Picture Perfect! Seven smartphone photography tips for the holidays

By Renee L. Crockett

Howdy! I’m a professional photographer from Caldwell and a momma of three great kiddos. I married my high school sweetheart 11 years ago, and he and I opened a construction company in 2015. We have since opened Crocketagne industries LLC, which owns ProBuilt Construction and Floating Lights Photography, which is my passion.
I began taking photos professionally in 2002 at several portrait studios, which over the years gave me the opportunity to apprentice under some absolutely amazing photographers. After a long hiatus I picked my camera back up and opened my own business as a portrait photographer.
In the past three years I have educated myself through hundreds of hours of online and in person training, webinars and workshops, and now mentor other photographers.
I hope I can pass on some of the knowledge I’ve gained over the years and teach you some fun tips and tricks on how you can take better photos over the holidays.
Let’s dive in!

1. Clean your lens. This may seem like a given, but you’d be surprised how often it goes unchecked — clean your lens! On your phone or big camera, make sure that you’re starting with a clean, clear lens. Use a soft cloth, and wipe that baby down! This can mean the difference between a funky, fuzzy shot and a crisp, clear fun memory you just captured!

2. The Two Ls. Here are a couple of “L’s” for you to remember: Lighting and Location. Find good light! When it comes to outdoor lighting, “golden hour” is a photographer’s dream and happens twice a day. For about an hour as the sun is rising and about an hour as the sun is setting, you are going to have the most perfect and gorgeous glowing light, so take advantage of it! After years of chasing light, I know how valuable this time is and how amazing it makes pictures look. If you’re outdoors at high noon or even 3 p.m., just make sure you find an even shady area to take your picture. But you won’t be sorry that you waited for the golden hour.
The second L stands for location. Find a good spot! It doesn’t matter where you are, if you take a minute to look around and find a place that eliminates eyesores in the background such as parked vehicles, power lines or even an unwanted photobomber, your end result is going to turn out so much better. Sometimes just shifting a little bit in a different direction can mean making sure that “No Dumping” road sign is out of the frame of the shot for your Christmas card!

3. Portrait mode. I know, I know, most people know about this, but are you using it to the fullest? This background blur, called bokeh, is one of the ways in which we separate our subject from the background and why you pay high dollar for professional, quality images of your family. While no, your phone doesn’t compare to a professional camera and lens, did you know that most smartphones are now over 12 megapixels? This means that you can get a pretty good-looking, decent-sized print straight from your phone; so utilize its portrait mode for the look and take advantage of its editing system that allows you to control the amount of blur you want in the background as well as the lighting, contrast, and color, et cetera. Pretty cool if you ask me!

4. Edit. It’s super easy to access your phone’s built-in editing software which is awesome, but there are also tons of free and inexpensive apps like Snapseed and PicsArt, and even more robust Photoshop and Lightroom software programs have user-friendly mobile versions that allow you more in-depth editing. These apps allow you to heal and clone in order to remove unwanted objects — like the “no dumping” sign that ended up in the background of your family photo — and even isolate your subjects and allow you to edit them. Experiment and make your pictures your own by editing them to your liking.
5. Poses. Here are a few posing tips that will take your pictures over the holidays from meh to yeah!

• For families, bring it in close. The camera exaggerates the spaces in between people. Hug, or turn your bodies and walk in close to one another. This will create a closer image and allow for a tighter crop to better see all those smiling faces as your
  
  Photo by Renee L. Crockett
  
  photo’s focal point.
• Slenderize women by having them turn to the side with one leg slightly crossed in front of the other. I recommend that they twist their torso with one hip turned just a little toward the photographer.
• Flatter a guy’s manly physique by having him stand square toward the photographer and lean in ever so slightly.
• While photographing kids, get down on their level. Being eye level with children creates the best possible angle for them, while with adults, it looks better to be slightly higher than your subject.

6. Clothes. What to wear? Don’t stress! Remember, your subjects’ outfits don’t have to match — they just have to go together. I always suggest starting with one piece of clothing and work off of it. As long as you are staying within the same color palette, you’re good. For example, if Mom wears a blue dress with mauve flowers and Dad wears a plaid shirt with maroon and navy, it’s totally OK to introduce another pop of color in the same family worn by another person. As long as each piece has one of the same colors from another piece, the overall big picture should look great. Finding a color wheel online is helpful, and if you’re hiring a photographer, ask them if they have a style guide to share once you’re booked for a session.
7. Snap away! Last but not least: Have fun and take lots of pictures! Candid photos can be so much better than perfectly posed pictures, so get lots and lots of shots from lots of different angles and in different spots. It’ll be so much easier to pick the best one if there are plenty to choose from. Play some upbeat music, and capture pictures of your family interacting. These will make for the most precious memories! IN
Find Renee L. Crockett on Facebook @floatinglightsphoto or visit her website at floatinglightsphototx.com.