Making Photos Easy… with the iPhone
It seems like year after year, our phone cameras get better and better, right? (I’m eagerly awaiting my iPhone 13Pro!) It’s not in your head! With a few little tweaks, you can get great pics without a professional-quality camera. Seriously, you don’t have to be a photographer to capture great memories with your phone!
With all the cute photo ops coming up over the next few months (Hello, pumpkin patch!) I thought I’d share a few tips and tricks to getting better pics!
Lighting is everything. Great phone shots start with great lighting. Artificial lighting (indoors) tends to make photos turn out yellow and grainy, so look for indirect, natural light whenever possible. Soft light is infinitely more flattering than that harsh, overhead noon-day sun. The best time of day to get your shots? Golden hour. The hour right after sunrise and the hour right before sunset, when the sun is low on the horizon creates stunning light every time. Keep the light source behind you (the photographer) and in front of your subject.
Say no to “Zoom.” Tempting as it may be, try not to use the zoom feature on your phone. It dramatically decreases the quality of your photo and makes them grainy. Instead, move your phone in closer to whatever you’re taking a photo of to maintain the best quality.
Take advantage of the brightness feature. Ya know the little sun that pops up when you tap the focal point box on your screen as you’re taking a picture? You can use that sun to increase and decrease the brightness in your photo when it’s a little too dark.
Meet portrait mode. Portrait mode makes everyone look like a professional! It’s a total game-changer for beautiful portraits and still-life photos. This mode is designed to be used at a mid-range distance from the object or person you’re taking a photo of so keep yourself at a fair distance to get the best pic!
Get on your subject’s level. Mamas eager to take cute pics of their darlings tend to forget how much taller they are than their kids! Take a second to crouch down to snap pics of little people (and pets!) and you’ll be shocked by how quickly your shots improve.
Wipe your lens! It’s an easy tip, but most people tend to forget this one! Clean your lens (your shirt works just fine!) before taking a photo to get rid of any smudges that might blur your photo.