In a nutshell
- Keep your smartphone lens clean — the unprotected glass gets dirty fast and quietly wrecks your image quality.
- Turn on the camera grid to nail your alignment and apply the rule of thirds without guessing.
- Skip the digital zoom — it seriously kills image quality. Move your feet instead.
- It might look a little silly, but it opens up incredible perspectives: accessories like a selfie stick or tripod are totally worth it.
Basic Tips for Smartphone Photography
We’ve divided our smartphone photography tips into different sections and will start here with some fundamental advice. Some of it might sound obvious, but it’s still something people get wrong all the time.
Keep your phone camera lens clean
This tip sounds so simple you’d think it doesn’t even need to be said. But it’s actually a surprisingly common problem. The lens on your smartphone camera isn’t protected by a lens cap — it’s exposed to the elements all day long: moisture, greasy sunscreen-covered hands, dust, and lint from your pocket. All of that takes a toll on your lens regularly.
So clean your camera lens regularly.
The best tool for the job isn’t your T-shirt or whatever piece of fabric you have handy — use a soft microfiber lens cloth instead.
We recommend this cloth, which we also use to clean the lenses on our regular cameras:
And when you’re cleaning it, don’t forget that your phone has a camera on both the front and the back.
Always use two hands
Phone photos are often taken on the fly with just one hand. That’s a big mistake. Treat your smartphone like a “real” camera. Hold it with both hands and focus on taking the photo. Anyone can just snap away — but that usually doesn’t produce the results you’re looking for.
Know what your smartphone is capable of
Modern smartphones offer a wide range of settings that let you deliberately shape your photos.
At the end of the day, a smartphone is just like a real camera: if you only ever shoot in auto mode, you’ll never unlock the camera’s full potential.
So get familiar with your smartphone’s features! That’s when mobile photography really becomes fun and starts delivering the results you’re after.
Know the limits of smartphone photography
But you should know not only what your smartphone can do — you should also know its limits. This really comes down to something very fundamental: whether smartphone photography can completely replace traditional photography.
Our answer: No, definitely not. And we don’t mean that negatively at all. On the contrary — we don’t want to pit smartphone photography against traditional photography. We see it as an add-on, an additional creative outlet for photography enthusiasts, and a great way to capture amazing shots when you don’t have your regular camera with you.
But there are simply situations where smartphone cameras hit their limits. When the light gets worse or you want to zoom in on a subject, even the best smartphone camera will struggle.
Always keep that in mind. If you’re going on a safari or want to photograph the night sky, the smartphone probably isn’t the right tool for the job — and in those cases you should reach for a real camera.
Make sure you have enough storage space
High-end smartphones offer the ability to shoot photos in RAW format (more on that in the next section).
But the high resolution of phone photos comes with a downside: the files take up a lot of storage space. Be aware of this and make sure you have enough storage available.
Many smartphones have a free card slot where you can insert a microSD card. If you shoot a lot, you should definitely get one of these cards and configure your phone to save photos to it. We both have an additional 32 GB card in our smartphones, which you can pick up here:
Composition Tips for Smartphone Photos
They always say: it’s not the camera that makes the photo, it’s the photographer. There’s a lot of truth to that, which is why we want to share our composition tips for your smartphone photos in this section.
Photograph, don't just snap
Phone photos are often taken casually and without much thought. It’s just so easy: pull the smartphone out of your pocket, tap the shutter, done.
But if you’re serious about how to take better phone photos, you need to put in a little more effort: don’t just shoot wildly — think about every shot.
Consider beforehand how you want your photo to look in the end. What’s the best way to frame your subject? Is there maybe a different angle that would work better? Just by being more deliberate, you can achieve noticeably better results. Give it a try!
Follow the rule of thirds
The rule of thirds — also known as the golden ratio — is one of the fundamentals of photo composition. The idea is to mentally divide your image into nine equal rectangles.
On some smartphones, you can actually display this grid and use it while shooting.
When you apply the rule of thirds, you place the most important elements of your photo exactly on those lines and at their intersections. Your photos will often look much better than if you simply center your main subject. Give it a shot!
Of course, this rule isn’t a cure-all for great photos. But it helps you think more carefully about your subject and guide the viewer’s eye to the most important elements in the frame. And as everyone knows, rules are made to be broken — you don’t have to stick to this for every single shot, just use it when it feels right.
More composition tips for better photos
Straighten the horizon
This one is really close to our hearts.
Because it’s something that goes wrong so often — and it’s honestly such an easy mistake to avoid.
Please always — really always — make sure your horizon is straight.
If you’re photographing someone on the beach, the ocean should be level, not tilting off to one side.
So don’t just focus on your main subject — pay attention to the background too. Photos with a crooked horizon are a no-go!
Use the light
Since it’s even harder to get great photos in poor lighting with a phone, light is a really important topic in mobile photography.
The best light for photos is during sunrise and sunset. Since the light at those times is softer than during the day, you have a great chance of capturing beautiful, atmospheric shots.
If you’re somewhere sunny, try to avoid shooting at midday — or at least shoot very deliberately. You’ll often be dealing with harsh contrasts, shadows, or glaring light.
Why not try black and white photography?
Black and white photography is incredibly fun — it lets you see familiar subjects in a whole new light. You’ll also start developing an eye for which subjects look more interesting in black and white than in color.
Give it a try and deliberately shoot only in black and white for a while. You’ll see — it’s a ton of fun and produces seriously great results.
Landscape vs. portrait orientation
Also think about what you’re going to use the photos for. Do you want to show them to friends and family on a laptop, monitor, or TV? Do you want to publish them on a website? Or do you just want to look at them on your phone?
Depending on the intended use, shoot in the appropriate format. On a standard screen, for example, landscape-orientation photos always look better.
Read also:
Technical Tips for Your Smartphone Camera
As we mentioned earlier: it’s essential that you know your smartphone’s camera features in order to get the most out of it. Here are our technical phone photography tips.
Set your image quality correctly
If you want to take better phone photos, the very first thing you should do is check your camera settings. Make sure the best possible image quality is selected. Shooting at the highest quality does mean larger file sizes, but the image quality will be better and you’ll have more options when editing later.
As already mentioned, high-end smartphones even offer the option to shoot in RAW. You can use these raw files to edit your photos in a program like Lightroom and get the absolute most out of them.
If you want to do more with your smartphone camera than just take snapshots, this is a really important option to know about.
Don’t have a photo editing program yet? We’ll show you six great options in this article and also explain the difference between Photoshop and Lightroom.
The 6 best photo editing programs
Don't use the flash
No matter what you do, please turn the flash off! Yes, smartphone cameras have a built-in flash — and just like with regular cameras, please don’t use it.
We can really only think of one reason to use it: when you need to photograph a document in the dark for your records.
The flash either blinds the person in front of the camera or just illuminates dust particles in the air. Neither is particularly useful.
Don't zoom
The zoom on your smartphone camera is called “move your feet closer to your subject.” Smartphone cameras don’t have optical zoom — they use digital zoom, which means the moment you zoom in, you lose image quality. So just don’t.
Accessories for Better Phone Photos
Taking photos with your phone should be fun, right? So here we want to share some smartphone accessories that can add that extra special touch to your phone photography and make it even more enjoyable.
Use lenses for your phone camera
You can’t swap lenses on your phone, but you can clip lenses onto your phone camera! The most popular clip-on lens in smartphone photography is probably the fisheye lens.
Maybe you’ve heard of it? If not, here’s a quick explanation: a fisheye is a lens with a very wide angle of view, allowing you to capture almost 180 degrees of your surroundings in a single photo.
But there are other cool clip-on lenses too, like a polarizing filter lens (which reduces reflections on water, glass, etc. and makes colors more vibrant), a macro lens, or a super wide-angle lens.
These clip-on lenses usually come in sets, so you can try them all out. You’re guaranteed to have fun with them, and you’ll get some creative shots on top of that. Here’s an example of a 4-in-1 lens set for just under $13 that fits almost all phone types:
Clip-on lens set for smartphones
Always bring a power bank
One of the biggest buzzkills is when your phone battery gives out on you. We always bring an external charger when we go out shooting. If you don’t have one yet, we can highly recommend this one:
Why a tripod makes sense for smartphone photography too
A tripod isn’t just for professionals with heavy cameras. It opens up entirely new possibilities in mobile photography too:
Razor-sharp night photos: For long exposures (e.g., photographing stars or light painting), absolute stillness is a must.
Creative effects: If you want to photograph waterfalls and achieve that classic silky-smooth water effect
New perspectives: Use the tripod as an extended arm for shots right at ground level (worm’s-eye view) or high above your head.
Selfies & group shots: No more awkward contortions — just set it up, use a remote shutter, and relax in the frame.
What to look for when buying
Since phones don’t have a tripod thread, you’ll need a phone clamp. Also look for a compact packed size (pocket-friendly) and sturdy materials. Avoid cheap, wobbly all-plastic constructions.
If you already have a tripod for your camera, you can simply buy a phone clamp for it and skip getting a separate smartphone tripod. A phone clamp can sometimes be found for as little as $5. We recommend Manfrotto phone clamps, as they’re high quality without being too expensive.
Our recommended buys for a smartphone tripod
| Manfrotto Pixi Smart | Joby GripTight One | Rollei MagPod | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max. Height | approx. 13–20 cm | approx. 15–20 cm | up to 130 cm |
| Main Advantage | Excellent Stability & Design | Wrap-Around Flexible Legs | Height & Versatility |
| Material | High-Quality Metal/Plastic | Flexible Rubber/Plastic | Aluminum |
| Remote Shutter | No | No | Yes (built-in) |
| Buy | Buy now | Buy now | Buy now |
Give a selfie stick a try
We’re not big fans of selfie sticks ourselves. Maybe because they got totally out of hand in Asian countries. But we have to admit that a selfie stick is often genuinely useful — especially when you want to take a great selfie in front of a stunning landscape. Most of the time you end up with just heads in the frame and the scenery in the background doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
You can get a decent selfie stick for just under $10. So it might be worth giving one a shot. We won’t tell anyone. Promise.
Make life easier with a remote shutter
Remote shutters aren’t just for “real” cameras — they exist for smartphones too. With one, you can set your phone on a tripod, walk up to 10 meters away, and trigger the shutter wirelessly. The advantage is that you have more time to get into position than with the built-in self-timer of 10 seconds max.
This remote shutter works with most phones and at around $7, it won’t break the bank:
With an underwater case, you can take underwater photos too
An underwater case for phone photography is a great alternative for anyone who doesn’t have an underwater camera. And sometimes it’s not even about taking underwater photos specifically — it’s just about being in situations where your phone could easily end up in the water.
In Mauritius, for example, we were really annoyed that we didn’t have an underwater case for our phones. We did at least brave the pool with our smartphones, though. Ha! These days we use this case:
Get touchscreen gloves for winter
Unfortunately, it’s not cozy and warm 365 days a year where we live, which means temperatures that make you want to stay indoors without gloves.But you still want to take great photos in winter too.
Have you ever tried using your phone for more than a minute in below-freezing temperatures? It’s no fun!
We learned this the hard way during our road trip through Alberta in Canada. An early onset of winter made photography seriously difficult.
We could still manage our regular cameras reasonably well with our leather gloves, but typing on a phone screen with leather gloves? Not great. Okay, we’ll admit it: it doesn’t work at all!
For our next trip to colder destinations, we’re now equipped with touchscreen gloves. If you don’t yet have gloves that work with a smartphone, it’s time to get some.
Print your phone photos with an instant photo printer
If we’re being completely honest, most phone photos stay on the phone and we rarely ever look at them again.
That’s really a shame. So a while back we bought an instant photo printer that lets us print smartphone photos super easily.
Sure, you can do that at any drugstore too — but this way it’s incredibly convenient and you can even take the printer with you when you travel.
Another bonus: the photos have that classic instant-print look, which is especially cool for candid shots.
Just connect your phone to the printer via an app and print your photos directly — or edit them in the app first.
There are three different models:
- The Instax Mini Link 2 prints photos in the classic Fuji Mini format, 62 x 46 mm.
- The Instax Square Link prints photos in the Square format, 62 x 62 mm, which gives your subjects more room.
- The Instax Wide Link prints photos in the Wide format, 62 x 99 mm, which is ideal for landscape photos or group shots.
