Blog Photography Without A DSLR

Over the past few months, I have started to put much more of an effort into my photo's, both here and on instagram. Not in any way saying that I'm a pro or the best, there are hundreds of other people out there who have better photo's than I do. But I have upped my game and it is all without an expensive camera. To this day, four years of blogging, not once have I used a camera for photo's (apart from the past few fashion posts, but someone else has taken them for me). Believe it or not, everything is taken on my phone. 
blog photography tips




Every few months or so, you'll find me umming and ahhing over investing in an expensive camera but to tell you the truth, I don't think I need one. I get that the quality is amazing, you have lots of different settings ect but if you can't afford it/have no clue about cameras like me then your phone will be your best friend. It all comes down to the phone that you have and its camera quality, I adore the Samsung Galaxy range. Previously had the 3rd gen, 5th gen and now I am on the 7th gen. Each one of these have come with an incredible camera, as do the newer iPhones, LG's and Sony's. 

The camera on the S7 is incredible, you have several different features such as auto, pro, selective focus, slow motion, food (camera settings for food and it is amazing) and many more. It has inbuilt filters and basic settings such as exposure for you to play around with. Here are a few different examples of the features with no editing...

Auto

As you can see the picture is very high definition, everything is in focus and clear. 
samsung s7 camera

Selective Focus

One of my favourite features to play around with, the flowers are all blurry and the makeup in the back is in full focus. 
blog photos without camera

Food

This has got to be one of the best things, since discovering this setting I am obsessed. It makes food look appealing and even in restaurants with the worst lighting (Wahaca in Liverpool, I am looking at you!) it still does the job. 
wahaca liverpool


The point of this post, isn't to show off a fancy phone but to make a point - use your phone to the best of its ability. Companies don't invest money and time into making amazing cameras for it to be only used for nights out and selfies. With the amazing camera comes a few tips to live by as well, if you are considering using your phone to start blogging with or carry on blogging with. 

Experiment

As you can see, a phone has so much to offer! Experiment with what you have and see how it works, of course if you swear by your camera then that is fine, not telling you to disregard it but just have fun. I'm also loving trying out new props recently too, from fake to real flowers ribbon and more! 

Lighting

blog photography


This is such an important part of taking photo's it makes all the difference, now that the days have started to get longer it is easier to capture photo's in good light. Take the photo's near a large window or door which lets in natural light, this will make you images appear brighter and sharper without the need to add a ton of filters. Avoid using flash as a way to brighten, you'll find the photo looks dreadful. At my university house I have the smallest window next to my bed, so that works as my source and the bed as my platform. 


Editing

vsco filter


Playing around and finding new filter settings is so much fun, I am a huge fan of VSCO. All my images are edited on there, with my go to algorithm. A5 - 9, Exposure - + 0.5, Contrast - + 2.9, Sharpen - + 6.0.  This combination looks good on all photos, flat lays, me, nails and food - it is perfect! Other apps to try include, face tune, snap seed and good old instagram themselves.

samsung photo blog


One day in the future, I hope to own a fancy Canon or Olympus PEN but for now my phone and I remain in a very good realtionship! What do you use for photography? 


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