Over the years the cameras on smartphones have steadily improved, and nowadays they are actually quite good. That being said it can still be challenging to capture photos that look great with a smartphone.

If you’d like to start to capture better photos using your smartphone, there are a few things that you should do as mentioned below.

Top 5 Smartphone Photography Tips

HOW TO: Capture Better Photos Using a Smartphone Camera


Make Sure there’s Lots of Light


The sensor on smartphone cameras is typically smaller than your average digital camera or DSLR – so it captures less light. That is why smartphones are notoriously bad in low-light conditions, and the photos they snap will look grainy if there isn’t enough light. Now some flagship smartphones like Huawei P20 Pro are great for low-light photography but still come with some restriction.

Considering that, you should always make sure that there is lots of light when you’re capturing photos using your smartphone. Ideally it is best if the light is soft and diffused, and evenly illuminates the subject.

Turn Off the Flash


While this may seem counter-intuitive if you want lots of light, it is actually essential. Although the camera on your smartphone may be quite good, its flash probably isn’t – and more often than not will hurt your photos more than it helps and cause the colors to look bad.

Lock the Focus Before Snapping a Photo


Try to get into the habit of locking the focus before you snap any photo. On most smartphones all it takes is a single tap on the subject to lock the focus – and some smartphones with facial recognition may even do it automatically.

Overall this should help improve the definition of your photos, and avoid any last-minute shifts in the camera focus.


Hold the Smartphone Steady


Honestly you’d be surprised how many smartphone photos look bad because the camera wasn’t kept steady. Ideally you should keep your camera completely still while you snap any photo, but that can be challenging considering how thin and light smartphones are nowadays.

If you’re having difficulty, try gripping your phone with both hands and keep your arms close to your sides for additional support. In some cases you may want to consider using a tripod stand, or finding a stable surface to prop your phone on.

Don’t Use the (Digital) Zoom


Although some smartphones have started to include dual and even triple cameras with optical zoom, most still rely solely on digital zoom. If yours uses a digital zoom it is best to avoid it completely, as all it actually does is enlarge the image while lowering its overall resolution – resulting in a photo that looks worse.

In short you’d be much better off moving physically closer to the subject instead.

Top 5 Smartphone Photography Tips

While these tips can help, you should still have an editor handy that you can use to tidy up the photos that you snap. For example, you could try https://www.movavi.com/photo-editor/ if you need a place to start.

At the end of the day there’s really no reason why you can’t snap impressive and professional-looking photos using your smartphone camera. All it takes is the right approach, and now that you know what to do you should be all set.
 
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