How to Shoot Quality Brand Content (with your phone!)

Look, we'll be totally honest with you. At Spry, we can shoot professional, curated content photography for you, and we absolutely love doing it.

But we also get that sometimes the budget is tight, or you just need to capture a quick, candid moment right now. We want to empower you with the best tips and tricks to shoot your own incredible content using the powerful supercomputer already sitting in your pocket.

Grab your phone, wipe off those fingerprint smudges, and let’s dive into how to make your smartphone content look like a million bucks. *chef’s kiss*

5 Steps to Smartphone Photo & Video Success

1. The Simplest Trick in the Book: Clean Your Lens!
We carry our phones everywhere. They live in our pockets, bottomless bags, and hands sticky with morning coffee. Before you take a single photo or video, wipe your camera lens on your shirt.

A foggy, greasy lens is the number one culprit behind blurry, hazy photos that look like they were shot inside a steam room. One quick wipe will instantly make your shots crisp and clear.

2. Chase the Light (The Good Kind)
Lighting makes ALL the difference. 

• Say YES to Natural Light: Position your product or yourself near a window. Soft, indirect sunlight is your absolute best friend.

• Say NO to Overhead Lights: Harsh yellow office lights or direct ceiling lights cast weird shadows and make skin tones look a little... ghostly. Eek.

• Avoid the Flash: Unless you are going for an edgy, 90s party-vibe aesthetic, keep that built-in flash firmly turned off.

3. Rule of Thirds (Turn on Your Grid!)

Have you ever taken a photo and felt like something was just off, but you couldn’t put your finger on it? It's probably the composition.

Go into your phone’s camera settings and turn on the Grid feature. This overlays a 3x3 grid on your screen. Instead of putting your subject dead-center every single time, try placing them along the grid lines or at the intersections. It instantly makes your photos look more dynamic and balanced.

If you’d like to learn more, LinkedIn has an in-depth guide on rule of thirds here!

4. Lock Your Focus and Exposure

Your phone is constantly trying to guess what you're looking at, which means if you move slightly, the screen might get wildly bright or totally blurry. You can lock it in!

• On iPhone: Tap and hold the screen where you want to focus until you see "AE/AF Lock" pop up in yellow. Drag the little sun icon next to it up or down to adjust the brightness.

• On Android: Tap and hold the screen to lock the focus and use the slider at the bottom to adjust the light exposure.

Once it’s locked, you can move around without your phone changing the settings on you!

We also recommend using portrait mode so you can capture beautiful shots, like this one!

5. Shooting Video? Keep It Steady.

If you’re shooting video, shaky footage is an instant giveaway that it’s amateur hour.

• The T-Rex Stance: Keep your elbows tucked tightly against your ribs to stabilize your body.

• Use Both Hands: Two hands on the phone are always steadier than one.

• Cinematic/Pro Video Mode: While not always necessary, using these features when capturing video adds a little somethin’ to your clips by softly blurring the background and keeping crisp focus on your subject.

• Invest in a Cheap Tripod: A basic phone tripod with a Bluetooth remote costs less than a couple of fancy coffees and will save you endless frustration.
  

Great! Now you’ve got your content.

Let’s talk about editing…

The "Less is More" Editing Rule

When it comes to editing, treat it like salt: a little bit enhances the flavor, but too much will ruin the dish.

You also don’t need crazy complex computer software to edit your phone photos. Free apps like Lightroom Mobile, VSCO, or Snapseed are fantastic options!

• Boost the brightness (exposure) slightly if the image is a bit dark.

• Bring up the contrast to make the colors pop a little.

• Avoid heavy, unnatural filters that distort your brand's true colors. Authenticity is what sells!

Lastly… You've Got This!

Your smartphone is an incredibly powerful tool. With a little bit of natural light, a clean lens, and a steady hand, you are more than ready to start creating beautiful content.

And remember: whenever you are ready to take things to the next level, want a fully curated brand shoot, or just want to hand off the camera entirely so you can focus on running your business... Spry is right here to help. Happy shooting!