How to Take Your Own Photos without Instagram (Boy)Friends

Dear readers,

it’s Bethanny. Sorry for disappearing. Between finishing graduate school and everything else in life, posting regularly on this blog wasn’t quite easy. However, I’m going back into it —hopefully for real this time—and in this post, I want to share a tip on how to take your own photos especially if you’re aspiring to enhance your photography skills and Instagram profile (follow me and lets connect!).

I really like to take pictures as a creative hobby and I post most of my shots on Instagram. However, getting the perfect picture requires a lot of effort and sometimes more than 100 shots. After awhile, asking your friends and your significant other can get really annoying for them. So, recently I’ve done some research on how to take photos by myself, and here’s the best way that I’ve encountered so far.

Things you will need:

A camera. I use the SONY NEX 5T.
A tripod. I use the Gorrila Pod.
A phone.
An application on your phone.

Preparing the shoot

Before I actually start taking pictures, I decide where and what angle I want to use. Take your time in doing this, and if you live in the area, take the time to wander around the location a day before. Once you’ve done that, find different angles that suite your liking. I like to shoot vertically because it is better for Instagram. If I do have to shoot horizontally, I will find an angle that I can crop to 5×4, which is the maximum and perfect photo size for Instagram.

The secret on how to take your own photos

Here’s the thing, Sony cameras have WIFI that can connect to your phone. You can download an app called Play Memories that allows you to see photos from your phone and you can also use your phone as a remote. So, after setting my camera and my tripod, I can start looking at myself through my phone and find out which poses look best. This feature is not only for Sony; I know Canon also has these features and I’m pretty sure other brands do too. Therefore, research whether or not your camera has this feature, and if you are in the market for a new camera, be sure that the camera you are looking for can be connected to your phone.

That’s it!

Honestly, that is all. That is how I take pictures by myself. The good thing is, everyone can be in the picture with this method. No more bad pictures because you had to ask strangers to take your pictures. If you want to understand even more about how this works, I found a video tutorial by YouTube Queen Sorelle Amore that explains this very same technique. It’s actually more common than you think. And since you now know the secret, take your camera out and start taking some fabulous pictures!