaps they’re moving so fast that all the pictures appear to be blurry bursts, or the images don’t seem to have the vibrancy you’re hoping for from such a tiny wonder of a device.
Let’s change that together, shall we?
How to Take Better Phone Photos
Today I’m bringing you 5 of my best tips for telling your family’s story with the camera that’s always with you, the one on the phone in your pocket.
1) Enlist all 5 senses
How do you want to truly remember the moment you’re currently experiencing? The smells, tastes, sounds, feelings? How can you express all your senses in your images?
2) Discover the details
Don’t just focus in on the kids and their faces. Get in close and capture fingers, toes, toys, snacks, blankets, clothes, etc…Those are all part of the memory too. Those details may even help you remember the moments even better.
3) Experiment with light
Flip open your camera app and watch the light and your phone play together. Sometimes we gain a new perspective for how the light can shift and change by watching it from the camera as we move around and frame our shots in difference ways. You can also work with the light and your exposure by trying the ‘tap rule’ on an iPhone if you have one.
4) Know the shortcuts!
When you have kids in action you need QUICK ways to take your shots. One of my favorite shutter shortcuts are being able to use the volume up button on your phone OR on your mic headphones to take a shot. Knowing you can use those headphones as remote shutter release just made selfies with your kids a whole lot easier, eh?!
4) Seek out inspiration
Following other inspirational mobile phone photo lovers can help you train your own eye and dream up new ideas to try with your own family. If you want to follow me, you can do that right here: @momtographyclub. Or come discover a few of my favorite mommy photo lovers, bloggers, and Instagrammers that I think you should start following right NOW for an instant photo mama inspiration boost.
Tracey, Our Collective: @traceyclark
Me Ra, Me Ra Koh @merakoh
Courtney, Click It Up A Notch @clickitupanotch
Jennifer, Plain Vanilla Mom @jenniferpvm
Zina, Let’s Lasso The Moon @letslassothemoon
Jamie, Hands On As We Grow @handsonaswegrow
Want to learn even more about taking better phone photos? Check out these Momtography Classes!
Hi, I’m Beryl of Be Young Creative! I was never a person who carried a camera with me wherever I went. But I fell in love with photography in 2009 as a way to document the exciting time of becoming a mom and rediscover my creative spark along the way. I believe that when you choose the creative path, you discover it’s never too late to change course, find happiness, heal, try more, do less, be bold, get quiet, & cultivate a life of courage and connection. I created the Cultivate Creativity Journal as a way to make space for you in the chaos of daily life and explore what it means to create a life you love.