Busy Mom’s Guide: DIY Photos {Editing Tutorial} with your iPhone

I’ve always been a photography junkie. I love finding the perfect angle, light and setting and capturing a magical moment. I don’t have any idea what I’m doing, but that’s ok because if it’s a hobby you don’t need to have a clue. I do appreciate quality, however, just not for the hefty price tag attached to photography sessions these days. For our yearly family photo, I absolutely indulge in my favorite photographer (check her out at Kalyn Griffin Photography!). But for school pictures or the endless 3 month, 6 month, 12 month, and so on, I’ve found a cheaper solution, and it’s all wrapped up in a tiny little box I take with me everywhere I go. I’m sure you have one of these amazing little boxes in your life, as well. Enter, the Smart Phone…. or more specifically, my quite outdated iPhone 5S.

Before we get into a detailed tutorial I would like to comment that PicMonkey is not paying me anything to write this post; I just happen to LOVE their program! I would also like to point out that, although all these pictures were edited with their free version, for less than $50 a year you can get unlimited access to many other features that have become absolutely essential to my – albeit amateur – editing process.

Editing is all about bringing out the natural quality of the photo and highlighting the best parts while toning down and disguising the mistakes.

With my iPhone 5S I do have a good photo no matter how much I edit it, as long as we have a few key ingredients:

1. Light – I cannot emphasize this enough: you need lots of light! Natural light from all directions if possible, hitting the subject, with nothing behind your backdrop to pull away from the focus on your subject. There are many different ways you can set up in your own home to make get great light.

{For a more detailed tutorial on how to set up and shoot, see these posts: Busy Mom’s Guide: DIY Baby Photos & Busy Mom’s Guide: DIY Cake Smash Photos}

2. Good shooting position – For convenience and because I’m in love with the texture, I always use my dining room table. No bending down, trying to get level with the subject, and it provides a clean, smooth surface that I don’t have to edit afterwards. No need to have to clone out electrical outlets – make sure you’re area is perfect before shooting. Again, if you need more shooting tips visit the posts above.

And now, without further ado, here’s are some easy steps to making your photos look like professional Pinterest bombs!

Special Effects
Click on the tutorial to enlarge it.