Tips for Taking Pictures of Your Kids with Your Phone

I remember when I was so excited to get my DSLR camera. I went crazy for awhile, lugging it around with me and taking some amazing pictures. But the keyword there was lugging. DSLR cameras are heavy and when I’m already carrying a diaper bag packed to the brim for 3 kids, I don’t want to add that extra weight. Not when I can have my phone in my back pocket and am able to whip it out at a moment’s notice.

Cell phones have come a long way and for the past 2 years, I’ve been using my phone as my primary camera. I’ll only get my DSLR out for special occasions but for those everyday occasions with my family, I reach for my phone’s camera first. Here are a few of my tips for taking pictures of your family with your phone.

Play Around With Camera Settings

For awhile, I always used the auto feature on my phone’s camera. But did you know that most phones have advanced settings that you can adjust for better pictures? You can experiment with the settings and adjust the shutter speed, ISO and more – JUST like a DSLR camera but so much lighter. Once you feel comfortable with the settings on your phone, you’re going to feel SO much more comfortable taking pictures which equals better pictures!

Don’t Take Just One

As I’ve learned when taking pictures of kids, don’t take just one! Luckily, most phones have a burst effect for the ability to take several photos in a row. Then, you can sift through the photos until you have one you like best. I love this option for when I’m taking pictures of my son playing ball or my twins running around playing together.

Flip the Camera Around

When I want to get a good picture of my twins, they usually will stop and smile if I flip the camera around and they can see themselves. I’ll always get a smile when they take a selfie! Most people will tell you to not take pictures with the front-facing camera, but when you have the right camera, you’ll have just as good quality as if you were taking pictures with the rear-facing camera!

Get in the Picture with a Selfie

Is it still called a selfie if there’s more than one person in the picture? Speaking of front-facing cameras, I use them all the time to actually get into the picture with my kids. When my son was little, there are so many photos with me not in them. Thanks to phone cameras, more Moms are getting into the picture -literally.

Get Low and Close

When taking pictures of my kids, I’ve found that the best pictures I have gotten is when I am down on their level and close up where I don’t even have to bother editing and cropping. I love getting down to my daughter’s eye level and filling up my phone’s screen with her gorgeous little face. It equals a great photo that saves me time from cropping!

Photo Editing App

Sometimes photos just need a little help or you want to play around with some cool filters. I suggest downloading Photoshop Express or Snapseed to edit and filter your photos on your phone.

Upgrade to the Phone with the Best Camera

Ready to start taking all your pictures from your phone’s camera? Then you’re going to want to upgrade to the phone out there with the best camera which is the LG G4.

The LG G4 has some AMAZING camera features including a 16 megapixel rear-facing camera with Laser Auto Focus and a F1.8 aperture lens. There’s the Manual Mode, which lets you adjust settings such as shutter speed, white balance sensor so your pictures come out in focus and with bright colors.

And now you can totally up your selfie game! The G4 has an eight megapixel front facing camera and a soft selfie light that brightens around the border of the photo preview window. There’s even a gesture interface where you can start a selfie timer by just making a fist near your phone. Open and close your fist twice to take four selfies in a row – whoa! By the way, that selfie of me and Evie up there? How amazing does my skin look? No editing needed – the LG G4 did that!

I am SO impressed by the camera on the LG G4 and can’t wait to play with it more. I have a feeling my DSLR will be sitting on my bookshelf getting even dustier because of the specs on this camera!

Once you’re ready to upgrade, look into recycling cell phone instead of just throwing it away!

Disclosure: I received compensation for this post but all thoughts and opinions are my own.