How to take better pictures with your phone

Want to learn how to take better pictures with your phone? Keep reading! Most people nowadays don’t even have cameras. With the camera technology used in phones today, why would we? We can take quality pictures using our phones, and we don’t have to lug a camera around with us everywhere, just in case there is a perfect photo opp. So here are some of my tips and tricks on how to take better pictures with your phone! 

How to take better pictures with your phone: General Tips

1.Use both hands- Now I know phones aren’t particularly heavy, but you will get much better results by holding your phone with 2 hands, and letting your elbows rest on your chest when taking a photo. This will make your photos more clear, because there will be no shaking! Also make sure to stand still while taking the photo!

 

We were taking a walk in this photo and found such a cute photo opp, so I stopped walking, used both hands and snap! Perfect picture!

2. Know your photo subject! Taking a picture of a great view, or a yummy meal is going to be completely different than taking a picture of a concert or a energetic toddler. It might take more than 1 snap to get the perfect photo of something (or someone) in motion. The shutters on camera phones are going to last, so while taking pictures of things iin motion, snap a lot of pictures,  then go through them to find the best couple of photos, and delete the rest.

3.Step into the light! Good lighting on a picture is almost as important as the subject of the picture. If you have really bright light, you might not see anything in the picture, or everyone in it looks like they are glowing like a light bulb. If you have really low lighting, everything tends to look grainy and well, dark. Neither are good! You don’t have to be outside to get good lighting either. Open a window or a door and that should bring a good amount of natural light in to make your pictures perfect!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my daughter, simply because she is standing next to an open window and her eyes are so bright and shiny 🙂

4. Play with Angles- While taking pictures, don’t stand still! Move around and take multiple shots of the same image at different angles. You will be amazed at how different the same picture can look at different angles.

This was taking during our recent visit to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Disney World, I took several pictures like this at different angles, and I’m glad I did, in a front facing shot of this, all you could really see was half my daughters face and a giant hand. I moved over slightly and got this super cute picture!

How to take better pictures with your phone: Editing Tips

1. Use Apps! Apps are awesome for all sorts of things, including editing photos. Now I don’t mean using an instagram filter for every photo you take, that makes your pictures LOOK edited and fake. But, using an app like Camera+ (you can get this in the app store for like 99 cents I think) can make your pictures look clear and crisp!

This is an example of the Camera+ App that I use, and a few of the different things you can do with it. You can also crop out unwanted area of your pictures, adjust the lighting, add borders, and more!

2. Don’t have a phone with apps? Use free editing websites! Free photo editing websites like picmonkey.com or photobucket.com are great for those that don’t have apps on their phones (or don’t want to pay for them) and are free to use! They have everything from a text adder, filters, and even teeth whiting tools!

3. Don’t over edit! I hate seeing a perfectly good picture ruined by to much editing. You know the ones, they have a blue overlay, stars in the sky that were put in, and a big frame around them. Sure, those kind of photos are fun for holidays, scrapbooks, or just fun. But don’t do that to every photo! Sometimes natural photos are the best!

The last tip I have on how to take better pictures with you phone is this: Have fun!! Don’t stress out about getting the perfect picture every time, or you will miss out on the occasion you’re photographing. While taking a picture of your little one blowing out their birthday candles, you might miss it all together!

This is one of my favorite pictures I’ve ever taken. This is my little girl running up to hug my husband after his first skydive of the day. Is it perfect? Nope. But it’s perfect for me, and in the end, that is what matters right?

Topic: How to take better pictures with your phone