Hello! Today I’m actually re-sharing a post that I wrote back when Emme was Kellen’s age. So, a few years ago. I shared five tips on how to take beautiful photos with your Smartphone. I’ve since learned more, so I’ve tweaked the original post (mostly by adding a few photo editing app suggestions). I’ve also included photos I took of Emme from the original post, and a few new ones I’ve recently taken of Kellen and both Olivia and Emme.
This was one of my most popular posts, so I hope you derive as much value from it as my readers did the first time around!
Original Post (with minor edits/additions):
Hello! Today I want to share with you a few of my tips/tricks for capturing beautiful photos with your camera phone. Let’s be honest, even if you do own a high-quality DSLR I doubt you carry it around with you everywhere, and chances are many of the beautiful moments you wish you could capture happen spontaneously during every day moments … before you have time to drag out your camera equipment! I have a DSLR, but I would guess that nearly 80% of the photos I share on social media and on my blog are taken with my iPhone. I now have an iPhone X, which does have a Portrait mode, which will give you that beautiful blurry effect behind your subject (known as bokeh), but it does have limitations (Apple advertises it to work within 8 feet of your subject, but to be honest, it actually requires you to be closer). However, if you do want to get that effect with your subject at a further distance, no worries, there’s an app for that (which I’ll discuss below).
The principles I’m sharing with you today can be used during more formal “photo shoots” or in every day life … and you’ll have stunning pictures to share with family and friends, post on social media, or store in your photo album so you can pull them out in 15 years to embarrass you’re little angel when he or she introduces you to that first girlfriend or boyfriend (I’ve been told that will happen sooner than it seems, and judging by how fast Livi’s first 2 years went, I’m starting to believe it!). Ok, let’s get started!
Find the Light
Light is one of the most critical elements to a good picture — even the best editing apps can’t make up for a poor lighting. What you’re looking for a is a space filled with natural light. Overhead, artificial light will create unflattering shadows. Natural light creates a bright glow that illuminates the entire space. Find a space near large windows, but avoid direct sunlight — again, this is a direct light that will cast shadows (unless of course you’d like shadows, which can be great for creative images — see Livi below). However, if you’re looking for bright, even lighting in your pictures, you want natural, indirect light.
Also be sure to take your pictures with the light streaming in from behind you, and falling directly on your subject. In other words, if taking your pictures beside a window (like I did for Emme’s pictures here), you want your back to the window, with your subject facing the window.
Simple is Best
I find that pictures tend to look most beautiful when you keep things simple — the background, props, your subject, all of it. Choose a neutral background, in a natural setting, and use simple props (if any).
In the images below, I chose a soft ivory quilt as my backdrop, put Emme Belle in a white onesie, and used real, nature-inspired props. What I love about these pictures is that Emme and the natural beauty and texture of the leaves and pumpkins are allowed to take center stage — they’re the focal point of the images because they aren’t forced to compete with a bunch of “background noise”.
Use Props Wisely
Somewhat tied to the previous tip — keep it simple when it comes to your props. They should make sense with your overall theme, and should be used in a way that feels organic and natural. Props should be used to tell a story in your images.
For example, I used the leaves in my picture because they crinkle and crunch — and Emme Belle is ALL ABOUT feels and sounds right now! When she gets ahold of something, she loves squeezing it, moving it around, and just generally exploring what happens when she manipulates it with her (newly discovered) little hands. The same with the pumpkins — she was fascinated by them! And the imagery of the leaf “angel wings” (one of my favorites!) represents a beautiful truth that we know inherently exists in our world — where one thing ends, another begins …
So, don’t just throw random props in your pictures … use them to tell a story, one that’s meaningful to you and your subject.
Be Patient, but Snap-Happy
Patience is definitely a virtue in photography … add in infants and toddlers, and it’s a necessity! Block off a 1-2 hour period when you won’t be distracted and you can focus 100% on your subject. And don’t get discouraged if he or she isn’t as cooperative as you’d like. Truth be told, some of the best images I’ve captured have been when my babies are in melt-down mode and refusing to work with me. In those cases, just step back breathe, and start snapping away.
And that leads to my second point — take A LOT of pictures … I probably take 100+ pictures when I my goal is to capture 5-10 great ones. The beauty of a digital device, whether it be a DSLR or a camera phone, is that it’s so easy to take and delete pictures .. so don’t stress over it! Just snap away … you’ll be surprised by how wonderful some of the images turn out.
Harness the Power of Editing
Okay, now that you’ve managed to capture a handful or rockstar images … it’s time use some limited editing to make them go from pretty to gorgeous. There’s one editing app that I use to edit almost every picture I take with my iPhone — Lightroom.
In addition to general cropping, Lightroom allows you to adjust the light, contrast, color, tone, clarity, and all sorts of other aspects of the photo. The two factors I most generally play with are the light and contrast, but you should take the time to experiment with all the features and see what combination of factors gives you the effect you’re looking for in each image. Many bloggers and photographers also sell preset filters that you can import into Lightroom so your edits are made with a simple click of a button (though I generally still make a few more edits, but it’s nice to get most of the way there with a preset)! Two of my favorites are from Monica Hibbs (check them out here), and Alex from Daphne Mae Photography (see here).
A few other great apps that I frequently use are Retouch and Tadaa SLR.
Retouch allows you to quickly and easily remove unwanted items in your photos and touch up any imperfections. It’s very intuitive — select what you want to do (remove, heal, etc.), adjust the size of your tool (very small for fine adjustments, larger for bigger objects, etc.), use your finger to paint the object or area, and watch the magic happen.
Tadaa SLR is a fantastic little app that allows you to get that soft, buttery, blurred effect in the background of your photos. Your subject is crisp and sharp, and the background has a soft, ethereal feel to it. When used correctly, it can make the most ordinary photo look stunning.
The app itself attempts to recognize your subject and manually blurs the background, but then you have the ability to make adjustments by hand. It can be tricky at first, as you have to “paint” and “erase” the subject and background to get the desired effect, and drawing in the lines can get tough. But, you are able to zoom in when attempting to paint and erase highly detailed areas of your photo. And you can choose the degree of blur. I generally stick to very low levels (five or less)
And there you have it … the five tips you need to create professional-looking pictures with nothing but your camera phone, a few props, and a cute little subject!
What tricks do you use to improve your photos? I’m always anxious to learn more myself, so please share!
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