Amatuer iPhoneography: taking (my) mediocre photography to the next level

My photography has never been something to brag about, and my Instagram account is certainly as much a reflection of that as my blog is. Sad to say. Probably the thing working in my favor (or against me) is the fact that I do the majority of my photography (blogging) via mobile. ie. I have an iPhone 4. Not a 4S. You know they're about to come out with an iPhone 6, right? But it works. I was lucky enough to come across this article recently, and I'm hoping I've learned a little something.

I was already aware of a lot of the important points made in the article (though practicing those ideas is another thing). Take lots of pictures, use good lighting (natural lighting is best, obvs), try different angles, etc.

Of all the tips Tim Clinch shares, the one that hit me the most was this - use more than one filter. It's okay to run a picture through multiple apps to get your picture to look the way you really want. For me, I generally don't even know what look I'm really wanting to end up with.

Here is my original picture:

I honestly felt pretty good about this picture. I liked the lighting, the framing, the expressions, the action. Then I ran it through my favorite photography app: Snapseed.

I'm really cheap about my apps. If it costs more than $.99, or doesn't at least have a free version, it is a HUGE struggle for me to commit to the purchase. Snapseed actually cost me something like $4.99, but it's been so worth it. I love it. It's an incredibly versatile app, and now it's available for free.

My next app of choice, particularly if I plan on sending an image to Instagram but want to keep the orginal proportions, is Cropic. Cropic is free as well. A lot of people download it just for the ability to post images to Instagram that are not square. It actually comes with a few fun filters to try out as well, though. They have additional filters and options available for in-app purchase, but I haven't tried any of those yet.

Here, I squared up my image and added a second filter:

Finally, I sent my image to Instagram. I added a little blur to the top and bottom and here is the finished product:

I'm still not calling myself a photographer (or even an "iPhoneographer"), but when you consider the last picture I posted to Instagram before this was this:

Yikes, right? So hopefully, I'll continue to take a little more time with taking AND editing my photos - mobile or otherwise. Photography is definitely the most daunting part of blogging for me, but good pictures are also so very rewarding. It's also a little fun when I make the time for it.

Assuming you have a smartphone, what are your favorite apps these days? And whether or not you have a smartphone, what is your latest discovery that has you most excited these days?