We take more photos than we ever have before because it’s easy to snap pictures on your phone. That means lots more great photos of your outfit on nights out. When you’re putting a lot of effort into your fashion choices, you want to get the best possible photos to show them off.
In some cases, you might even decide that you want to start building a following as a fashion and beauty blogger, so it’s vital that you get your photos perfect. The good news is, you can get some professional-quality photos on your phone if you take your time and learn a few simple photography techniques. Here’s how you can take better fashion photos with your phone.
Invest In A Good Phone With A High-Quality Camera
If you are serious about taking photos on your phone, you should consider an upgrade. Most high-end phones come with a very high-quality camera that can take much better photos than cheaper models. You’ll be able to shoot in RAW and select manual settings, which will let you get creative when shooting. If your phone isn’t up to scratch, it’s worth thinking about whether or not you want to upgrade.
When you upgrade your phone, make sure that you transfer everything over so you don’t lose any of your old photos. This guide on how to set up new iphone from old iphone will help you move everything over easily, so you keep all of your files and your settings are the same. You can carry on using your phone as normal, but you’ll have a much better camera now.
Get Your Makeup Right
There won’t be a professional photographer to apply your makeup for you when you take photos on your phone, so it’s up to you to do it. If there are any areas that need covering or brightening, then make sure that you cover them with concealer or foundation. The aim is to get a natural look while enhancing your best features so you look better in the photos. Think about the kind of outfit you are photographing and the background that you are going to use as well. If you can match colors in your makeup with your outfit and your surroundings, the overall photo looks much better.
Use Natural Light As Much As Possible
Natural light is much easier to work with than the alternative, so make sure that you place yourself by a window or outside if possible. It can be difficult to take good shots indoors, but if you’re lucky enough to have lots of natural light spilling into your room, then you’re onto a winner. Artificial light makes your photos look very flat and unnatural, so the more natural light you use, the better your photos will look. You’ll need to adjust things like exposure and white balance manually when using this technique though.
If you do want to take photos indoors, you need to invest in some lighting kits for your phone and experiment so you can get the lighting right. This is the number one thing you need to perfect when taking your photos.
Learn The Rule Of Thirds
Before you even pick up your phone to take a picture, it’s worth learning how the rule of thirds works and applying it when taking photos. Essentially, this means that you should split your shots into nine parts with two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. Your main focus should be in one of the four areas where these lines cross in order to make sure that nothing is in the center of your shot and everything has an equal chance of standing out.
You should still be towards the center of the frame but it actually looks quite strange if you are right in the middle. Using the rule of thirds makes your photos look a lot more natural, which is important when taking fashion photos.
Balance Background Colors With Your Outfit
It can be difficult to get the right colors and tones when taking a photo, so you need to do some experimenting. The easiest way is to balance your outfit with the background color of your shot. For example, if you were wearing a red top, then it would make sense to shoot against a blue background as opposed to a green one.
Choosing more muted tones for your background will also help you avoid bright colors that might look overpowering in your photos. Remember, you’re trying to highlight the clothes, so you don’t want the background to take over.
In some cases, using the same color for the background and the outfit can work, but you have to be careful that it doesn’t all merge together.
Tell A Story With The Background
When deciding on the background that you want to use, you should think about the story that the image is telling. This might not seem like something that you would normally do when shooting photos in this way, but it is important.
For example, if you are taking a photo of yourself wearing a beautiful red dress with flowers in your hair and standing in front of the sea, then the image tells a story. You’re probably on vacation somewhere or going to a summer festival, so there is some context for the shot. If you had just been randomly snapping shots of yourself against different backgrounds, they wouldn’t say anything more than “here I am.”
Interact With The Environment
You’re not just a static object that is being photographed; you’re actually an active participant in this process. As such, it’s important to think about the background and the story you want to tell but also how your outfit can interact with what’s going on around you. This could mean posing against a tree or next to some flowers, for example. It doesn’t need to be anything too elaborate, but it should at least look like you’ve seen what’s going on and wanted to pose for a picture there and then.
If you follow these simple tips, you can take some amazing fashion photos to use on your blog or just to keep for yourself.
Ann-Marie x
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