So far in my tips on ‘how to take better photos of your kids’ we have covered finding the right light, the right background and composition. Now I’m going onto something completely different; how to take better photos with your iPhone.
Now I know not everyone has an iPhone. However I get asked by so many friends and clients what photo apps I would recommend that I thought it was worth writing a post about it.
I was always pretty disappointed with the images that my iPhone captured. That was until I discovered the following 3 apps! Now don’t get me wrong, you will never be able to capture images with your iPhone that will win any awards, or even be good enough to frame on your walls. But you will be able to take really cool, interesting photos that you’ll be proud to share on Facebook! And all in seconds too.
The first app I’m going to recommend is CameraBag. I am suggesting this one first as you can use it on photos you’ve already taken. So you don’t even have to take any new photos to have a play around with it. CameraBag emulates some of the cameras from the past and in just one swipe you can change your image with really fun results.
Here is one example. On the left is the original image, then in the middle is the result of the Colourcross camera and on the right is the Magazine camera (my personal favourite!) These effects literally take one click to achieve.
And here is an iPhone shot I took at the weekend of 3 generations of Knights men then processed it using the Magazine camera.
What is great about this app is that you don’t need to think about it before you shoot then you can just play around with your images afterwards when you are sat on a train or waiting for the kettle to boil!
The next app is Hipstamatic. This already has a huge following as it’s a great way to take really cool looking images. It brings back the look and feel of the plastic toy camera and is great fun to use. You literally turn your iPhone into a retro plastic camera. It reminds me of the joy of shooting with Polaroid cameras. You choose the lens and film you want to use before you shoot (easier than it sounds) or just shake your phone and it will randomly pick them for you. You can also use a flash if necessary too….all for just over £1!
Here are a couple of shots I’ve taken using this app. This one is using the John S lens and the Kodot film (that will all make sense when you start using it!)
And the third and final app that I’m going to recommend is QuadCamera. This has won numerous awards and is great fun to use. By just pressing a button, QuadCamera takes a series of photos then puts them into one image for you, like this.
I hope that you do go ahead and purchase some of these apps and enjoy using them this summer. Please tell your friends to check out this post if you’ve found it useful….and let me know too! Drop me an email at photography@vickiknights.co.uk.
I’d love to hear from you!
Vicki x
