Photography & Media

Phone Photography Basics

Meets Mondays · 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM · on Zoom 6 enrolled Free to audit

This class is for anyone who wants better photos of their kids, their hikes, and their everyday life using the camera you already have. No new gear. No fancy words. We start with the thing that matters most, which is light, and then work through tap-to-focus, exposure lock, the grid, and a few composition tricks one problem at a time.

Here's the thing: most bad photos aren't a bad camera, they're bad light and a lazy angle. We'll fix both. I'll show you my own bad photos first (the green one, the silhouette one) and then the fix.

You'll leave able to look at a scene, move to better light, get low and close, and take the second photo. ❤️

What you'll learn

Identify and use good window light indoors
Navigate your camera app's focus and exposure controls
Lock exposure separately from focus for tricky shots
Compose shots using grid lines and different angles
Apply a simple crop and brightness edit

Materials & tools

What to bring - A smartphone with a working camera (any iPhone or Android from the last several years is fine) — the camera you already own - Microfiber lens cloth to wipe the camera lens before every shot — $4-8 for a pack - Your phone's charging cable and a small power bank, since the camera and screen drain the battery fast — power bank $15-30 - A notebook and pen for jotting down settings and the one or two habits you want to keep — $3-6 - Enough free storage on your phone (clear space or offload old photos beforehand) so you can shoot freely — free

Nice to have - A compact phone tripod or flexible-leg stand with a phone clamp, for low-light and steady shots — $12-25 - A free editing app installed ahead of time: Snapseed (iOS/Android) or Adobe Lightroom mobile — free - A small clip-on LED light or even a white index card to bounce light onto close-up subjects — $0-15 - A phone case you can grip securely, so you can get low and close without fear of dropping it — $10-20

Lessons

Light first, before any setting
Why light makes or breaks a photo, and how to find and read the good stuff before you shoot.
Getting comfortable in the camera app
Turn on the grid, skip the filters, clean the lens, and learn where everything lives.
Focus and exposure by hand
Take control of what's sharp and how bright, then practice shooting the same thing a few ways.
Angle, distance, and placing your subject
Move your feet and knees, get in close, and use the grid to frame the shot.
- Why eye-level-and-back looks flat15 min
- Getting low: what changes when you kneel18 min
- Getting close without losing focus18 min
- Shooting kids and dogs on their level20 min
- Using the grid lines to place things18 min
Backgrounds and the shots that go wrong
Watch what's behind your subject, fix the backlit group photo, and always take a second frame.
Everyday photos and finishing up
Shoot real life around town, troubleshoot glare, do a bare-minimum edit, and know where to go next.

Key terms

Composition: How the elements are arranged in the frame — the biggest lever on whether a photo works.
Rule of thirds: Placing your subject along lines that divide the frame into thirds rather than dead center.
Exposure: How bright or dark a photo is, set by how much light the camera captures.
Tap to focus: Tapping your subject on the screen to tell the phone what to keep sharp, and often to set exposure.
HDR: High Dynamic Range — a mode that blends several exposures so bright skies and dark shadows both keep detail.
Golden hour: The soft, warm light just after sunrise or before sunset, flattering for almost any subject.
Gridlines: The optional on-screen grid that helps you level horizons and apply the rule of thirds.
Portrait mode: A setting that blurs the background to make a subject stand out, imitating a large-lens look.
Resolution: The amount of detail in an image, in megapixels; higher lets you crop and print larger.
Leading lines: Lines in a scene — a path, a fence — that draw the viewer's eye toward the subject.