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Raya is right around the corner, and as with all other festivities, it’s a great opportunity to gather with family and friends, and an even greater opportunity to document your kampung memories. After all, it’s been a long three years since we’ve gotten to really celebrate without masks and all, hasn’t it?
In light of the upcoming festivities, we’ve decided to round up a couple of tips and tricks to help you capture your best moments.
1. Don’t Be Afraid of Close-Ups; Small Details Tell A Big Story
It’s always the little things in life that bring the most happiness, and that applies to photography too. When trying to tell a story and draw attention to a particular subject, we like using the iPhone’s Portrait Mode to really get up close and personal.
Whether you’re trying to capture someone’s laugh or bringing attention to smaller details like rings, eyes, watches, sweets, etc., close-ups will reveal all the little details that might slip your attention in a panoramic view.
2. Composition & Lighting; Because Everyone Should Be Seen In The Best Light
Composition and lighting are the first and most important aspects of photography, whether you’re shooting on a professional DSLR or simply on your iPhone. Under different light and perspective, the story you’re telling may change too.
For composition, the concept of the rule of thirds and the golden ratio has yet to fail us. It’s a great way of ensuring that your subjects are in the optimal position within your photography so the resulting photos look more balanced and dynamic.
If you’re thinking how much of a hassle it will be to have to visualize imaginary lines whenever you’re taking photos, don’t worry, the iPhone (and most other smartphones) have handy grids that can be turned on or off within the camera settings.
Besides that, you can also play around with your lens and angles to drastically change the perspective of your shots. One example we have here was shot on the iPhone 14, using the 0.5x Ultra Wide Camera.
As for lighting, it’s best to ensure that your subject always has the best light falloff. The whole technical explanation will involve a lot of physics and mathematics, but basically, you just have to be mindful of where the light is coming from and how it’s hitting your subject.
For example, for warm and fuzzy balik kampung photos, you don’t want your subject to be sitting in harsh light, as that will create strong shadows that give off a more ominous vibe. Instead, move your subject or diffuse the light (with screens, shades, or even a simple white cloth) for a more flattering result. This applies to both humans and food.
TIP: Dramatic lighting works best on people when the light source (eg. a window) is coming at a 45° angle to the subject. This will create a slight shadow on the opposite side of the subject's face, conveying more emotion.
3. Try Capturing Au Naturale
If you have a big extended family, then you’ll know that capturing a family photo is a challenge, especially when everyone is excited to see everyone else and there are hyperactive toddlers in your midst, not to mention that it may be hard to get everyone into the frame.
The former isn’t really much of a problem, as I’m sure we all prefer capturing memories over awkward, posed photos. And the latter can also be solved by switching to an ultrawide lens, which can be easily done on any iPhone. In fact, the 0.5x Ultra Wide Camera has really made things easier when it comes to group shots.
For candid, real reactions, set up your camera and line up your shots beforehand, then just let things fall into place as you snap away. The right moment will present itself, and we guarantee that these au naturale photos will be much more memorable than anything else.
TIP: When shooting Ultra Wide, try to take lower angles to frame your shot. This makes things appear larger than they are to give you that glorious "larger than life" hero shoot feel.
Fun fact: we took all these photos above, and more, with only the iPhone 14. Check out our Instagram for more tips like these!
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