Tips to take better photos with your smartphone

Smartphones have become our primary way to take photos as they are convenient and easy to use. While most people take advantage of the point-and-shoot method, which allows you to take pictures in a hurry, most phones offer several options to make them even better. And sometimes, it’s more about technique than technology. Luckily, learning how to take better images is not hard. Keep reading for several tips and tricks.

Clean your camera lens

One of the simplest but often overlooked ways to get better pictures from your smartphone is to clean the camera lens before you start snapping. Smudges and dust can easily find their way onto the lens as it sits in your pocket, resulting in blurry or hazy images.

Regularly cleaning the lens with a microfiber cloth will help you take clearer pictures. If it’s especially dirty a lens cleaner will help clean it up.

Pay attention to lighting

Lighting is everything when it comes to photography. Even with the best smartphone camera, poor lighting can ruin your shot. Natural light is ideal for most photos, especially soft, diffused light like the kind you get in the early morning or late afternoon.

While most of us are trying to capture an important memory as it happens, taking a second to have the subject face the light can improve your images. It’s also helpful to avoid using the flash as it results in a harsh, unflattering light. Instead, experiment with nearby light sources like lamps or candles to create a warmer, more natural effect.

Use the gridlines for composition

Composition is a critical element of photography, and using your smartphone’s gridlines can greatly improve it.

Most smartphones have a gridline option in the camera settings that overlays your screen with two horizontal and two vertical lines. This is based on the “rule of thirds,” a photography principle that helps you position your subject in a visually appealing way. By aligning your subject along these lines or their intersections, you create a more balanced and interesting photo.

Gridlines can help with composition and keep the horizon straight, which is particularly useful for landscape photography. A tilted horizon can be distracting and diminish the quality of the photo.

Avoid zooming in

When you’re far away from your subject, it can be tempting to zoom in, but doing so can lower the quality of your photo. Most smartphones use digital zoom, which enlarges the image by sacrificing resolution. Instead, move closer to the image or snap the picture as is and then zoom in, and crop it later in post-production.

Digital zoom essentially stretches the pixels in an image, which can make it look grainy and lack detail. By avoiding zoom, you’re preserving the maximum quality your smartphone camera can provide, making your photos sharper and more professional.

Hold your phone steady

Stability is key to preventing blurry photos, which often occur due to camera shake. While smartphone cameras are equipped with image stabilization features, holding your phone steady is essential, especially in low light or when using slower shutter speeds.

If you’re shooting in very low light or want to ensure absolute stability, consider using a tripod or a smartphone mount. Portable tripods or stabilizers can help eliminate shake, giving you much clearer results.

Adjust the exposure manually

While smartphone cameras are equipped with automatic exposure settings, they don’t always get it right, especially in tricky lighting conditions. You can manually adjust the exposure by tapping on your subject on the screen. Once tapped, most phones will show a slider (usually represented by a sun icon) that lets you adjust the brightness. Dragging this slider up or down allows you to control how much light the camera lets in, giving you more control over the final image.

Manual exposure adjustment is particularly helpful in high-contrast situations, such as when you’re photographing a bright sky and a darker foreground. Adjusting the exposure can help ensure that you capture the details in both bright and dark areas.

Use portrait mode for depth

Portrait mode on many smartphones creates a shallow depth of field, blurring the background while keeping your subject in sharp focus. This effect mimics the look of a professional camera, drawing attention to your subject and giving your photos a more polished feel.

Use portrait mode on any subject, not just faces, to create a separation between the subject and background. Try it out on pets, food, or even plants.

Take advantage of editing apps

Even great images can benefit from post-processing. While your smartphone’s built-in editor is useful for basic adjustments like cropping and straightening, there are a variety of third-party editing apps available that offer more advanced tools. Apps like Snapseed, VSCO, and Adobe Lightroom Mobile allow you to tweak everything from exposure and contrast to color saturation and sharpness.

Editing apps also give you access to filters, effects, and retouching tools that can transform an average photo into something extraordinary. However, it’s important to remember that a little goes a long way.

Practice makes perfect

Photography, like any skill, requires practice to improve. The more you experiment with different lighting conditions, angles, and subjects, the better you will get at recognizing what makes a great shot. Don’t hesitate to take multiple photos of the same scene from different perspectives or under varying settings to find out what works best.

Analyze your photos critically to identify areas that need improvement. Pay attention to what worked and what didn’t, and adjust your approach accordingly.

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