Use these iPhone photography tips to grow your photography.

As a photographer I am struck by little bits of beauty throughout the day. I can’t help but notice how pretty the light changes through a window as a cloud cover passes.

Shadows and shapes catch my eye and my mind immediately thinks up a dramatic black and white composition. Contrasting colors or soft tones have me searching for another element to add to the scene that would make that image really pop.

Photographers are creative people.

We are story tellers who want to share what we see. Carrying around a DSLR became too much for me everyday. But that didn’t mean I wanted to stop collecting moments and the everyday details of my life.

The iPhone has given me a sense of freedom, a carefree approach to photography that was slowing me down by only using my Canon. I use the same principles of creating a beautiful image in camera on my DSLR as I do with my iPhone. With a lot less pressure of nailing the shot! Shooting daily with your iPhone should be fun and a great way to strengthen your creative mind.

iPhone photography tips and inspiration

My 365 iPhoneography Challenge

I love following #cmglimpse on Instagram. Having a daily prompt to create an image of my own interpretation from any given word is fun and inspiring! Each week a new list of daily photo prompts are shared. Having to come up with an image that is different from what someone else may share is only part of the challenge.

Shooting everyday has strengthened my creativity by not always going with my first idea. Or maybe I think about the word in a different way, not what that word meant to me after first thought. Really work on your story telling skills. Following a daily photo challenge will not only get your creative juices flowing, but you will be inspired by seeing how other people interpret that same word.

Building a community of fellow photographers who share that same love of capturing everyday details has been wonderful. So many times I am completely blown away by the talent and what people can do with their camera phones.

Make friends on Instagram.

There are so many other photographers who are also shooting and posting everyday. Be sure to like their pictures, follow their feeds, and if you really like an image they post leave a comment. I love my IG family, as I affectionately refer to them as. It has been such a fun way to get to know other photographers from all over the United States, as well as other countries.

In April 2014 I will have completed my first 365. All images have been taken with my iPhone. I’ve been using the app Collect to create a daily photo diary. It really is quite an accomplishment when you see the end of the month and each day has a photo captured. Not to mention it looks really cool when the month is complete filled with your beautiful images. I strongly encourage you to remember to print the images from your phone. I love using Postal Pix and Artifact Uprising. You can also easily create a photo book using AU, right from your phone. The quality is beautiful, and it’s always fun seeing your images in print.

Tips for staying creative

My number one piece of advice is to look for light. Good light makes the image with your DSLR; it is no different with your camera phone. My obsession with light has only become stronger by using my iPhone. Incorporate shadows, use lines of light to lead your viewer to the subject and of course have fun with sun flares!

Do you have a clean table surface, or even floor space? Use that area as a neutral background. My white kitchen table is the background in many of my images. Having a clean background let’s you create and style the scene to your liking. Play with different perspectives. Shoot from above, or at eye level by resting the phone on the table surface or floor depending where your subject is. Adjust your exposure to enhance your vision.

You can tap on the screen of your iPhone to select exposure and focus. If you want the image to be underexposed, tap on a bright part of the screen. Want an overexposed look? Tap an area on the screen that is dark. Create depth by placing objects behind or in front of your subject. You can tap on the screen to select focus. Notice how the depth of the image changes by including foreground. Images with purposeful blur or out of focus are also a fun way to experiment and show motion. It’s also helpful to use the grid on your camera phone. Use the rule of thirds to create your composition.

A must have fun accessory for your iPhone is the Olloclip. With this lens you can take images with the effect of a fish eye, wide angle, and macro lens. The details you can capture with the macro lens, and a steady hand are amazing. I also like to use the macro lens to create out of focus images. Instead of getting up close to capture the smallest of details, you can pull just far enough away from the subject to see the form. By using the lens this way you can also achieve some pretty awesome bokeh.

Experiment with post processing

There are many editing apps to choose from. I like the quickness of taking an image with my iPhone, so my editing is a quick process as well. All images are taken with the camera on the iPhone. I will then pull an image I want to edit into VSCO.

By using the slider you can strengthen the filter from 1-12. I like to add warmth, take the contrast down -2 and usually have to straighten out my image. If I feel like spending more time creatively I will pull the saved edit from VSCO into Snapseed. Here you can selectively brighten or darken, add saturation to specific areas of the image vs. the entire image. I also think it’s fun to play with the tilt shift filter.

I’ve also recently become intrigued by light leaks and textures. The app Afterlight is a fun app that has many options to make your iPhone image look like an image taken with film. Sometimes I will use the IG square crop on my images, but most often I use the app Squaready. This app preserves your original crop so that you don’t loose any of the details in the composition.

Creating images and expressing myself creatively has become a part of my daily routine. The ease of capturing a moment and sharing it instantly is addictive and fun!