Creativity Exercise | Mobile Phone

Oh my gosh, last month I had to bow out of our circle, and I felt so bad about it! I am determined not to let it happen again.

This month we shot with the camera most of us have with us all the time: our cell phones! I posted an image a couple of years ago that I used my cell phone to take, and though it is truly an awful photo technically (made even worse by the fact that I used the “front” camera instead of the default back camera on the phone so I could see my composition since I was in bed beside her), it is still one of my favorites ever because at that moment she just looked like my little sweet toddler again. When it comes to preserving memories, a great camera is wonderful, the truly the BEST camera is simply the one you have with you when you need it. Since then, I have really tried to improve my skills with the cell phone, with mixed success. I am getting better at editing (I especially love both RadLab’s pictapgo and snapseed) and at taking photos in easy lighting situations, but my iPhonography still has tremendous room for improvement! But still, when it’s the only camera at my disposal, it will do!

Like when we’re in the car:

Or when I’m taking a walk to kill time while waiting for Emily’s music lesson to end, and the sunset is breathtaking:

Or when I am in the parking lot at school and there’s a respite from the rain and a glorious rainbow appears:

Or on one of my cherished walks with my friend that is so pretty I’m bummed I didn’t lug the big camera with me:

Or when Emily agrees to share her dessert (though she would insist that I add, I already had my own dessert, that she did not request a bite of):

Or when she draws a really cool picture on the paper tablecloth at a restaurant that would be hard to take with us:

This month, because of this challenge, I made a more conscious effort to use my cell phone. Emily made us breakfast when I told her that Disney had posted to Facebook that it was National Parents’ Day last weekend:

And there was a really pretty, and odd, sky one day:

And we went on another walk, this time with the kids since it’s summer and they aren’t in school!

One night at dinner, the light was gorgeous as the sun was setting on my icy margarita–a perfect summer night out:

And then simply one day while I was sitting on the couch and Gracie climbed up onto my lap—if I’d gotten my camera it would have disrupted her, but my cell phone is rarely far from reach!

Which reminds me of another thing I love about shooting with my cell phone—I love playing around with crazy edits much more that I do with my regular work. Perhaps in part because I know the image quality is inherently not going to be what I am used to from my Mark III, it feels a little less “risky” somehow to just go for it; I don’t concern myself as much with adhering to my “style”. Hmmm… I guess that sounds a bit odd…

If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, my name there is mama2em and I’d love to see you! I’m not super active, but I’m getting better!

Please join me in seeing what the other women in my group did with their cell phones this month—I have no doubt it will be gorgeous! First up is the amazing work of Beira Brown!