8 ways to take your smartphone photography to the next level

Smartphone photography is in, now what?

Most small businesses have heard by now that the visual web has entrenched the globe, and that consumers prefer the efficiency of scrolling through images rather than reading walls of text. Big surprise, right? So, many professionals have responded by hopping onto Instagram and the like, and have even been smart enough to push their photos from their photo apps to their social networks, to show how personable they are.

But then what? Yes, professionals should be commenting on other users’ photographs and building a general sense of community, but there are so many more possibilities with smartphone photography than just Instagram and liking. Have you considered adding your photos to your blog and making them interactive? Have you considered that you can get better at smartphone photography and that apps exist to help, and that apps exist that allow you to immediately share photos with friends around you? Have you considered broadcasting live to Facebook, or perhaps using your existing photos to create a collage?

Smartphone photography isn’t just about funky filters, nor is it about sharing pictures of your cat on Facebook (although let’s face it, that’s awesome), no, you’re a legitimate business person that is looking for ways to stand out, and the tools to do just that are right under your nose. Consumers want images over text, so why not give them a polished version and keep the interacting with your brand? Here are 8 ways to do just that:

1. Cinemagraphs: make your website memorable with moving images
2. Fotor: photo editor influenced by Windows 8 and Instagram
3. PicMonkey’s drag and drop collage feature is drop dead simple
4. Apps that help improve your smartphone photography
5. Flock automatically shares your photos among friends you are with
6. Free, simple ways to make animated gifs
7. Make your website ultra sticky with interactive photo tagging
8. Color app broadcasts live from your phone to Facebook