“Photography, in my experience, has the miraculous power of transferring wine into water.” — Oscar Wilde
Oscar got it backwards (deliberately, I suspect), but there’s something rather magical about capturing moments that transform the ordinary into something worth sharing. And no, you don’t need to remortgage your house or develop an unhealthy relationship with Amazon’s “buy now” button.
PRO TIP: If you’re not sure how to apply those notes to your phone, just copy them into something like perplexity.ai and ask it how you can achieve that or find that setting in your phone (tell it your phone make and model).
And if you’re a small business person in South Australia, take a look to see if you qualify for mentoring. This is subsidised, one-on-one help with Steve Davis.
Why Visuals Matter (Even When You Think They Don’t)
Let’s strip away the marketing waffle and look at what’s actually happening:
- Photo posts on Facebook increase impressions by 114% and double engagement compared to link-only posts
- Instagram users spend half their time watching Reels (and the other half questioning their life choices)
- Video ads outperform image ads with almost double the clickthrough rates (59.3% vs. 29.6%)
- LinkedIn’s algorithm is now favouring videos over text and images (because even professionals get bored reading updates about someone being “humbled and honoured” for the fifth time this week)
Getting to Know Your Camera (It’s Smarter Than You Think)
Before we get too clever with ourselves, let’s make sure we’re using the basic settings properly:
- First Things First:
- Turn that flash off (unless you’re deliberately going for that “police lineup” aesthetic)
- Enable Live Photos (iPhone) or Motion Photos (Android) – they’re like insurance policies for your shots
- Switch to 16:9 format for a more cinematic look (that becomes 9:16 if you’re shooting video for Insta or TikTok)
- In selfie mode (when the camera is looking back at you), tap those little arrows to adjust how much of your face (or your questionable home office setup) gets captured
- Dive into Settings:
- Preserve your creative control settings so you don’t have to reset them every time
- Switch formats to “Most Compatible” (because sharing shouldn’t require a computer science degree)
- Turn on the grid for better composition (those rule-of-thirds lines aren’t just decorative)
Choosing Your Lens: A Simple Guide for the Overwhelmed
My rule of thumb is to start with the 1x lens – it’s your camera’s default view.
Need to get closer? Try 2x or 3x if your phone offers it. But remember, you can usually just move closer to your subject (revolutionary concept, I know).
Want to capture the vastness of a landscape or a tight indoor space? Switch to 0.5x wide angle. It fits more in the frame but can distort around the edges (which sometimes creates interesting effects).
The real magic happens when you experiment. Get awkwardly, uncomfortably close to your subject sometimes. The results might surprise you – in a good way.
Your camera can go places and see things from angles your eyes don’t normally consider.
It’s All About Light (Seriously, It’s Always About Light)
- Your camera needs adequate light to work its magic. In low light, hold steady or use a tripod – don’t default to flash
- If light is behind your subject, you’ll get silhouettes (sometimes cool, often not what you want). Move so the light comes from behind the camera
- Learn to lock aperture/focus by holding your finger on the screen to avoid exposure jumping around like a cat on a hot tin roof
Composition Tips That Actually Work
- Get Moving: High angles, low angles, uncomfortably close – unusual positions create visual interest and surprise viewers
- Face Shots: Shoot slightly from above for a more flattering angle (we all have our vanities)
- Play with Perspective: Moving your camera closer to some objects than others changes how viewers perceive the scene
- Leave Space: Consider where text or captions might go and frame accordingly
- Use Your Timer: For better solo shots without the awkward arm extension that screams “I’m taking a selfie and I’m not entirely comfortable with it”
Video: Where Most People Go Wrong
Let’s be honest – bad video is worse than no video. Here’s how to avoid being that person:
- Technical Basics:
- Activate airplane mode to prevent calls interrupting your Oscar-worthy moment
- Avoid digital zoom (stick to your main lens settings detailed above) – it degrades quality faster than political promises after an election
- Multiple short scenes work better than one long, rambling take, when it comes to editing
- Consider a small tripod or gimbal if you’re serious (they’re surprisingly affordable now)
- Sound matters as much as visuals – consider a lapel mic for clear audio
- Shooting Strategies:
- Take viewers where they can’t normally go – show action and experiences
- Stabilise your shots – shaky footage doesn’t look “authentic,” it looks like you filmed during an earthquake
- For interviews or voiceovers, record audio first, then shoot scenes to match
- Gather more B-roll (supplementary footage) than you think you need – you’ll thank yourself during editing
- Creative Techniques:
- Slow motion adds drama and emphasis
- Try moving the camera very fast at the beginning and end of a scene for a natural transition effect
- Wide-angle shots create interesting perspectives and creative effects
Editing: Where Good Content Becomes Great
For Photos:
- Crop to the right aspect ratio for your platform
- Adjust exposure and lighting (subtly – we can all spot over-processed images from three suburbs away)
- Resize appropriately (nobody needs a 20MB image on Instagram) – aim for a photo file size of less than 100kb for use on your website
Recommended Tools:
- Photopea.com (free Photoshop alternative for when you’d rather spend money on coffee)
- Canva (intuitive interface for basic edits). Great idea is to create a few canvases at sizes you need on your website, eg, 1200x630px, 800x1000px, etc. Then when you need to prep a photo from your phone, you open the canvas, upload the image, place it on the canvas, make sure it fits well, then save as jpeg. Photo is correct size in pixels and the file would have dropped from a few megabytes to 100-or-so kilobytes.
For Video:
- Focus on clean cuts and smooth transitions
- Add titles only when necessary
- Be judicious with effects and filters (less is usually more)
- Export at the right resolution for your platform (4k for your masterpieces, 1080p for standard video, 720p for when it’s mainly about the sound)
Recommended Tools:
- CapCut (best free option across devices)
- iMovie (for Apple users)
- FilmoraGo or VideoShow (Android)
- DaVinci Resolve (free but complex)
- Canva is great for really short video. Build or use a template, drop in your video, do a light edit, then export as MP4.
Create Your Short Story Video In Canva
[These next instructions were written by Perplexity.AI to match the exercise we did at the end of the session.]
Use this simple process to create a short, vertical video that tells people something meaningful about you, your business or your role.
1. Choose one idea
Record a response of 15–30 seconds to one of these prompts:
- “I got into this work because…”
- “The part of my work I enjoy most is…”
- “What matters most to me about this business is…”
- “The difference I love making for customers or our community is…”
Speak naturally. Do not try to sound like an advertisement; imagine you are explaining it to someone who has just asked you over coffee.
2. Prepare your shot
- Use your phone vertically.
- Stand facing a window or another soft light source; do not put a bright window behind you.
- Find a quiet location with a simple, relevant background.
- Hold or position the camera at about eye height.
- Keep your head and shoulders in the frame, with a little room above your head.
- Clean the phone lens first.
3. Set focus and brightness
- Tap your face on the screen so the phone knows what needs to be sharp.
- Check that your face is neither too dark nor too bright.
- Use the on-screen brightness control—often shown as a small sun icon—to make a small adjustment if necessary.
- On iPhone, press and hold on your face until AE/AF LOCK appears if you need the focus and brightness to remain steady.
- On Android, tap your face and adjust brightness; if your camera shows a padlock or AE/AF Lock, use it if the camera keeps changing focus or exposure.
4. Record two or three takes
- Look at the camera lens, not at your own face on screen.
- Take a breath, smile if appropriate, and begin.
- Speak a little more slowly than you think you need to.
- Record two or three versions so you can choose the best one.
- Watch them back and choose the clearest, warmest and most natural take.
5. Trim the video in CapCut
Use the free version of CapCut to make a clean first edit:
- Start a New project and add your selected video.
- Trim off the moment before you begin speaking and the moment after you finish.
- Remove any long pause, stumble or false start if needed.
- Ensure the video remains vertical, 9:16.
- Add captions if you wish, and correct any obvious caption errors.
- Export the finished video at 1080p and save it to your phone.
Your aim is clarity, not special effects. Remove distractions so people can hear the point you are making.
6. Open Canva Free
- Open the free Canva app and sign in.
- Search for
business introduction video,meet the founder video, orsimple video testimonial. - Select a vertical or Mobile Video design: 1080×1920, also called 9:16.
- Choose a clean template with one large video space, simple text, and room for a small logo.
- Check that the template and the elements you use are marked Free, not Pro.
7. Build your branded video
Use a simple three-page structure:
| Page | What to include | Suggested length |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | A short title, such as “Why I do what I do” or “Meet [Your Name]” | 1–2 seconds |
| Main video | Your 15–30 second talking video, with a small logo and key caption | 15–30 seconds |
| Closing | Business name, logo, website or social-media handle | 2–3 seconds |
Keep the design simple:
- Add your logo in a corner.
- Add a brief caption, quotation or headline at the bottom.
- Use large text with strong contrast so it can be read on a phone screen.
- Keep important text away from the very top and bottom, where social-media buttons and captions may cover it.
- Use your business colours only if they remain easy to read.
- Avoid unnecessary filters, transitions and animated decorations.
8. Download and share
- Preview the whole video once.
- Check spelling, caption readability, logo placement and sound.
- Download as an MP4 video at 1080p.
- Save it to your phone.
- Use it as a Reel, Story, Facebook post, LinkedIn post, website video, newsletter feature or short introduction to your business.
Your finished result
By the end, you should have a short, vertical video that answers one meaningful question:
Why does this work matter to you?
It will be a small but valuable piece of content: authentic, branded, easy to reuse, and far more memorable than a generic promotional post.
Sharing Effectively
- Highlight key elements in your captions
- Tag relevant people or audience groups (but don’t spam)
- Upload videos directly to platforms rather than sharing links for better engagement
- Use YouTube/Vimeo for sharing your content but also for hosting your videos for embedding into your website
Workshop Highlights: Creativity in Action
Here is an improvised video shot with an excellent and egaged group of participants at the Stretton Centre in September 2026. Taylor our tattoo artist had to fight against her true nature to say no in every scene to create this Tattoo Nightmare. Edited in CapCut with cuts, filter, effects, music, audio adjustment, and title.
[I also promised this group a link to my blog about blogging: The Anatomy Of A Blog: Updated Insights From 20 Years Of Blogging.]
Here is a highlight reel showcasing the creative experiments from participants in my Smartphone Photography & Video workshop held in the Barossa Valley a couple of years ago. The workshop was delivered in partnership with Regional Development Australia (RDA) Barossa Gawler Light Adelaide Plains (BGLAP) thanks to the Adelaide Business Hub‘s ASBAS Digital Solutions program.
The video demonstrates how quickly you can create professional-looking content with just a smartphone, some basic knowledge, and a good dose of curiosity.
These participants went from hesitant to confident in just one session, proving that the barrier to quality content creation is lower than many small business owners believe.
You don’t need to be an influencer with perfect lighting and a curated life – you just need to understand a few principles and be willing to experiment.
What creative smartphone photography or video techniques have worked for your business? Share your experiences in a social network and tag Talked About Marketing. Or better yet, share a photo or video you’ve created using these techniques.