I know a lot of people wants to learn to improve the quality of their photos so here's a little guide to help you out! 


1. The camera
Of course, the better camera the better pics. BUT if you don't have a fancy system camera, don't worry! Even a cellphone can be used to take very decent pictures if you know how to use it! 


2. Light
This is the most important part when it comes to photography and it's also here that most people makes their mistakes. People tend to believe that it's all about the camera. But the thing is the proper lightning can turn even the crappiest cellphone photo to a portrait! I promise!

Move your photo scene away from the mirror in the dark hallway you will see a dramatic improvement in your pictures quality. Indoor pictures are tricky in general if you don't have a good camera so i suggest you move your scene outside to the daylight. Maybe you have a balcony that can work out for you.


3. Self-timer
Take an outfit picture into your mirror is a very difficult thing to success with but sometimes your arm just ain't enough to catch the whole you in one picture. Most cameras (even cellphones) have a self timer. Find it and be best friends! You will have approx 10 seconds to get yourself in the right position. This might require a bit of patience since you sometimes have to take many pictures before you get it right.


4. Be STILL
This is also a very important tips that many people forget. If you don't have an awesome camera your camera most likely will take dizzy pictures when you move. So the more still you are the sharper will the picture be. With daylight your picture can be knife sharp even with a low quality camera. If you are taking pictures of your face still use the self timer. That way the camera will be perfectly still. It's difficult to hold the camera still with your own arms but if you must use it take support to a shelf of something nearby so the camera don't hang in the air, that way it's easier to keep it still.


5. Let the camera do the job
Cameras are great, they have a lot of options for you to choose between. Try them out. The camera often "senses" the light in the room, when preparing the camera for a self-timer don't be in too much hurry to press the button, give the camera some seconds to adjust to the surrounding. If you are taking a picture where you are standing several steps away from the camera don't stand in front of the lens while pushing the self-timer button, this sometimes confuses the camera and makes it believe you are suppose to stand close so the focus turns out all wrong.


6. Close-up
Most cameras and cellphone have a close up option called Macro. On both my camera and my cellphone it looks like a flower. It's important to use this if you take a photo of something close for example a flower, and earring that you want to show. Or else the camera will focus on your background and you item will become a dizzy spot. This option can be tricky to handle it varies from camera to camera so you have to try it out. This option is really easy on my cellphone but very difficult on my camera, i still haven't quite got it right yet.

Also remember that the macro option sometimes is extremely sensitive. Since it focus so much even the tiniest movement will affect the picture and make it dizzy. So if you don't use the self timer take support from the interior (note that if using the self timer be sure to not move the camera when pressing the button). Hold the camera against the back of a chair, a table, a shelf or anything suitably.


7. Think outside the box!
And here comes the fun part! Sometimes it's very hard to get a good angle. Sometime you want an angel from down below and another time from an angel from up above. Try it! Cameras can be very hard to put in a angeled position. I use a lot of tools to solve these troubles. Use you imagination!

I use shelves and books piled on each other to get the right height on the camera. I use a vase where the camera can point a little lower or a little upper than straight ahead. I have even used tape an taped my camera into a vase to take a picture from up above when i was laying on the floor in the shot. Sometimes i use a little coin just to adjust the angle a little bit. Sometimes I'm standing on a stool. Ask yourself: What do I want to highlight? Maybe the skirt - place the camera in skirt height. Maybe your face - place the camera in face height. Maybe your jewelry - place the camera in chest heigt or a little above, maybe with a slightly looking down angle.

When I'm outside in the nature i carry with me my vase. That will make my camera stay steady so it wont fall and break. I use big stones, walls, bridge railings, trashcans and stairways that I can find to lift my camera of the ground. Take advantage of hills and valleys! 


7. Still can't get focus all over the picture?
Clean the lens! Most of the times when i have an unsharp area on my pics it's because the lens have gotten dirty ^^'





These little tips will hopefully help you some :) Use these tips no matter if your photographing your outfit or your latest purchase you got in the mail! 

And soon you can take cellphone photos like this! ^^v




PS. I'm not a photographer nor are my pics perfect, but it might help a little ^^'

Very useful! :D I´ll definitely use your advice for my next bunch of pictures.

Thanks for the tips! 

OMG I'm so jealous I want a Miku nendoroid so much teehee ^-^

I've come up with some more tips! :)

2½. Make sure the light fall from the right angle.

When you move your scene outside, it's important to observe how the light falls on you. With a not so great camera it's preferable to have the flow of light from your front. If the light comes from the side a lot of weird shadows may appear and half you face will not be shown.

If you take your pictures in the forest, remember the tree blocks the light from the front and side and will instead enter from above, which can create some weird unwanted shadows too. This also includes when you decide to take a lovely shot with you and the blossom apple tree, placing yourself under the three will put you in the shadow - try avoid that. Instead, place yourself in the front of the tree where the light still reaches you.

If you choose a open field as your photo ground, remember, if the sky is visible behind you it might create an against the light effect which makes the sky bright and yourself dark (this often happens if it's cloudy for example, if you however have the sun from the front, this mostly turns out just fine). This against the light effect can also be avoided if you place the camera from an angle from above (strongly avoid angles from below).

The easiest way to start is when you have a wall of some kind behind you. It can be a surface of a big stone, or the wall of you house. Try find the side that points to where the sun should be (even if it's cloudy, the lightning will be strongest there). The surface behind you will block out weird light from behind and the light should fall on you from the front.


5½. Taking pictures in sunlight
Taking pictures in sunlight can be very tricky with self-timer. If the background is green (nature) and you happens to wear a very light colors outfit, like white, you might experience you look light brightly shining angel in the picture. This is because the self time adjust to the background color while you press the button, and don't know what to do when something light suddenly place itself in the visual field. This is super tricky to avoid, because you need to split yourself in two to make this work, which is impossible, however, i have a little trick up my sleeve ^^

So if you're at, lets say, just outside you house, bring another light skirt with you. Place the skirt in the visual field of the camera. Now when pressing the self timer the camera will also adjust to both the darker background and the lighter color. Hurry up, remove the skirt and place yourself in the visual field. This works! The only problem is the time is quite limited when using the self timer so you have to be super quick! But try a few times and you'll get a hang of it :) I use to prepare myself with a chair next to the camera where i can place the skirt fast without getting it dirty. When I'm out in the nature I bring my white mokona plush, which also works just fine for adjust the colors :)

This trick is great for not only sunlight but every time the color in your outfit turns out wrong when using the self timer. Try bring something in the same color as you are (or the color that's troublesome).

Wow Zeruda, what wonderful tips! :D thank you for the update ^_^ this will help when my boyfriend and I do a photo shoot :3 I want to try and enter the Bodyline model contest x3

I am going to use these tips when I get a camera

I need a tri pod

THANK YOU! This is awesome!! :'D

Tripods.

Invest in a tripod. This well def make your life easier. I carried around a vase for a long time where i placed a camera, but i still had to depend on a flat surface for that to work out. Now i got  myself a little tripod. I can place it anywhere !I can pull the legs out so it can stand steady in a slope for instance.

First thing. if you have a really nice heavy camera, invest in a real expensive steady tripod! Small cheap tripods work for light weight cameras but hardly for those system cameras! You camera will be too heavy for a small tripod! this is important or else your tripod might fall and your camera might break!

Great thing with small tripods is that you can carry them everywhere. Make it a routine to bring the tripod every time you bring the camera! My camera is extrely sensitive to movement and bad light. As soon as it's cloudy or the sun is setting i can't take sharp pictures anymore. But a tripod make the fun last longer.

Why you always should use a tripod:
* The picture gets sharper. The camera is perfectly still when taking a picture.
* It's pretty much a must when taking close ups for sharpness.
* When the light is bad the tripod will help to make the picture sharp. 
* If you have a good camera you can take perfect pictures in the dark with a tripod.

These are fantastic tips. Thank you!