How To: Take Good Pictures On A Phone 

When it comes to product photography and capturing snaps for your Social Media, Website or Print, it’s easy to assume that you need to hire a professional to produce anything half decent or at the very least own a camera. 

However, this likely means delaying the reveal of new and exciting products or services due to getting the photographs taken and sent over, which sometimes just won’t do. Not to mention the additional costs and planning this will add.

Have you ever considered using your phone to take pictures? Here are six top tips on how to take good photos on a phone.

Invest 

On the one hand, taking photographs on your phone is an excellent way to save a few pounds and avoid buying a camera. However, investing in a decent phone will help in more ways than photography. 

These days phones are more than calls and texts, as we can browse the internet, post to Social Media, check emails and stream films. Investing in a decent phone will not only prove to be a great help in taking photos, but it will also likely support other areas of your working life – and personal life for that matter. 

Lighting 

Great lighting is key to great photographs. Of course, there’s the option to use flash, but good natural light will help make your photographs look high quality and professional. If you’re feeling super creative, then you can also play around with lighting to create effects and atmosphere.

If you struggle with lighting in your home or office, then try taking your photographs in a range of locations and at different times of day to see if this helps.

Is A Tripod Necessary? 

Don’t be fooled into thinking you need to invest in a fancy tripod or all sorts of timers, software and gadgets to take great photographs. A stack of books will do just as well, and there are many apps available to tweak images. 

You’ll find the more you take photographs on a phone, the more inventive you’ll be with how to angle or position your device to get the perfect shot. What’s more, the less gear you have to support you in taking photographs, the more likely you are to capture content spontaneously, which will lead to more variety in your gallery.

Editing Apps and Filters 

Still, on just a phone, and even within Social Media platforms, you can edit your images or add a filter to enhance your shots. Play around with the brightness, saturation and colours to see what works best to enhance your products. 

The ultimate goal is to stand out from every other post on Social Media, so consider introducing a ‘theme’ of sorts to your imagery. A theme doesn’t have to mean using the same filter on each post, but perhaps you always use intense, bold colours. Alternatively, play with cute, light pastels. You’ll know what suits your branding best and by keeping it consistent, your audience will be able to recognise your posts from everyone else’s on the newsfeed. 

Angles 

High. Low. Wide. There are many ways to look at your products.

Use different angles to capture exciting photographs that will look great on your Social Media platforms and Website. You can use angles to have some fun with your products, for instance, try teasing your audience with cropped snippets of a product and encourage them to guess what it is to increase your online engagement. 

Practice (Practice, Practice)

It may sound cliché, but practice makes perfect, and the only way you’re going to get better is to keep persevering. Start by taking several photographs of a range of things and reach out to your team, friends or family for some constructive criticism.

You could even consider asking your audience to vote on their favourite photographs and use results such as likes and shares to get a gauge on what they’re reacting to best. Use all of this information to influence your next shoot.

Although you need high resolution and often large images for the likes of print and websites, the beauty of Social Media is that sometimes ‘unpolished’ content works better. The more your audience feels connected to the story behind the brand, whether it’s sneaky behind the scenes shots or products still at the beginning stages of development, the easier it will be to build rapport. One final thing to keep in mind is to ensure you follow any brand guidelines and best practices when taking photographs.