Mobile Phones for Self Portraits

Today I want to talk about using Mobile Phones for Self Portraits. Let’s be honest, us photographers tend to always hide behind our cameras. We are the ones taking pictures, we are the ones pulling silly faces and making others laugh and relax in front of the camera. We are making memories…of them. When it comes to getting ourselves in front of the camera, we balk.

We find all the excuses we can:

• It’s a pain to lug the big camera around.
• I don’t have tripod
• I need fancy equipment.
• If someone sees me it will be embarrassing.

There are more and I am sure I have forgotten a few! But what if there were a way to photograph yourself with minimal equipment? Something not so obvious at all, and a way that doesn’t interfere with the moment. What if all you needed was your phone, a couple apps and some creativity?

What about the quality of the images you say? Well, a lot of phones take some pretty amazing quality pictures nowadays – some even come with Pro features, and some even shoot RAW images! If you have the Lightroom mobile app you can shoot raw and control everything from shutter speed to aperture, not to mention you can edit using your usual presets so that the images flow with your portfolio and editing style.

Mobile phone images can be beautiful, and extremely intimate. We always have our phones on hand and it takes seconds to set up to take photos.

Here are a few tips and tricks for using your mobile phones for self-portraits.

GEAR

1. Get a Timer App
   If your phone doesn’t have its own built in timer, a timer app is great to use. I use Photo Timer + This app allows me to set a delay, number of pictures, and interval. It also has the option of muting the sound so you don’t disturb what is happening, or alternatively, you can use the sound as a cue to pose, depending on the type of image you are after.
2. Get Lightroom Mobile
   Lightroom mobile is free and most of us use it for editing anyway. This is great because it syncs your images with your catalogue and you don’t even have to fiddle around with transferring them to your computer to edit them.
3. Buy Clip on Lenses
   There are lots of super cheap lenses that you can get to attach to your phone. My favourite one to use is the wide angle lens, as it is great for creating an environmental portrait, albeit with a bit of distortion. There are lots of different ones out there depending on your phone so have a shop around and experiment!

Check out Pieces of Me for more Self Portrait Inspiration!

The Creative Side

So now we have the technical side out of the way, let’s look at the creative side of actually getting in front of the camera!

1. Use Mirrors
   Using mirrors is one of my favourite ways of taking a self-portrait with my phone – you can manage to move the phone around so it isn’t visible in the mirror or in the picture while still being able to see what the image will look like.
2. Shoot from Above
   Do a little bit of DIY – go get some scissors, tape, and cardboard. Create a little ledge or holder for your phone and tape it to the ceiling. If you have low ceilings stick one of those clip on wide angle lenses on it, set the timer and take images from above. You would be surprised how different everything looks with a bird’s eye view!
3. Photograph Parts of You
   If you don’t feel comfortable with being in the frame, then start small. Baby steps. And include other family members or pets too – just make sure part of you is in there!

I hope these tips have inspired you to pick up your phone and use it creatively to include yourself in your images!

For more inspiration, follow Elora on Instagram!