Tips for Making Pretty iPhone Pictures

While having a fancy camera is pretty amazing, I can honestly say that my iPhone does a fabulous job for those daily moment captures.  Convenience usually trumps lugging out all the gear for a sweet moment with my littles.  Especially since that moment is usually long gone by the time I get everything ready.  

Learning to use basic tools is a really valuable skill, especially if you do want to graduate to higher quality camera equipment.  Here are a few tips on how I maximize the quality of my iPhone camera.  

---

1. Find the Light

Lighting is critical with any type of photography.  If you don't have good lighting, your image will be grainy, dark, and shadow-y.  If you like a moodier look, that's okay, you still have to find a way to harness that light so that it's not simply muddy.  

Natural light is the prettiest.  Find a large window or glass door if you are indoors.  If you are outside (and it isn't soft evening light), find open shade.  Meaning, no dappled lighting.  You can also shoot with full sun, but that's more atmospheric, don't try to get anyone to "cheese" for that picture (all the squinty eyes).  

White, pale blush, and light tans all work really well as reflectors to enhance the light and natural skin tones.  

White posterboard is a cheap and easy solution for a backdrop.

When renovating our house, we filled it with all the shades of white to maximize that studio look.  

2. Angles Are Everything

Most of us girls know that the phone better go up high for that fabulous selfie.  But, also think about your arm placement as well, keep it out from your body so there isn't "arm squish".  Do a 360 to see where the sun falls best on your face and what the ground looks like around you.  

I love tips from Tyra Banks.  My go-to's are:

• Keep your chin up and out
• Elongate your neck
• Lean forward
• If you don't have heels, stand on your tip toes for muscular calves.  
• Knees facing in

You got this, girl!

Practice is the best way to master the angle and awkward arm stance.  If you're super hard core there's always the selfie stick.  A sense of humor is always necessary, of course.  

The best way to get great iPhone angles is by moving around.  Get out of that chair, walk to the other side of the room, play around until it looks right.  Sometimes a flat, direct shot, is best.  Try an aerial view of food, beverages, or interesting textures and textiles.    

3. Edit

A little tweak with simple editing tools can go a long way.  I love using the ColorStory app.  It gives me the simple tools that I need to tweak my iPhone images.  Play around with it to find your style.  Personally, I raise the curve, add a little contrast, and sometimes use one of the filters.   

4. Moments Trump Perfection

The beauty of an iPhone is that it can be so quick to capture an otherwise lost moment.  Don't allow rules or an ideal to keep you from documenting life.  There are many pictures taken on my phone that simply melt my heart or take me back to a special moment in time.  They aren't "instagram" lovable, but they speak to me.  That is art, something you see, touch, feel, or hear that moves you.  

A little tip?  Black and white edits always make it feel more documentary when colors and clutter collide.  

This is one of my favorite images of my children.  It is messy, but full of emotion.  My Juliet (pictured right) is a bit of a drama queen and my Larissa (pictured left) is my peacemaker.  I don't remember what happened, but I love that two sisters are sharing a moment.  

---

Go get started!  Follow me on Insta so I can see all of your amazing shots.  

xoxo Lovelies

How to Choose Your Photography Collection

Hooray!  You’re engaged.  The venue is booked, maybe a bridal gown made you fall in love all over again.  Perhaps, you’ve even found the perfect photographer. 

But… 

As you begin looking at packages and pricing, your eyes glaze over.  Ugh.  This is not the fun part of marrying your man. 

How do you know what you want in a wedding photography collection? 

Early in the planning process it’s tricky making large price-point decisions with little knowledge and experience.  There are four areas of investment when booking a wedding photographer.

1. Images

2. Time

3. Services

4. Products

Images

Before anything else, consider how you would like to receive your actual images.  That may seem obvious, but every wedding photographer is different.  Some photographers require you to purchase the digital files (especially high resolution files) in addition to a package or their time.  Make sure you check what is included in the most basic coverage. 

I highly recommend investing in this, as a top priority.   Then, you have your images, digitally, and can use them in creative ways. 

All Debra Eby Photography Co. brides receive digital files.  These files are web resolution images (for online sharing) and high resolution images (for personal printing). 

Time

This is one of the biggest areas of question for inquiring couples.  How many hours of wedding photography do you need on the wedding day?

The answer is completely different for each couple.  For most couples, eight hours is enough for all of the essentials.  But, if you want complete coverage, and have a special send-off, you may need to invest in more. 

Let’s walk through a few wedding day samplings to get an idea of your coverage needs.

Wedding coverage typically begins towards the end of hair and make-up.  It then lasts until the final important event of the evening. This could be a first dance or a sparkler send-off.  

6 Hours

This is for a wedding requiring simple coverage.  These weddings tend to be shorter, or couples who are on a tighter budget.  It’s worth hiring an amazing photographer, even if it’s only for six hours.  Remember, when on a tighter wedding budget you want quality over quantity.

Sample 6 Hour Schedule

• 1:00 pm - Getting Ready
• 2:00 pm - In Gown
• 2:30 pm - First Look, Portraits
• 4:30 pm - Ceremony
• 5:30 pm - Family Portraits, Cocktail Hour, Reception Decor
• 6:30 pm - Reception begins
  • Announcing in bridal party
  • First Dance
• 7:00 pm - Photographer Departs

8 Hours

This is the ideal amount of time for most wedding coverage.  It is my most popular booking since it covers most of the essentials, telling your wedding story. 

Depending on how late your celebration lasts, 8 hours may not see you to a send-off.  Consider what you want to do at your reception and what you need captured by a professional.  For dancing pictures, the first hour will always be your best images of the night.  As time passes -  speaking as the sober girl at the party - it gets a little sloppy.

Sample 8 Hour Schedule

• 1:00 pm - Getting Ready
• 2:00 pm - In Gown
• 2:30 pm - First Look, Portraits
• 4:30 pm - Ceremony
• 5:30 pm - Family Portraits, Cocktail Hour, Reception Decor
• 6:30 pm - Reception begins
  • Announcing in bridal party
  • First Dance
  • Dinner Service, Toasts
  • Dancing
  • Cake Cutting
• 9:00 pm - Photographer Departs

10 Hours

Ten hours of wedding photography allows for full coverage, for most couples.  This sees you from those final hair and make-up moments to your send-off. 

Sample 10 Hour Schedule

• 1:00 pm - Getting Ready
• 2:00 pm - In Gown
• 2:30 pm - First Look, Portraits
• 4:30 pm - Ceremony
• 5:30 pm - Family Portraits, Cocktail Hour, Reception Decor
• 6:30 pm - Reception begins
  • Announcing in bridal party
  • First Dance
  • Dinner Service, Toasts
  • Dancing
  • Cake Cutting
  • Bouquet and Garter Toss
  • Bride & Groom Exit     
• 11:00 pm - Photographer Departs

Services

Each photographer is different with the services they provide their clients.  This part of the experience is based on what a professional does for you vs. a tangible product. 

My services include: engagement portraits, bridal portraits, and a second shooter.

Engagement Portraits

Engagement sessions are the rehearsal of the wedding day portraits.  It is an opportunity for your photographer to get to know your couple personality and how that translates on camera.  The photographer learns your best angles and what makes you light up.  Plus, it's a really fun date experience - life in front of the camera.  

Consider how you would use engagement portraits.  You could have a guestbook make from the images of your engagement session.  Framing portraits for décor, creating save-the-dates, your wedding website, so many options. 

Bridal Portrait

This one is for my southern girls out there.  You know what this is. 

For those of you unfamiliar, a bridal portrait is a photo session with just the bride on a separate day, prior to the wedding usually. 

This is a time for you to have that hair and make-up trial and put on that designer gown.  We get gorgeous you in front of that camera for some serious fun modeling playtime. 

While this may not be for everyone, it’s secretly one of my favorite things in the world to do.  Time alone with a bride, no timeline crunch, we get to play with posing, angles, and Cinderella twirls.  It also saves time on the wedding day. 

One of my brides wrote a sweet message on a chalkboard, “Always Daddy’s Little Girl”, then purchased a print, framed it and gifted it to her father on the wedding day.   Tears everywhere. 

Another bride purchased a massive print, framed and displayed it at the entrance to the reception.  The guests completely gushed over it. 

Second Shooter

A second shooter offers a rich wedding photography experience.   This service adds more images as well as different images when we divide and conquer. 

A second shooter:

• Captures the guys getting ready
• Offers alternative angles to things like a first look
• Captures candids at the cocktail hour
  • If you do not have a first look, this is not something I am able to do without a second shooter.
• Ensures abundant wedding detail coverage
• Overall more images of your day

If any of these things are really important to you, then investing in a second shooter is the way to go.  Any large and detail-intensive weddings should invest in a second shooter. 

Products

Many photographers bundle products into their packages.  You choose what you want based on a combination of services and products. 

Products vary from photographer to photographer.  If they offer an album, it can look totally different than another album a different photographer offers.  Make sure you see a picture or hold an album in person to view the quality.  

My products are very high end.  I'm super picky about quality when it comes to wedding products.

My approach to products is a little different.  Everything is a la carte in the marketplace for all Debra Eby Photography Co. couples.  The marketplace is an online marketplace for all wedding photography products.  

The convenient part about a marketplace is that you can invest in heirloom-quality products at any time in this process.  Even after the wedding day. 

You may not know what products are going to be right for you until closer to the wedding day.  That’s okay, because you have time for all that shopping after the planning is further along. 

The guide below helps you understand the product function so that you see if it is the right fit for your wedding experience.

Luxury Fine Art Album

The Luxury Fine Art Album is the most gorgeous wedding album I have ever seen.  The album has thick, lay-flat pages with rich color and elegant sheen.  This is a 12 x 12 album that functions as the art gallery of your wedding day. 

Couples select the images, cover textiles, and lettering or image cut-out through the album design form.  Then, I design the album, create a digital proof, finally, you approve the proof for printing. 

This is my favorite product – by far.  Most of my couples choose to add this to their collection.  This album is built to last for generations to come, truly an investment piece. 

Engagement Guestbook

This is another popular product since it serves such a useful function.  Not only is it a lay-flat album, it can also serve a guestbook on the wedding day.  You can also have it designed as a coffee table book, with no space for writing.

Parent Album

 The Parent Album is a duplicate of the Luxury Fine Art Album.  It is 6 x 6, so convenient for parental bragging on the go.  This product is only available upon purchase of a Luxury Fine Art Album.  It is an add-on product.

Luxury Fine Art Prints

These are images from your wedding day printed through my high-quality lab.  The colors and texture of these pieces of art make them into beautiful wall art.  These can be ordered any time after receiving your online gallery.  Friends and family are also welcome to purchase these through the marketplace. 

Couples often order prints through me for the actual wedding day décor.  Engagement and bridal portrait prints are very popular. 

---

If you're still unsure, talk with any girlfriends who recently were married.  They can tell you things they wish they would have done and will have other tips for you as well.  

The best thing you can do is meeting up with your photographer.  Explain your vision and they can help you customize your dream collection.

xoxo Lovelies

Dear Newlyweds - Budgets & Wedding Planners

In just 2 sleeps I would marry my Ben.  After all the waiting and thousands of miles separating us, we would finally be together, forever.  

The months I poured into planning were coming to fruition in a matter of hours.  

That was the day when I was told my beloved pastor was hospitalized and would not officiate our wedding. He was not doing well, and we feared the worst.  

My sister, and best friend, arrived back in town from college that day.  It was a flurry of crazy, as most of our family and guests were from out of state, and even country.  I was putting everyone to work on all of my DIY ideas.  Ideas that seemed far better when I did the mock-up weeks ago.  

I'm a super chill person and rarely raise my voice.  But, my sister and I had unfinished sister business.  The stress mounted and we had no time sit down together and get to the heart of it.

That night, things unhinged.  My sister and I had a huge fight.  We were upstairs in my parents' Tudor-style home.  I'm talking - yelling at each other, loud enough for everyone to hear us, kind of fight.  I still remember wondering if my future sister-in-law was going to have second thoughts about me marrying her brother. 

There were tears and arguing about things that weren't at all the real reason we were upset.  I remember feeling attacked, right before such a monumental day for me.  She felt hurt because I hadn't made time for her.  

It was true, I was too busy worrying about the hundreds of other details.  

As I walked down the aisle on my wedding day, my sweet, amazing sister, bawled her beautiful eyes out.  This tension was about far more than wedding details.  I was leaving her.  Our BFF sisterhood was changing, forever.  I was off to Canada, living too far away for all of our crazy times together.

On a normal day, we would wake up in the morning literally wearing the same thing.  One of us would storm off and have to change.  While total opposites, we made absolute sense in a friendship.  She'd call me out when I was being a pushover and I'd reel her in when she was being too spicy.  

Her heart knew, more than mine was willing to recognize, that it was the end of an era.  She would marry months later and we would move on to different worlds.  

More than a decade later now, I regret not having a final sister night together.  I should have paid for a professional to handle most of those details.  I should have been having one last night with my best friend and forever sister.  That would have been money well spent.

Of course, we are still best of friends.  Though a state away (she's now a Georgia girl), we are close.  In between work, caring for all the little ones, and our busy lives, we still make time for each other.  I love our spontaneous, and very interrupted, phone calls.  Even if we can only talk five minutes, we call.  She knows my biggest struggles and can make me laugh harder than anyone.  

This is the second installment of "Dear Newlyweds", an article all about hearing from those who recently wed.  While everything is fresh on their mind and heart, they share their words of wisdom to engaged couples.  

Today's Newlywed Advice is all about delegation to professionals and managing the budget.  These areas are huge when it comes to wedding stress.  

Here is our advice from an amazing newlywed couple:

---

Budget & Wedding Planner

Trust and listen to your coordinator. Don't over think the little things! Leave room in the budget for last minute or unexpected expenses.

---

Budgeting Tips

Early in your planning, prioritize what areas are most important to you on your wedding day.  If Ben and I were getting married all over again (for the first time), these would be my top budget priorities:

• Photography (obvi)
• Wedding Planner
• Florals & Decor
• Live Music

I would cater in artisan food stations.  Popcorn bar, donut bar, mozzerella fries, wood fired pizza, anything fun and interactive would be my fave.  Like a coastal alfresco soirée.  The getaway would definitely involve a boat.  I can see the Pinterest board now.  

For you, it may be something entirely different.  That's okay, and even great.  The important thing is to set your priorities so that you know where you are investing and which areas you can get more creative.  

Our bride is right, remember to leave a little wiggle room for any last minute expenses.  

Wedding Planner

Hiring a planner can really help you stay on track with your budget.  They can also help you get creative in areas where there is a little less.  

Planning a huge event, for the first time, can be a monumental stress on all relationships.  Having a professional, who does this full-time, will help educate you and walk you through the process.  The less you (and your family!) have to worry about on the wedding day, the more you are soaking up every moment with your loved ones.  

Just like finding your photographer, you have to find your wedding planner match.  It's not just about being organized, you want someone who remains calm, clear-headed, and is amazing with your guests.  The best planners that I work with know how to work a spreadsheet just as magically as navigating the drama of family, friends, and weather.  

If you need suggestions, just e-mail me, I'll connect you with the best!

---

Moral of the story?  Those closest to your heart matter most.  They matter more than any wedding detail and are worth the largest investment.

xoxo Lovelies