After retirement, you will finally have time to do everything you dreamed of when you were younger. From traveling the world to starting a garden, or even a new hobby, we now live in a digital age where you will want to spend time capturing images of all of your adventures.

Although we now carry cameras in our pockets, taking good photos with your phone is easier said than done. Read on to learn some photography tips for seniors that can help you capture memories with ease. 

9 Photography Tips for Seniors

1. Focus on a Single Subject

While walking the streets of Rome, it can be tempting to try and take pictures of the crowd, but know that ‘busy’ photos are rarely enjoyed by onlookers. Instead, focus on taking pictures of a single object, like the Colosseum, and just tell your friends and family about how busy it was. 

Images also work best when you can see the entire object. So instead of just snapping photos at random, try to find a place where you can get the whole object into the image, then snap your shot. With most phones, you can additionally tap your thumb on the center of the screen to get the camera to focus. 

2. Sign Up for Tours

The areas generally frequented by tourists aren’t the best for photos. If you really want to create digital memories of a trip, we recommend signing up for a tour or two. Often, tour guides know the best place to take a photo and can take you to places where you won’t have a huge crowd in the foreground of your photos. That, and consider traveling to more underrated holiday destinations.

3. Consider a Tripod

Sometimes, holding a camera steady to take a photo is easier said than done. If you struggle with shaky hands, a phone tripod might be a good investment. While it can be annoying to cart one around and set it up all the time, there are now versions that are small enough for a purse that must be set on a surface that can still make all the difference when snapping memories. 

4. Forget the Flash

Although camera flashes do have a purpose, generally, natural light is always better. A flash can even make a photo look posed when it wasn’t. We recommend always taking pictures with ample outdoor sunlight, or by a window indoors (not in front of it, though!) instead of using a flash. If you find it’s too dark in your current location, we recommend switching locations before switching on a flash!

In attractions where it is too dark for natural light to help, we still don’t recommend using a flash as your pictures likely won’t come out anyway. If you are touring a darker area, like catacombs or a cave, skip the photos entirely and just enjoy the view. After the tour, purchase professional pictures in the gift shop if you really want to remember your journey. While these will cost more than taking your own photos, this is often the only way to get decent images of these places. 

5. Turn on Gridlines

If you are struggling with taking good photos of items or people, we recommend turning on the gridlines on your phone app. Your child or grandchild (or the internet) can help you with this. Once the lines are on, do your best to place the subject where the lines intersect. This will help you to learn to center the object without even trying!

6. Practice

Those preparing for a vacation where they will need lots of photos should practice before their trip! Practice taking pictures of subjects (like your partner or pet) as well as items around your home. Just like anything else in life, taking good photos is a skill, and it takes practice to make perfect!

We also recommend checking out local photography classes if there is one in your area. This can help you get a feel for using a camera or phone, and the teacher can give you more specific tips based on the type of trip you are going on! 

7. Get a Lanyard

So many people drop their phones when taking photos on vacation. To ensure this doesn’t happen to you, we recommend purchasing a phone lanyard and ensuring it is around your neck before you lift your phone to take a photo. A drop-proof case is also recommended, just in case.

On this note, also never hand your phone to strangers, unless you are certain they are tourists like you or are a guide on your tour. Phone theft is common in many locations around the world. No picture is worth possibly losing all of the other ones you took! To learn more travel tips, check out our list of must-have travel gadgets for seniors.

8. Lift Your Phone Up

For some reason, images at eye level are never that good. Instead, you should always get into the habit of lifting your phone up above your head, or lowering it beneath your waist. These angles can help you to catch a much better shot.

Of course, it can be exhausting to lift your phone up and down all day, so a selfie stick with a remote, or the tripod you bought earlier, can be an excellent help for this step, allowing you to keep your arms at the same level while still snapping the perfect shot from above. 

9. Buy a Photo Frame

We know you are excited to share your pictures with friends and family when you return home, but it can be extremely difficult to pass your one small phone screen around to everyone. Instead, we recommend buying a digital photo frame where you can send photos to a larger screen for everyone to view. You can also leave the screen running in the background, allowing you to share your favorite images throughout the year.

Even better, you can buy friends and family the same digital photo frame, allowing you to send images as you take them all year round! Then they can send some to you too!

Overall, if you follow these tips, you should be well on your way to taking some beautiful pictures! Just don’t forget to save them to the cloud so you can see them digitally, even if you change devices/lose your phone!