This special feature is to showcase those excelling at creating some extraordinary art with their phones.

Why do you love to utilize your phone to capture these images?
You will never see me without my phone in hand, or very close by. Ironically, I dislike actually talking on the phone, but I use my iPhone 6 throughout the day to capture sweet, candid moments of childhood. I work out of our home 2 days per week, but I am home with my children the rest of the time. Some may think that always being home with kids may not make for the best of photo opportunities, but I’ve come to discover magic in the mundane and I work to capture it.
Has your phone helped spark more creativity onto other type of work?
Yes! As much as I enjoy capturing our everyday moments, my love of mobile photography has sparked a desire in me to write about my experience for various photography forums and I look forward to sharing tips and inspiration with others. I have also partnered with some cool brands and small shops which has been interesting and fun!
Where does your inspiration come from?
Instagram inspires me. Instagram also intimidates me, but for the most part, I find a great deal of inspiration as I scroll through my feed. My interest in photography developed initially once I became a mother. It wasn’t until I was expecting my third baby that I was introduced to the world of Instagram. This exposure sparked a new passion within me. I became deeply inspired by other mothers who seemed to have an exceptional ability to capture their everyday lives in a beautiful, magical way. This is when I began to look at photography differently and focused on the simple, daily documentation of our days.
Can you share some tips to achieving your style of art?
First of all, if you plan on primarily using a mobile device to take high quality photos, I strongly suggest that you photograph your subjects in plenty of natural light. Our window shades and blinds are always fully open to allow for as much natural light to stream into our home as possible. I’ve experimented with taking photos at various times of the day throughout our home. It’s been so interesting to see how light greatly impacts each image. You will come to see that the light from even rainy or overcast days lends itself to great iPhone captures.
Secondly, as much as I love natural light conditions, it is also fun to experiment with what I call “creative light” situations. I’ve begun taking note of shadows and directional light. I will draw all of the shades in a room except for one to see how the light plays against my subject. Unfortunately, I am reluctant to post these images to Instagram for fear of interfering with my “aesthetic” but I do hope to become more comfortable with this over time.

Another thing that has helped me in terms of developing my style of art is the fact that I am very consistent with what I tend to photograph as well as the environment in which I photograph my subjects. For me, it is less about choosing the same filters and presets, but more about the fact that I take lots of images at our home. It’s always the same environment, rooms, colors, décor, etc. which creates a uniform feel or style.
Finally, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned when photographing my kids is that while there are tons of fancy cameras and editing apps that can help us attain great images, I think it’s important to remember that there is beauty in every moment. Even the difficult ones. Challenge yourself to see beyond the moment, and then capture that. This should be carefree and fun. I love my iPhone because it’s just always there. I’m able to pick it up and snap a quick photo in literally seconds. And sometimes that’s all that we have. These precious moments with our kids are fleeting and I truly use my iPhone to document the moments that conjure the most emotion within me. My advice is to keep it fun! As long as you have fun with the art of photography, your images will always be perfect.

What are your favorite communities on Instagram so that we can also follow?

It is hard to answer this question, as there are so many inspirational and supportive communities on Instagram! I have come to love the forums that encourage exchanges of information so that we can all learn and grow from one another. The accounts I am sure to check in on regularly are: @dear_photographer, @camera_mama, @momtog, @mobile_snaps_collaborative and @clickinmoms.

What gear do you use?

I use an iPhone 6 for all of my photos but I can’t wait to upgrade to the iPhone 7 Plus!

What are your favorite editing apps and why?
I enjoy experimenting with various editing apps. My current favorite go-to editing application is the @VSCO Cam app. The @VSCO Cam app is available for free and it comes with many free filters and presets to add to your images. You can also crop, straighten and fully adjust your photos using this app; it’s been a game changer for me and I can’t say enough good things about it! Another editing app that I’ve come to love is Snapseed. I typically use Snapseed to edit my outdoor shots. Snapseed is a very powerful, yet user-friendly editing tool with endless possibilities. I tend to apply a Glamour Glow overlay to some of my outdoor images to add that special, more finished touch. I also like to use PicsArt from time to time, primarily for the cloning functionality it offers. If there is a distracting element in an image, I will use PicsArt to remove the distraction from the shot which has been invaluable.