How to take MUCH better photos with the camera on your phone

Why give tips on how to take better phone photos? Am I losing clients over the growing quality of these cameras? Am I worried?

My answers to those questions: Because people take bad photos for Instagram and the world would rather see pretty photos. No. No. :)

1. Wipe off the camera lens. So you have this excellent tool in your hand. And you touch the lens all the time (we all do - no big deal). But why not wipe it off before taking a photo? You wouldn't touch the lens of a high quality camera after eating pizza and putting lotion on your hands without then cleaning it, would you? If you often see lots of white fogginess, it's because you need to wipe off the lens. Just use your shirt! It'll absolutely change your life.
2. Don't zoom. While phone camera zooms are getting better every year, you still need to understand the difference between optical zoom and digital zoom. Optical zoom is actual zoom - zooming in without losing quality. Digital zoom is literally nothing but cropping your image while taking the photo rather than after the photo is taken. Check your phone's technical specifications. But in the mean time, just don't zoom. Walk closer to the thing you want to photograph!
3. ​Take a better selfie. This is me sitting on the same couch. The photos are taken 2 seconds apart. The crappy one is me with the window behind me. The better one is me facing the window. That's it. That's the only change. Notating this isn't just for photos...it's also about zoom calls! Always face a window!!

Happy Friday!
​Autumn