I know a lot of you lament that you don’t have “fancy” cameras or that you don’t have time to learn how to use yours, and thus you feel you will never get “beautiful” pictures.
I don’t believe that’s how it has to be, though! The key to getting beautiful pictures isn’t the camera that you use, it’s you knowing enough to make whatever you have work for you.
I’ve been inspired by Emma Wood since I discovered her on the Clickin Moms forums last year. She does phenomenal things with her Nikon D700. But you know what? Even she admits that sometimes an iPhone is just a better tool, and the images she captures with hers are stunning.
I asked Emma to write a guest post for me on this subject and I’m super excited to share it with you all today. I hope it inspires you to get creative with whatever camera is easiest for you to document everyday life with. It’s certainly made me look at Instagram as an entirely new canvas. (Do you follow me over there yet? @Babyrabies)
After a day out with my family last week, as I was looking through my pictures, I realised that I had many more images on my iPhone then I did my Nikon and something struck me that I think is probably true for many people. As fantastic as my camera is, and as in love as I am with it, it’s just not always possible or convenient to capture every moment with it.
Picture this. There I was walking over potholes in the mud, a human packhorse – holding all the kids coats, that they’d decided they didn’t need to wear, under one arm, while holding onto my 3yr olds hand with the other, trying to distract her from her worries about stepping in sheep poop. At the same time keeping a watchful eye on two of my other smaller children who were getting a bit too close to the edge of a hill for my comfort, and trying to have a conversation with my Hubby about what groceries we needed to get on the way home.
Sound familiar? As we rounded the corner to a spectacular view with the prettiest light i’ve seen in a long time, did I think about getting out my D700? Absolutely! But my beloved camera was in my camera bag slung across my body underneath a handful of coats and it would have meant letting go of too many of the balls I was trying to juggle. So instead, for the majority of the day, I found myself reaching into my coat pocket for my iPhone 4s.
I knew that there were moments that I needed to capture, that couldn’t be missed on one of the very few and precious days that I had with my family, and my iPhone camera was easy, accessible and I think pretty darn effective. Don’t get me wrong, my D700 is still the love of my life and there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t pick it up, but having the convenience of my iPhone camera absolutely rocks my world these days.
Here are some images I did manage to get with my D700
And a couple more iPhone pics…
In some ways, I actually think I captured the real feel of the day with the iPhone camera, probably because with it, I managed to snap those fleeting moments faster than I would using my DSLR. They might not be perfect, they might not be as aesthetically pleasing, but they are real, raw and honest – I like that!
And just a few of my very favourite iPhone images. I usually edit them using the VSCO CAM app because I love the filmy feel to it, and then take them straight into Instagram.
So no excuses, if you don’t have a DSLR, or even if you do and it’s all too difficult, grab that iPhone or whatever else you DO have and see what you get. You never know, you might be surprised.
Emma Wood is a mother of 7, wife of a pilot and natural light, film inspired lover. She spends her days documenting the lives of her children and family, which is what inspired her to learn as much as she could about photography and to join Clickin Moms 2 years ago. After spending a great deal of her life traveling and living abroad, she now lives in the UK. You can follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. She blogs here.
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7 comments
WOW! Thanks for sharing with us!!! I am inspired now and truly believe I can capture lifes moments with my iphone. 😉 I’m a follower of hers now! Thanks again!
Also-Jill, I love your blog!
You’re welcome! Isn’t she fantastic? Totally inspiring. And thank you SO much. Made me smile.
I haven’t gotten out my “real” camera in ages. No regrets.
Love this – thanks for sharing the inspiration!
Do you have any suggestions for ‘best’ ways to print instagram pictures? Any favorite websites to do this from? 🙂
our camera has taken a crap all the pictures are fuzzy. it’s just a nikon something er other cheap point and click type of thing, but still. we need to have SOMETHING. that may end up our christmas present this year. instead of the umpteen other things we ‘need’ to have and could feasibly spend the $ on. suggestions for inexpensive ‘just point it’ that won’t break the second your kid picks it up and drops it?
love this. thank you for posting. i was just thinking about this. Just got the iphone 4s and i’m blown away! <3
mean baby
I whole heartedly agree… my iPhone is my 2nd favorite camera in the whole world. I love being able to take GOOD photos with a PHONE 😉 It was my main reason for upgrading to the 4s!!