Do you find it challenging to take good photos with your smartphone? If so, this post is for you.
This week I heard about Aura Frames, a company that makes next-generation smart digital picture frames that automatically show you the best photos of the people you love.
They are working to start a conversation about tips to take good photos with your phone(or in my case, iPod). I love taking photos with my iPod because it’s so easy to whip out of my pocket and snap away. I tend to use it around the house to take a quick pic of the kids, or when I’m going out in public. Especially here in Brazil, I am more careful about taking my Nikon DSLR camera out of the house.
So here are my 5 tips and some of my favourite photos that I’ve taken with my iPod.
- Light
Light is absolutely the most important thing whether you are taking photos with a DSLR, film camera or your phone. If you are taking a nature/landscape type of photo, morning/evening light is soft and lovely. I took this photo in the morning:
This one was in the afternoon, which created lovely contrast and shadows:
When taking selfies, I always face a window or other light source. This one is in my bedroom, facing a window(and don’t you love the blue wall? I do.):
And this one is in my garage, which is my go-to place for good light(you can read more about that in this post).
2. Make it interesting.
The photo quality on my iPod isn’t nearly as good as what my camera produces, so I try to compensate by making the photos interesting. Reflections in water and windows are a good place to start:
I liked the “You are Beautiful” sign in this window. I could have taken a shot of just the card, but I knew that including my reflection would make it a more interesting photo.
3. Tap on the screen
I’m not sure if this works for all phones, but on my iPod, I can open up the camera and tap on different parts of the screen to make it lighter/darker. For example, if I’m taking a picture of the sunset, I’ll tap on the brightest part of the sky and that will set the exposure correctly(make sure it’s not too bright or dark).
4. Real emotion
Obviously this is just for people photos… but you just can’t beat a photo with some real emotion there. That’s why photographing kids is so fun. They express themselves so freely and aren’t afraid of looking silly.
Whether it’s being happy…
Or grumpy…
Do you know why this photo is so great? Real emotion + awesome light. Yes, it was right in front of a window.
5. Keep it simple
Some of my favourite iPod photos are ones with a lot of negative space:
Simple yet lovely:
That’s it for my tips!
Aura Frames put together this nice infographic that I found helpful:
Do you take photos on your phone/iPod/device? What’s your best tip?
Learn more about Aura Frames here, or order one here!