In recent weeks we've been talking about the pros and cons of professional wedding photography.

We've covered ideas for working outside of the traditional professional wedding photographer model and some things to consider if you're going to go down that path.

This blog is for those of you who are definitely on the side of DIY photos. Or more to the point, those of you who want to capture the memories with your smart phone. We've said previously that a good camera phone is no replacement for a professional wedding photographer. However, there's no debating that smart phone cameras are getting better and better. Or that some amazing pics can come from an iPhone.

Perhaps you've booked a professional but are wanting to save yourself the expense of a second photographer? Or maybe you've chosen to have a small intimate wedding and don't really want a stranger lying on the ground trying to get the perfect pic. You could be wanting some great memories of your bestie's special day or maybe photos just aren't a priority for you. Whatever the reason for wanting to get capture it all on your smart phone, we've got you covered.

1. Beware the background!

Don't be afraid to get close to your subject. Something a professional photographer is good at, is looking at the entire picture. Make sure you arrange your photo to avoid anything distracting like power lines or an ugly building. 

Getting in nice and close* to your subject can help with this.

This gives focus to the subject and often blurs the background. Mix this up with some well thought out long shots and a few pics taken from a lower angle so that there is beautiful horizon in the background, not a rotund uncle mid pick.

*Tip: possibly not one for mid ceremony!

2. Avoid the zoom

Try to avoid using the camera phones zoom feature. Smart phones aren't quite smart enough to have an actual zoom lens, so what you're actually doing is just making the picture larger and cropping the bits you don't want.

More often than not, this will result in blurred, grainy images. 

There are times when you may be willing to trade image quality to get the pic, and that's fine. Just make sure that it's a deliberate choice. One such time is if you are taking a video, where you might want to zoom in on Uncle Roger's sweet dance moves. If you're going to zoom mid video however, make sure you are holding the camera steady and that you zoom in (and out) slowly.

3. Limit the selfies

While there is always space for selfies or allfies (that wedding hashtag won't populate itself!), there are only so many of these type of pics you need. The front-facing camera or selfie modes offers lower megapixel quality than the main camera on the smart phone does. 

4. Landscape your phone for video 

This makes for a happier playback experience. A landscape video will fill the screen it's played on, where a vertical video will be narrow with black bars down the sides.

*Tipe: remember that videos will use more space than photos. Avoid running out of space with shorter video clips