Top 6 Tips for Taking Smartphone Pictures of your Family

Raise your hand if you're reading this article on your smartphone!

It's a given that we live in a society that permanently glues a smartphone in our hands, or at least in our pockets/purse – really, anywhere within an arm's length away. We may be addicted to social media right now, but your smartphone does so much more than just giving you the ability to share memes about politics. Smartphone pictures of your family are definitely the new wallet photos!  

Having a mobile phone provides connections with the world, as well as the ability to capture our most treasured moments on-the-go – something our parents were only able to do with a film camera or a large digital camcorder when we were kids in the 80s. And smartphone cameras are equipped with a better camera than your parents had in the 80s.

As we all know, kids are extremely active – whether they’re running away from you because it’s bath time or dancing to the new Bruno Mars song - so they can be challenging to capture on camera. Motion naturally makes any type of photography more difficult. In my toddler's short life span, I've devised a few tricks to help me take great smartphone pictures of him.

Tips for Smartphone Pictures of Your Family:

1. Get outside

Good lighting is key to any photograph. Unless your home has gorgeous natural light, a floor-to-ceiling French door, or large windows, the best place to photograph your kids is most likely outside. Try shooting on an overcast winter day or when the sun is low in the sky to avoid harsh shadows. If that's not an option, seek out a shady spot vs directly in the light. And watch out for shadows, because they can ruin any picture.

2. Get your kids looking at the camera

All parents know that shooting pictures of babies and toddlers can be extra frustrating because they're all over the place and don't know how to look at the camera. My little guy says “cheese” and closes his eyes or looks everywhere but at me.

Thankfully, there are a few hacks you can use to grab their attention. One option is to use a squeaky toy and squeeze with your free hand. Personally, I like asking them a question that they know the answer to. I usually ask how many fingers I’m holding up, and they look at me and scream “four” while smiling. When my toddler was a baby, I would even hold up my husband’s phone with YouTube playing right above my own phone so he would look at the screen.

Any trick that gets them to look at you is worth trying. Just remember, these tricks will lose their power quickly, so use them sparingly and only right before taking the pic.

3. Be candid - these are the memories that you will remember

If you still can't get your kid to look directly in the camera, just know that it won't last forever and embrace the silliness. Kids are often at their cutest when they don't realize they're being photographed. Instead of jumping through hoops to get the perfect picture, keep your camera phone handy and start shooting when the moment is right – perhaps a picture of them playing at the park or getting their hands dirty after a rainstorm.

These are the moments that are going to make you smile looking back on them. Much more than a perfectly polished picture with a fake smile.

4. Get down to their level when taking smartphone pictures

One of the biggest mistakes adults make when photographing kids is shooting from above. Usually, parents are a lot taller than their kids, so in every photo you are looking down on them, which makes them look smaller than they actually are. Bend down and take some pictures. Don’t be afraid to get dirty, and…

5. Have fun

You’ll have more success at photography and capture better, more creative photos if you play like a kid while you're photographing your kids. Don’t be afraid to get on the ground with your kids or ask them to do fun stuff, like make funny faces, leap, or act silly.

6. Make sure YOU are in the photos

If you're like me (and many other primary caregivers), you are the unofficial family photographer – whether by choice or by default.

All too often, you look back on your Instagram account and see pictures of the kids alone, with each other, and/or with your partner. But you're nowhere to be found. Many parents fail to put themselves in the pics for many different reasons. Some of mine include: my husband doesn’t take good photos of me, I don’t have makeup on, I need a shower, I'm 20 pounds overweight, and I simply don’t want my picture taken. Trust me, I've thought them all!

But the truth of the matter is, we want – and need – to be in pictures with our kids. These are the images that our children will look back at in the future, and we want them to remember that we were there with them.

7. Edit using your phone’s photo editing tool or another easy app

I have downloaded a lot of random iPhone apps to edit photos, and tools like VSCO and lightroom are great for lots of editing - but I have found if I have good lighting (like I mentioned above) I can just add a bit of brightness to my photos within the photo editing tool itself. I am also a HUGE fan of Canva Pro for any editing. It allows you to take out the background of any photo which I have found to be useful for a number of different reasons. Pay for the full year, because trust me - if you create lots of posters, social media content images, cards, etc you can do it all on Canva Pro (it is an affiliate link, but soooooo worth it).

Your future self will thank you for giving someone else your smartphone for a moment to have them take several pictures (so you can pick a favorite). And as a quick reminder, always try to trust your gut as a parent. <3