How to Take Great Photos While Social Distancing, Part 1
I feel like a broken record but by now you probably know my motto: photos are the most important part of your adoption profile book! I typically recommend that my clients have a professional photo shoot taken—or at least—have a family or friend come and take some high quality images of you and/or your spouse around your home, around town, at local parks, etc. But the pandemic has changed all of that. We’re all stuck at home so working on your adoption profile book seems like a no-brainer. But photos! What will we do about pictures?
“I want to support my client families during this difficult time in any way possible—so here are my suggestions on getting good photos while maintaining social distancing!”
1. Use your iPhone or Android
I know, I know. Even in my guidelines I say “put down the cell phone”, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And admittedly, technology is evolving. Just look at some of these amazing portraits taken with an iPhone in Time Magazine by photographer Luisa Dörr. She photographed Oprah, Serena Williams, and Ellen Degeneres (among many other celebs) for cover shots. Yep, these were shot with an iPhone!
Having one of the latest generation phones, either iPhone, Samsung, or Google Pixel, is really key for great phone photography. If you’ve been considering an upgrade for an older phone now is the time. Since you can’t hire a photographer during quarantine you may as well spend those dollars on a new phone that takes great photos!
Ok, this next part is going to require you to take a bit of time to watch some videos and do some research—but hey, we have a lot of time on our hands right now! I have compiled some great videos and resources for you to watch and learn more about taking self portraits with your iPhone. As you’re watching these videos, please note that we can do all of the photo editing! You do not need to add filters or edit your photos! We much prefer to have the unedited, high resolution files anyway. That is a huge time saver for you!
The Basics
For Part 1, I’m starting with the fundamentals. I loved this video for beginners. It goes over the basics of your iPhone and all of the camera settings. I highly suggest this if you’re not as experienced using your phone. I’m fairly experienced and I found a few good tips while watching this video, so it’s not a bad place to start for anyone!
This next video is more about posing, finding the right frame, and capturing quality images. I think he has some nice insights on using your iPhone but I also realize this isn’t self portrait photography. Still, I think it’s worthwhile to think about the framing and angle of your photos!
A recent client couple, Alex and Etelle, took some great iPhone photos that I wanted to share. Here’s what they had to say about the process:
“Dear Joanna,
Nowadays almost all phones and cameras have a timer function. If you set up the phone/camera on a tripod (it’s really worth getting one, like a gorillapod). Compose the image: Use your partner to frame and compose the picture before doing anything else. Make sure the focus is right, angle, lighting etc. Then choose the longest timer aka ten seconds or more if possible. It’s 10 seconds max on an iPhone for example. Then hustle to get in the picture, and smile! Et voila. If there was a problem you can redo it until you get something you like. Avoid framing the image against a direct light source. Even if your eyes can compensate, the camera cannot and the subjects will come up in the dark. Don’t put the tripod too far away or you’ll be racing and stressed. 😉 ”
I love their suggestions! Check out some of the photos they took for their adoption profile book.
The Gear
Just like Alex and Etelle said—I suggest you invest in a tripod. You’ll see in a few upcoming videos that I share that they suggest DIY tripods or equipment. There are definitely creative ways around using a tripod, but I know how stressful getting these photos can be, so I want to make it as easy as possible for you all! And the great news is that most of the tripods come with a remote control, which allows you more than a few seconds to pose yourself and feel comfortable in front of the camera. You can find lots of options for tripods and remote controls on Amazon. Here are a few links (click on the images to take you to the Amazon purchase page!):
Ubeesize Tripod
Ubeesize Tripod + Ring Light
Kamisafe Tripod
Just a note! I’m not affiliated with any of these products. I cannot guarantee quality or experience. Please do your own research to find the product that works for you!
That’s it for part 1!
Tune in later for part 2! I have some more ideas for creative self portraits and another unique suggestion on gathering photos for your adoption profile book!
