You guys know I love to take photos. The number of photos I take since Caleb came around has increased exponentially. Hardly a day passes without at least one photo. So I figured, as someone who takes a lot of photos, I should have a few tips up my sleeve. But here's the thing, I use my iPhone for like 95% of my photos these days. I love my DSLR camera, but it’s hard to always have on-hand to capture all the daily moments - Caleb's cuteness doesn't stop for me to grab a camera, you know. Instead, I use my iPhone all. the. time. So yea, it’s permanently in my back pocket. And yes, it's an iPhone. I couldn't be married to Josh and have something non-Apple. We're an Apple family. So here are a few tips for an iPhone you might find helpful!

Tip #1 – Burst Mode

Burst mode, not beast mode (for those of you in Seattle area). I'm not a Seahawks fanatic, but for some reason that came to mind. Okay, let's move on now that some of you are shaking your heads. So, it makes sense that the more photos you take, the more likely you’ll get a good one, right? Well, you can take a ton of photos at once with the burst mode. When you take a photo, hold down the shutter button to get a burst of photos. It’ll capture multiple photos as you continue to hold down. On your photo stream, the phone automatically selects what it thinks is the best photo of the sequence. However, I always go and look at the others since it doesn’t always get it right. When you have the photo open, go to the “select” function. You can select one or many photos to keep. Boom, magic!

Tip #2 – The Timer

This is an easy one to forget about, but comes in very useful especially with selfies. I always struggle trying to hold the phone steady and hit the shutter button at the same time. You end up with blurry photos! Instead, use the timer to give yourself time to hold out the phone, get steady, and smile. Or, find a place to set the camera down (safely!) to get the whole family.

Another note: You might be thinking you can use the side button to take the photo,. However, I still shake the phone when I use this method and end up with yet another blurry photo. If you have solid steady hands, then go for it.

And...I've always wanted a photo of Caleb's basketball hoop.

Tip #3 – Swipe Left

The best photos tend to be random and happen quickly. By the time you pull out your photo, unlock it, go to the photo app, and hit the shutter button, the moment is lost. There is a quicker way to get to that camera – just swim left! This skips all those other steps so you get get to the camera quickly and capture the moment.

Tip #4 – Clean Lens

Obvious, yes but yet I still fail to do this one as often as I should. Caleb is obsessed with my phone, especially when he realized it plays videos of dogs. Now, he’s constantly reaching for it, but his little boy hands can get the phone dirty. So now I need to be sure to clean off my phone’s photo lens to avoid blotches in photos. A nice microfiber cloth will wipe it off in a jiffy.

Tip #5 – Tap for Focus

You might notice the square that pops up when you take a photo. It usually tries to help identify faces. Help it out and tap on the square. This helps the camera focus on the face (or other object) to make a clearer photo.

Yes! Another photos I've been dying to have...the dump truck and toy truck driver.

Great, now you have a few tips in your back pocket. But, wait! Be sure to share the photos, too.

Idea #1 – Edit Photos

The phones have some great tools for editing photos. You can use the Photos app itself to edit; just click on the photo and you’ll see the edit tool on the bottom as three bars. In a hurry, use the automatic enhance wand. Otherwise, I love Retouch and Afterlight apps for retouching my photos. The former is great at removing unwanted objects from your photos (seriously, cool).

Idea #2 – Photo Share

We use the photo share a bunch in our house. When Caleb was born, we started a share with both sets of grandparents and share photos everyday. They love it!

Idea #3 – Print them Out

Don’t let your photos just sit there on your phone or computer…turn them into prints or books. Shutterfly, Artifact Uprising, Minted, Blurb, Apple...so many options these days.

Now, say cheese!