Is there anything worse than getting back from an incredible vacation and finally looking through your pictures only to realize they're blurry, boring and don't capture the MAGIC of your trip? Never fear! We're here to give you our top 12 (10 wasn't enough!) tips to get better vacation photos- with your phone!
1. Most importantly- clean your lens!! REALLY clean it.
2. Frame your shot. Don’t always center your shot and zoom all the way in so it takes up the entire screen. Take one zoomed out, filling the left or right ⅓ of the screen. It you’re taking a shot of a person, off-center them in the shot so you can see what’s behind them. It might be a cool view of a ride, some food (yum) or the castle!
3. Take pictures of your children looking at the parade, the characters, the fireworks. The look of amazement in their eyes is better than ANY shot you could get of what they’re watching. And that’s something you’ll remember much longer.
4. Adjust the exposure. Are your daytime photos showing a WHITE sky when it’s a beautiful partly cloudy day with baby blue sky? Your image is overexposed. Try tapping on your screen to activate the exposure slider. Slide it down. Does it look different? If that doesn’t work, try tapping on different areas of the image (ideally a bright area) to see if it adjusts exposure on its own.
5. Remember #2? Reverse it. Get REALLY close to get some details that everyone else might not notice. Have your kiddos help you look for something “secret”. While they’re looking? Take a picture of them, fully immersed in their task.
6. Get in the photo. For the love of your hard-earned vacation. Sweaty, messy hair, a few pounds away from that goal weight? Whatever. Get in the picture. You don’t need to share it on social media, you don’t need to blow it up to a 16x20 to display above the mantle. Some of these can just be for your family to remember how much fun you ALL had.
7. Never underestimate a good group selfie. Turn that camera around on a ride and get everyone in the shot. That’s when you get the real smiles.
8. Don’t use your flash. If it’s DARK somewhere you’ll feel the urge to turn it on. Don’t. If it’s that dark just take a mental picture. The flash will ruin the rest of the picture or sweet little Susie will get the craziest red eyes you’ve ever seen. Also, don’t be that person who tries to take pictures (with flash) in Haunted Mansion. C’mon.
9. Yell something completely random before you take the picture. Kiddos will usually laugh and it will bring out their most AUTHENTIC smiles! “Pickle Feet!!”
10. Bend Bend Bend. Bend at least 1 arm piece (elbow or wrist) and 1 leg piece (knee, twist at hip, or pop up your heel). This will flatter your body shape and make the photo look more natural, like someone just happened to walk by and snap a picture with you looking all casual and fabulous.
11. Get short video clips throughout the day. Spinning on the teacups, riding Big Thunder Mountain, enjoying a Mickey Ice Cream Bar. Combine those into one AMAZING video slideshow once you get home!
12. This isn’t exactly a tip for pictures but please pack a portable charger and make sure it’s charged every morning. You’d hate to have a dead phone battery halfway through your day!
Happy Vacationing!
These are great tips! Thanks for sharing!