Picture this. The evening light is just right and your little one’s outfit is still looking stain-free…you snap a photo and BAM! It’s a keeper. Other days, your photo is blurry, has weird spots, or maybe something just doesn’t look right.
Taking photos is fun and the easiest way to cherish the sweetest days of your child, but it can be overwhelming if you’re not comfortable with a camera.
Here are a few tips and tricks we have found that help get the best photos with your phone of your little one! Many of these apply to iPhone users, but we have included some tips that work for Android users as well!
Here’s to you becoming the smart phone photographer you’ve always dreamt to be!
1. First things first, make sure your lens is clean! Having a little one means everything you own is more often than not sticky! Cleaning your phone lens may sound silly, but it’s often forgotten and makes a big difference when you relook at your photo options. Use a dry, microfiber cloth or a lens wipe.
2. Make sure your phone is in focus while taking your photo. Tap on your child’s face while taking a photo to make sure they are in focus. This is especially important if shooting in portrait mode. Check out these additional tips for creating sharp images worthy of printing.
3. Download a good photo editing app. Our favorites are Lightroom Mobile and Snapseed. For shooting video, we love 8mm Vintage Camera. This app gives your home videos the retro feel, and just adds a whole other element of fun and interest to your footage!
4. Below are some presets from us! Ever wonder how friends or influencers have such beautiful photos? It’s all about the preset. A preset is a configuration of settings that help achieve a certain style or look. It helps to keep your photos looking cohesive, too. To get you started, we created some free Lightroom presets for you! Take some time reading these helpful tips on how to install your presets.
5. Storage. You have all these beautiful photos, now what do you do with them? Make sure you back them up either with Google photos or on iCloud.
6. Turn your photos into keepsake books! We love Chatbooks and how easy they make creating precious books filled with your favorite photos. Bonus - they’re inexpensive, too! Chatbooks is running a 20% off promotion right now so take advantage of it while you can!
7. Easily get rid of duplicates or unwanted photos. Are you like us and have 58,930 photos and only want to keep a third of them? Try out Slidebox; it’s a great app that helps you go through your camera roll and organize it! Who doesn’t LOVE the sound of that!?
Looking for more tips and tricks on smart phone photography? Here are additional resources:
• The Tezza app has fresh presets, beautiful templates, and stop motion features.
• The Canva app is also great for creating fun IG stories with text, images, and graphics to share of your little ones.
Tara Thueson offers great resources on her blog and Instagram. Make sure to check out these posts from her:
• iPhone Apps: Live Photos
• iPhone Apps: InShot
• iPhone Apps: Slidebox
Looking to up your photography game even more? Check out Jessica Janae. She has some amazing goodies including presets, tutorials and online courses to help you create the beautiful photos you’ve always dreamed of. One look at her Instagram, and you know she’s the real deal.
There you have it! Not that bad, right? Best of luck cutting down on that phone storage, getting those three year baby photos printed, and creating gorgeous photos of your little cuties!
