I think it's very unfair that you are unable to start your blog just because you have not gathered enough money to buy a professional camera. I remember when I just started out to, I use to be at the mercy of my colleague who had a DSLR. I remember having to remind him weeks before the shoot so he does not forget to bring his camera to work on the day of the shoot (cos that's usually our shoot location). And if he's not in the mood, I am screwed.
But thanks to our mobile devices and the editing apps, we can now take high quality photos and edit them all from the same device that we use to make calls. Having said all that, taking a great photo on your phone is not as simple as pointing and shooting. Some things have to be observed which I will be taking about right about now. Some of these points are also leanings for me.
LOCATION
You want to use minimal backgrounds. Behind a wall, in front of a gate or garage door. And also, you need consider the color of you outfit so it can match the background. For example, a white dress will be lost again a white background. You also want to match your location with the general outfit mood. So if your outfit speaks urban street-style, you probably want to take it to the street or a park for example while still retaining the a minimal background.
LIGHTING
This point is veeeery important. Natural light is your friend (even with DSLRs). Do not say, 'my phone has got the brightest flash so even if I snap in a dark place, I will be good' No hunnay, you will not. What will happen is that your picture will be overexposed and you will end up looking like you fell out of an Ayamatanga movie! And making up for lack of light with exposure in editing apps makes your picture grainy. You also do not want to snap with harsh sunlight, It casts shadows everywhere and you will end up squinting throughout the shoot (I am lowkey guilty of this). So soft light in the morning and evening is very nice.
CAMERA SETUP
Before anything, clean your camera lens. You forget that this devise is very handy and we have used it to receive calls, reply to our thousands of social media messages and somewhere in between all of these, our finger print and other forms of dirt might have smudged the lens. Also, make sure pictures taken are of the highest quality available on your phone (you can go to settings to check that). You also want to play around with the different picture modes available on your phone. Eg, panoramic shots, selective focus, virtual shot, etc. All of these features can add extra oomph to your pictures.
DO NOT ZOOM
What happens when you zoom on an image is that rather than the phone actually zomming in, it just enlarges the image thereby rendering your picture grainy, blurry or pixelated. So zooming in is a NO NO. Rather tell your photographer to move towards you.
IMAGE COMPOSITION
Try out snapping from different angles. Do not be afraid to tell your photographer to bend. There's also something called rule of thirds (will do a detailed post about this later). There’s no harm in experimenting and seeing if something works.
EDITING
Now we have come to the main thing! Currently, I use just one app cos I don't have money to pay for the other apps but there is nothing wrong with having an arsenal of photo-editing apps on your phone. Ranging from Snapseed (which I use atm), color story, facetune, VSCO (which is everyone's favorite), lightroom, photoshop etc. Play around with these apps to find the one that works for you.
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| Check out the before and after of this photo😊 |
Comment below if you want to see a detailed post on how I edit MY INSTAGRAM pictures
BONUS TIP: TAKE CANDIDS
Pictures that are not posed for can be far more interesting and very memorable. That's because candid photos are better able to effectively capture the emotion and essence of a moment. One best way to take candid shots is to continue snapping. A laugh, a turn, or you just doing random stupid (excuse my french) stuff will make for good candids
NOTE
All pictures for this post were taken with my Samsung S6 edge just to buttress my post title 😊 and to show you that's it's really possible.
That's it guys. Hope you enjoyed your read. What other tip do you have? Please share in the comment section 😘
8 comments
Very helpful i must admit.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips
Glad you liked it. Thanks for stopping by
DeleteGirllllll this post is really really helpful. Though I have a camera for blog photos yet my phone comes in handy too esspecially for flatlays and these rules still apply. I'd love to read the post on the #RuleofThirds and how you edit your IG photos. Great one 👍
ReplyDeleteThanks darling. Really glad you found them helpful. I will sure do the other requested posts
DeleteI totally agree with you. One can always start with their phone. It's a perfect way to start. Thanks for sharing your tips hun, I'm sure it will help a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteAnd location location location is always key.
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Yes dear, location is key. Thanks for stopping by. Really appreciate it
DeleteLovely pictures, lovely tips,lovely outift. Thanks for sharing girl.
ReplyDeletewww.tlmurban.com
Thanks so much for reading. Glad you found the post helpful
DeleteYour comment means a lot, kindly leave them and be sure I'll attend to everyone of them