Lockdown (number...79) got you missing milestones in the family photo album? Not this time!
Here’s FIVE tips to taking your own bomb milestone photos in-home on your phone, PLUS a bonus that had me mind-blown when I first learned it.
While photographers thankfully aren’t shut down this lockdown, last year my sons first birthday happened in the midst of one, and I was bummed to miss out on big birthday pictures. So... hubby and I DIY’d our own using just my iPhone, our green wall, and some props we had laying around. Some of those photos are now hung on our walls as some of our favourite all-time pics.
HERE’S HOW:
01) Choose the room with the biggest window & (hopefully) most simple background for great lighting and making the subjects, you, pop!
02) If you have a phone tripod, let’s use that for stability. If not, get creative and use whatever necessary to get your phone evenly horizontal, and at a solid double-chinless height. I’ve used chairs, tables, books, etc as tripods.
03) Use your phone’s timer, and portrait mode if it has one (iPhone users, widen your portrait by clicking the 2x button in the lower left corner of the camera and changing to 1x).
04) Don’t feel the need to match your outfit with your background, or with everyone in your family. Coordinating is great, but dressing identically can make a photo feel more dated, or washed out (i.e. white tees & jeans on a white wall). Need some outfit guidance? Check out my free family guide of “what to wear” on my highlight!
05) Have FUN with it! Get those littles laughing. Tickle fights, whispering vegetables in a spicy voice to your partner, and cuddle piles are a good place to start. You can’t ever take too many photos, so snap away! Change up your poses, angles, and people groupings for the most variety to choose from. For mobile editing after your Vogue moment, my favourite apps are Lightroom and VSCO.
BONUS: For capturing speedy kiddos and zero attention span toddlers, a great hack is taking a video, then screen-shotting your favourite captures and saving as a new photo.
