Accessories

Sometimes using just your smartphone won’t take you where you want to be creatively. You might want to have a little extra fun with lenses or tripods.

Lenses

I started off with lenses. I mainly wanted to try out macro photography and see what I could do with a wide angle.

Adapting a lens to a smartphone is very easy. Manufacturers brought plenty of solutions to the market: special cases, clip-on lenses, etc. I prefer clip-on lenses, as they tend to be easier to switch around and will adapt to any phone.

The very first pack of lenses I got were the Mpow one. This kit contains a Macro lens, a Fisheye lens and a Wide Angle lens, all packed in a little pouch. They adapt very well on my smartphone even with a case on. I can have them in my handbag and pop them out whenever I need.

Later this year, I also got another pack of lens with more options. At first I was really searching for a CPL filter and a ND filter for smartphone, and since this other pack had many options for cheap, I got it.

ND filters and CPL are very useful for long exposure photography and for dealing with reflective surfaces. They really helped me up my game and get those gorgeous sea shots!

Tripods

If you want to try out long exposure photography with your smartphone, or simply filming a recipe in the making, you will need a tripod.

The first tripod I got was a classic one, that could be used both for smartphones or DSLR. I wanted a tripod I could take around with me, especially in a small cabin luggage. So i had to be light, reliable and 50 cm long once folded. And it had to be a small investment because I had no idea what to do with it yet!

So the first one I got was an Amazon Basics one. An ultralight 127 cm tripod, pretty cheap, that I could take around with me.

I tried out filming and photography from high up, but the feet of the tripod were always getting in the field. So I found a… selfie stick! One I could adapt on the tripod, and thus film from high up with my smartphone.

It’s not the most efficient way of doing, nor the most reliable, but it works out for what I need to do.

I soon found this tripod was a too big to be carried around for me. I could take it on vacation, but it was still too big to be left in my handbag. So I tried another out, the Manfrotto pocket tripod. This one is so small it fits in every handbag I own.

This very small tripod is very useful on plane surfaces. I use it when I use a table or the floor as a support. Unfortunately, it is not very steady on other surfaces, and the angle setting is a bit light for me.

The last one I acquired is the one I use the most today, as it is small enough to fit in my handbag, small,light, and with flexible feet. That way, I can make it hold op to anything and use it as a support for my smartphone.

Battery

Taking lots of pictures requires battery and, let’s face it, our smartphones are not always good at that. I have one external battery I always take with me. It’s an Aukey 20 000 mAh Battery with Quick Charge. It has never let me down and charges my phone in no time!

Apps & Softwares

I’m a bit of a beginner when it comes to editing. But I’m getting better at it and learning new techniques each day. On my smartphone, I use:

Google Photos for storage and synchronization

for storage and synchronization Lightromm CC for quick editing

for quick editing Snapseed for editing too

for editing too Golden Hour , that send me a notification before golden hour where I am each day

, that send me a notification before golden hour where I am each day Instagram , of course

, of course Boomerang and Layout from Instagram when I want to have some fun

and from Instagram when I want to have some fun Plann to organize my Instagram feed (more on that in another article)

to organize my Instagram feed (more on that in another article) Focalmark to find the right hashtags to use on Instagram

to find the right hashtags to use on Instagram Followers Assistant to follow my followers count

As for softwares, I use:

Photoshop to correct photos and do montages

to correct photos and do montages Lightroom to edit my photos

Tutorials

When you start getting into mobile photography, you sometimes need inspiration or help with learning new filming, photo or editing techniques. My go to place for that is YouTube.

Peter McKinnon is great at teaching photography skills and has tons of videos for both mobile photography and editing.

This channel if more about shooting better and travelling. Great tutorials here too.

Basically, each time I need help with something, I go to YouTube. Someone there has probably done a tutorial on what you are struggling with. ;)