LEVEL UP YOUR PHONE PHOTOGRAPHY

WITH GABRIELLE TOUCHETTE

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Welcome to Week 2 of 2025!

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In today's e-mail, you'll get:

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PHOTO TIP OF THE WEEK: how to backup your iPhone photos

INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK: train your eye to take more attractive photos

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: night photos with (and without!) a tripod

RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE: starry night sky tutorial

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PHOTO TIP: How to backup your iPhone photos

I’m a huge fan of making sure my digital files are backed up, especially photos. As a professional photographer, I have zero tolerance for accidental losses - so all my photos are saved in three separate places.

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Even my backup has a backup!

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My iPhone photos are equally as important to me, so I also make sure to keep them secure at all times.

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If you’re not sure if you need to improve your photo backup game, ask yourself:
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• If I lost my iPhone today, how many personal photos would be gone forever?
• If my iPhone fell off a boat and sank to the bottom of the ocean, how many photos would I be sad about losing?

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If those two questions filled you with dread, you probably need a better photo backup system!
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Here’s what I recommend:​
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Backup your iPhone photos to DropBox.

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If you're wondering why I don't backup to iCloud: DropBox costs less for photo storage.
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I pay about $14 (Canadian) per month to get 2TB of storage in my DropBox account.
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I set it to automatically backup my iPhone photos as soon as I take them. Easy peasy.
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Here’s how:​
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Create a DropBox account, pay for extra storage. 2TB is a great amount of space. I calculated that I could store over 100 years of photos or 139 hours of iPhone video. That’s A LOT. And for only $14 per month, it’s well-worth it.

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Install the DropBox app on your iPhone.

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Open the app and go to Account.

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Next, go to Camera Uploads.

--> Select “Upload from Camera Roll”.

I include videos.

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-->Select “Save HEIC photos as… JPG”.
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And that’s it!

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Now, every time you take a photo with your phone, it will be automatically backed up into your DropBox account.

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If someone steals your phone or if your phone gets run over by a bus, you have a back up of all your photos and videos off-site in DropBox.
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Peace of mind.

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INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK: train your eye to create more attractive photos

Why are people mesmerized by Antelope Canyon photos?

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Because the human eye is naturally attracted to bright light, contrast and movement.

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Do a quick google search of “Antelope Canyon” and you will see some of the most beautiful photos of light and lines.

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There is something magical about how light hits the ridges of the canyon. It's one of the best places on earth to create photos that are super attractive to the human eye.

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Why is that?

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For the human eye, the top two most attractive elements in a photo are:

1. Faces and eyes
2. Brightness and contrast

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Faces you probably knew that already.

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But what about brightness? Contrast?

Our eyes are instinctively attracted to bright areas in an image, and if those bright areas are surrounded by contrasting dark edges, the area pops out at us even more.

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Antelope Canyon photos are a great example of that. Not only is there lots of contrast (brightness alongside dark edges), but there are also fluid shapes and moving lines - which further attracts the human eye.
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Knowing this, I have a challenge for you: try to seek out interesting light and contrast in an ordinary setting.

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Train your eye to find captivating visuals in unassuming places.

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This exercise will help you become a better photographer.

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Don't hold off practicing this technique until you can plan a trip to Antelope Canyon,

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Instead, start practicing right away - in everyday, simple locations.

Yes, it will be harder to create interesting images in "simple" locations.

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But challenging yourself to discover how light hits lines and creates contrast in your “own backyard” will grow a skillset that can only come from having to work with subjects that aren't as easily attractive.

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If you only rely on easy, picture-perfect locations to practice your photography, your skills won’t grow as much.

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Instead, challenge yourself to capture compelling photos in not-so-easy locations, so that when you do come to picture-perfect locations, your photos will be even better!

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PHOTO OF THE WEEK: how to take night photos with your phone

This is a photo I took handheld, while my friends set off NYE fireworks on their rural property:

Should I have used a tripod? Yes.

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Was it too cold and inconvenient to use a tripod? Yes!

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So I settled for a handheld photo.

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Photos taken at night take a longer duration for the image to be captured by the camera. When there is less light, the camera needs more time to "absorb" enough light to create a photo.

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And when a camera shutter is open for a longer period of time, any slight movement by my hand will cause movement blur in the photo.

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You can see it in the sparks - they're not perfectly sharp. They "smudge" a bit.

Although this is not a technically "good" photo because of the movement blur, sometimes it's ok to not worry about those things and just take the photo.

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(I prefer to just capture memories with my phone, rather than hold off until settings are perfect.)

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However, if I wanted to correct that motion blur, here's what I would do:

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• use a tripod (to keep the camera perfectly still)
• use self-timer or a remote to take the photo (so my hands are off the camera and preventing camera shake)
• use burst mode (so that several photos are taken in one go, getting more chances to capture that perfect, fleeting moment)

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This is encouragement to you - if it's too cold or too inconvenient to set up a tripod, don't let that stop you from taking a photo. Capturing memories is more important than waiting for a perfect shot.

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But - let this be a lesson that if you do want to get that perfect shot, get a tripod, a remote and use burst mode!

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​RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE: how to take night photos of the starry sky

On a related note, if you're ever outside on a clear night away from city lights-- consider taking photos of the starry sky. It's doable with a mobile phone! Here's how I did it:

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