From Photos to Safety: 7 Ways Your Smartphone Can Improve Your Festival Experience

Prolong the battery life

Bring a portable charger or power bank to ensure you have enough battery throughout the day. Turning on battery saver mode and closing any unnecessary apps on the day will make the battery last longer. You’ll be tempted to use the vibration feature if you’re unable to hear the phone ringing, however, batteries need to put more effort into vibrating than just ringing. If you’re not going to be on your phone for a longer period, no need for the screen need to be at full brightness. Reducing your brightness, is a great way of preserving phone battery.

Backup important data

If your smart phone is your only camera and you store many photos on it, then this feature will be important for you. If you have an iPhone, you can back-up your photos on your free Cloud account. To turn the Cloud account on you’ll need your Apple ID. If the Cloud account is on, the backup will be done automatically. The backup is allowed for your 1000 most recent photos clicked over the past 30 days. In case of the Android phones, you’ll have Google+ built in, which can back up your photos to Google Drive. You get 15GB of free storage, which is good for a lot of photos. You can turn on the auto back up on using the settings of your Google+ account.

Prepare for all weathers

Check the weather forecast and prepare accordingly. Bring a waterproof case should it rain, and if it’s really warm, looks for a heat-resistant phone case. Exposing your phone to direct sunlight for prolonged periods can cause it to overheat and potentially damage its internal components. Keep your phone in the shade, a bag, or a pocket to protect it from direct sunlight.

Enable safety features

Turn on “Find my iPhone” or “Google Find my Device” for androids. With these apps, you will be able to locate your phone should you lose it, or if it gets stolen. The app features also play a sound on the device allowing you to find it (if close by), and you can even erase all the data on the device to ensure your data is kept safe.

Clear storage space

That dreaded “Storage Full” notification always pops up at the wrong moment. Thankfully, you can click on the camera option in your Facebook or Twitter app instead. By starting a new tweet or post using the camera icon, and then taking your photo, the resulting picture will be saved to your camera roll.

Capture the moments

Once at the festival, enjoy yourself and capture the moments on your phone.

Use your pocket mirror or a plastic glass for to create photography effects like prism or lens distortion. Use a clear plastic bottle or glass. The curves and shapes of the plastic can work similarly to a prism when held in front of your camera lens, refracting the light sources in unique ways. You can also use a compact makeup mirror or two – the type that folds out with two mirror panels. Hold these angled against each other in front of your lens to potentially create kaleidoscopic prism-inspired refractions from the stage lighting.

Capturing the energy of the moment when the crowd is engaged in a synchronized action, like a wave or clapping during a particular song, can make your selfies stand out. These shots not only capture the concert’s energy but also your genuine emotions.

Invest in a festival phone

If you don’t want to risk taking your shiny, new phone, check if you have a spare older device lying around that will survive a festival. Or alternatively, buy a second-hand phone. These can be bought SIM-free for a low cost.