Say Cheese!
How to Take Better Vacation Photos
Have you ever been to a beautiful place? If you have in recent years, you know when you see something beautiful on vacation, you want to capture that magical moment. You may want to share it on social media, use it for a blog or a project, or you may just want to keep it for yourself to immortalize that moment. How many times have you looked at your photo and felt like it did not compare to what was before your eyes? Are your eyes playing tricks on you, or is your camera not up to the task? Now before you go and invest hundreds of dollars in a new camera, here are a few things you can do to improve your photo quality on your camera phone.
Make sure you clean your lens.
Your camera is obviously a part of your cell phone. Just think to yourself. Where has this phone been? In the bottom of your purse, in your linty back pocket, maybe the floor if you suffer from the dropsies? Well, then that is where your camera has been. And if that’s the case, chances are your camera and lens are pretty dirty, which would affect your picture quality. So before you snap that photo, give the glass a quick wipe.
Switch it up and try a new angle.
Most of us take pictures standing directly in front of an object or person. Let’s try switching it up. Change your perspective and the perspective of the photo. Try sitting or squatting down and then looking up at your subject. Or even standing on something (safety first), perhaps a stool or a step, and then looking down at the subject. How about having your muse throw sand or splash water before you snap? That would put a different twist on your photos.
The sun is your best friend.
I personally hate the flash button. The best light is natural light. And if you can get photos in the twilight hour (the hours right before sunset or right after sunrise), your photos will be amazing.
Try an external photo lens.
This may sound drastic and expensive, but I’m telling you it’s not. For about $30.00 on Amazon, you can get a kit that includes two clip-on photo lenses, a tripod for stability, and a carrying case. You can use the lens to get a closer photo without the distortion of the phone’s zoom feature. You can also create that beautiful effect that blurs everything besides the subject of your photo.
Take Candids:
My favorite tip. Candids are my all-time favorite picture types. Try taking a picture while your subject is getting ready to pose, right after they pose, or better yet when they don’t expect it at all. I promise those will end up being some of your favorite photos.
There are a ton of inexpensive things you can do to improve your photo quality. The most important things you can do is keep trying, try different things, and, most of all have fun.
