There’s nothing that connects families to those who came before them more than family photos. By keeping family photos and documentaries from long ago and the present, your children and grandchildren will find an easier way to connect to the family’s history. -Most especially if photos are kept and preserved well. Luckily, there are online tools like printedmemories.
It becomes easy for them to know family members and, most importantly, ancestors who were there before them and played roles in shaping their future. If you’re living on a tight budget, getting a high-end camera to capture the best shots may not be an option.
That’s where your phone comes in. Smartphones aren’t just good for gaming—they’re also perfect for taking family photos. They have advanced camera features and photo editing apps, so you can tailor the family portrait of your dreams. You can even on use them to share your beautiful photos on your social media accounts, such as Instagram. You can use the best hashtag captions to show off your family online at photoshootgoals.com and display your photography skills.
Here’s the catch; even if you have the latest and most improved smartphone, if you can’t figure out how to take good photos with it, factors like camera distortion would warp the proportions and make images appear unattractive and in some cases even unrecognizable.
Here are a few tips from experts to help you get the perfect shots.
Find a Good Location
Location is a significant determiner when it comes to getting quality family portraits. Usually, a few poses and backdrops will be included; therefore, it is vital that you find a perfect location that matches the preferred style and the mood or vibes.
There are a lot of options when it comes to choosing the perfect location. Here are a few ideas that should guide you;
- If you’re going for a midday shoot, consider an outdoor area with enough shade.
- For family moments, an indoor space designed with lots of windows and high ceilings to allow enough natural lights is recommendable.
- Other locations that may stand out and you may try include; local parks, flower gardens, streets, and farms.
If you plan to use a location away from home, ensure that you get the right permissions to use the premises or facilities.
Leave it Simple
You have your smartphone most of the time, and it can be tempting to grab it any time and take a few snaps of your children. While this may seem convenient, the final effect it may leave on your family photos is not something you probably were hoping for.
Factors like disorganized backgrounds and objects around your space may not only impact the quality of the image but also make them not appealing. To ensure that you get the perfect photos that you will always adore, it is recommended that you take pictures against simple backdrops at home. If you can’t move the background, keep trying different locations until you find a clean area with little to no clutter.
Be Flexible
One of the most common mistakes that people make when taking photos with smartphones is lifting the phones at just the eye height, and then point at the subjects and snap. The problem with this popular method is that the final image that the phone’s camera will record will match just what your eyes could see.
It is a natural human instinct to get bored by seeing what they’re used to seeing every day. To make the picture look more unique and creative, consider trying different shooting positions.
You can always crouch down low or aim high. If you’re taking children portraits for example, it is recommendable that you take the pictures at their level by either bending or even kneeling.
This will ensure that you capture the environment around the kids from their point of view and you can get some very lovely images. You may also shoot from high above and take the pictures from atop.
Feel free even to climb on objects and then instruct the children to look up at the camera to capture a bird’s eye view of them from the ground. There are a lot of options you can try to spice things up. Always keep your options open and take pictures more often to know the options that work best for your family.
Landscape Family Portraits
Landscape portraits are some of the most beautiful and charming images. You can also take these images by positioning the phone to landscape orientation.
The difference between these options is that portrait images will always appear taller (you capture them while holding the phone upright). In contrast, the landscape images seem a little wider, allowing you to capture even the background.
Landscape mode is also preferred when capturing images for the whole or extended family. It widens the scope of getting the shots, so you capture more intricate details. It will also make it easy for you to capture different backgrounds and add more white spaces, making the images even more appealing when viewed on computers.
Select your Focal Points
If you take an out-of-focus image, your camera will probably select the parts of the image to keep in focus. While this may work in some cases, it will not be perfect throughout.
You can avoid having partially blurred images by choosing the perfect focal point manually. Most smartphones will allow you to do this with ease.
For example, when focusing on an object, like a child, drag the ‘focus box or circle’ to the face if you want a close-up portrait of their image. If you’re going to highlight an object the child is playing with or holding, drag the ‘focus box or circle’ to the item. Finally, if you’re a little far from them, focus on the body.
A Little Editing May be Necessary
There are also certain instances when you may wish to incorporate moods or vibes, which you can’t incorporate from your location. To achieve this, you may need little photoshop skills to bring up the moods or vibes.
Many apps can help you add filters to make the photos look like they were taken during autumn, summer, or even spring. Try different options and see what interests you.
Over to You
Even though smartphone cameras may not produce the same high-quality images that you will get with high-end digital cameras, you can still use them to capture real-time events. Take your time, and keep trying until you perfect the art.