Five Tips for Better Phone Photos for Your Pocket Pages

Are you a photographer on the go? Never miss a moment to include in your Pocket Pages with these five tips for taking better photos with your phone. Compiled by instructors at Big Picture Classes, these tips and tricks are sure to take your phone photography to the next level. Annette shares how to create emotion with a dramatic backlit photo. Intentionally blur a photo for an artistic effect with a tutorial from Azzari. Check out these tips and more from our Pocket Prompts teachers.   

Overexpose your image when backlighting. 

Annette Haring, Pocket Prompts | 10

You'll need to overexpose your photo to keep the subject lit up. To do this, focus on your subject and then overexpose the image. On my camera phone, I do this by tapping on my subject and then sliding the yellow sun up the screen to make the screen brighter. For example, with this photo of us at the pool, if I had only exposed for the sky, the water would have been dark. Because I'm not super interested in the sky at this point and am more interested in the people in the pool, I bumped up the exposure to keep the focus on the water.

Learn more about how Annette uses backlighting, silhouettes, and sunflares to portray joy and happiness in Pocket Prompts | 10. 

Find depth by selecting the focal point of your image.

Andrea Gray, Pocket Prompts | 23

I could have stepped way back from the car and allowed a photo of the entire driveway to tell the story of washing the car. But instead, I moved in tight to the back of the vehicle, tapped the screen of my iPhone's camera app where the water droplets were, and let the camera focus on those while still capturing little Marshall's excitement. The same applies to the hose photo on the right. The story here is that Marsh likes jumping on the trampoline as I spray him using different settings onthe hose. I held up my phone and captured the entire story from my perspective.

Add dimension to your photographs with Andrea in Pocket Prompts |23.

Turn your sound off to capture candid shots.

Mel Blackburn, Pocket Prompts | 19

Someone, especially a child, completing a task without being asked is a wonderful feeling. These moments might often catch us by surprise, but if we let the subject know that we are taking a picture, they might turn and run away. In these situations, candid pictures are my favorites because the subject is not aware that they are being photographed, and therefore they keep up with their task. This is one of the reasons I only use my iPhone for photography - I'm able to discretely snap away pictures without my children knowing. Here's a little tip: turn off the sound on your phone. This way, they will not hear the sound of the camera, and you are free to snap away! 

Head over to Pocket Prompts | 19 to practice your candid photography with Mel. 

Get creative with intentional blur to set mood and tell a story. 

Azzari Jarret, Pocket Prompts | 25

It takes a bit of practice, but once you learn the trick, it is slightly addictive! These types of photos work best when any kind of lights are present in the frame - car headlights (like in the photo above), building lights in a city scene, Christmas lights, you name it. Bonus points go to blurred photos snapped in the early morning or late evening. To achieve this intentional blur, simply tap an area on your screen where you typically wouldn't want your camera to focus. The rest of the image will be captured as a blur.

Azzari's class Pocket Prompts | 25 just came out! Check out what other inspiration she's sharing this month. 

Use your phone's features to get unique, creative shots. 

Lauren Hooper, Pocket Prompts | 16

Capture your silhouette just as the sunset hits it’s brilliance. Step right in front of it and snap a photo that's magazine-worthy! Sometimes I just sit my phone or camera on the ground or use a tripod. You can use the timer function or a Bluetooth button. Make sure you're creating some distance and thinking about each person's outline, or you'll just look like one big blob. You'll need to play around with these shots, but you can get some really fun ones the more creative you get!

Get more ideas from Lauren on travel photography in Pocket Prompts | 16!

Are you inspired to pull out your phone and start capturing moments? These tips will open up new doors for your creative projects and leave your viewers in awe. Be sure to check out these classes and others on photography at Big Picture Classes to get more tips for capturing photos on your phone. As a member of Big Picture Classes, you get access to our entire library of classes. Sign up now and start exploring!