Just started a new business during COVID? Or maybe you’re a long-time entrepreneur but still struggling to take better photos on your own with an iPhone for Instagram or your website. Let me help you with that! This has been a long-time request by my friends, but I want to share my tips with you too!

Grab yourself some backdrops.

You can use things like tiles, scrapbook paper, gift wrap, texture tables, wood floors, marble counter, fur rugs, etc. You can get free samples of porcelain tiles from Home Depot, or buy some by piece in any hardware store. With scrapbook paper, you can get a few different ones at Michaels for less than $5, and you already have multiple backdrop options. Since my style and aesthetic is very bright, I often use my plain white table.

Lighting.

Lighting is key. Get yourself beside a window and get a reflector. Your “reflector” can be anything that is white, for example: Paper, bristol boards, pillows.. anything white to pop some light back onto the side with a lot of shadow.

Grab your stuff and lay it all out: Throw in things like cut greenery, petals, paper clips or anything that adds to the theme of the photo.

Rule of thirds.

Turn on the camera grid (it can be found in the camera settings). The rule of thirds is essentially about positioning the most important elements of your photo along the lines or intersections of the grid. Turning it on your iPhone camera will help you take straighter shots and make it look a little more pleasing to the eye.

Take your photos.

Take a bunch of shots from above, a couple of different angles, and even some close-ups. If your photos are dark, you probably need more light. Either get closer to a window or use the brightness slider while taking the pictures.

Edit your photos using free editing software.

Take advantage of free photo editing apps like Lightroom, VSCO or Snapseed just to name a few. They are my personal favourites! Some of them have options to use their presets within the app, buy, or import your own. There’s lots of tutorials online on how to use your chosen app, so I would just go on Youtube and search for “[your app] tutorial”.

If you’re a visual person and want to see these tips in action, check out my short Youtube video!

I hope this blog has helped you discover that taking your own photos with iPhone for instagram is easier than people make it out to be. Send me a DM on the gram if you have any follow up questions or want to talk more about this topic.