Smartphones are a bit of a double-edged sword. Many of us spend too much time staring at social media and you might benefit from detoxing from your phone for a while. Yet there are also great things about having a smartphone, like being able to take photos wherever you are. 

In the past, taking family photos required a bit of planning but these days, you are ready to capture amazing memories at the drop of a hat. Sometimes being able to take as many photos as you like means that people don’t put effort into capturing beautiful photos. They get home and look back through their pictures only to find that all of their great family memories are blurry or somebody had their finger over the lens. (Yes, those things still happen with a smart phone!) 

Follow these simple tips to take better family photos on your phone. 

Take Multiple Photos

You shouldn’t just take one photo of your family, you should take multiple photos. Basically, my rule is: The more kids, the more shots, even if the first one seems perfect. People close their eyes or move right as the picture is taken. 

The only problem with this is that you’ll end up with lots of duplicates on your phone This guide on how to delete duplicate photos on iPhone will help you keep your photos organized and get rid of any duplicate photos. I go through my photos every few days, especially after a big event, and save the ones I want to keep in my iCloud and organize them by month and year.

Use The HDR Setting

HDR stands for high dynamic range. It’s a great tool that will help you take better photos. Most smartphones come with this setting and it analyzes the photo before taking it to ensure that all of the lights and darks are captured properly. If you’re not sure whether your phone has an HDR feature, just look through the settings until you find something similar.

Simply switching this setting on will make your photos much sharper and get the balance of colors right, so they will look more professional. 

Use Natural Light As Much As Possible

My kids know I want them to go outside to take a posed photo. That natural light is just too good to ignore. Taking photos indoors can be difficult because you don’t have a lot of light to work with so shadows happen more easily. If you want your family photos to look great, you should take them outside whenever possible. Plus I love how the outside setting allows me to capture the season too. 

Avoid Using Digital Zoom

When you want a close-up of your family, the last thing that you should do is use digital zoom. Instead, step closer to your kids and get down to their level. Using digital zoom is never a good idea because it simply enlarges pixels rather than taking a closer photo, so the end result will be blurry. You need to be physically close to your subject if you want better quality photos and there’s no way around it. 

If you do want to use a zoom function, you should invest in a lens that goes on the back of your phone, so it works like a normal camera zoom. Sometimes I crop pictures after I take them, but typically I try to frame the photo as I want it when I take it. 

Use The Rule Of Thirds

The rule of thirds is a simple and effective way to ensure that your photos look great. Mentally divide the scene into nine parts and take note of where the lines cross. (Some cameras even have these lines on the screen for you!) You should make sure that important elements in the photo fall on one of those intersections. This will make it more aesthetically pleasing and ensure that the viewer’s eye travels over each section of the picture without any difficulty.

You don’t need to be a professional photographer to capture family memories, but you can improve your family snapshots, take crisp photos, and frame the moment like you want to remember it if you follow these tips.