Get the Most Out of Your Smartphone Camera

Smartphone Photography Tips from the Team

We spend a lot of time with smartphone cameras at Android Authority, and we’ve learned a thing or two about how to get the best out of them. Recently, we asked our team members to share their favorite smartphone photography tips. Here’s what they came up with:

Try different positions and angles
Use your phone’s zoom lens for portraits or depth
Use 2x more than 1x
Take an ultrawide shot too
Take loads of photos
Tap to focus first
Turn on the grid lines
Use natural light instead of the flash
Take photos during the golden hours
Shoot RAW if you plan to edit the photo
A few bonus pointers

Tip 1: Try Different Positions and Angles

Kaitlyn Cimino, Senior Writer, suggests that changing your perspective can lead to more interesting photos. “Everyone is shooting from the same average height, but interesting images are just a small adjustment away,” she says. “Phones are so lightweight and portable, it’s easy to shoot from different angles and find more creative options.”

Tip 2: Use Your Phone’s Zoom Lens for Portraits or Depth

Rob Triggs, Head of Testing and Data Science, recommends using the 2x or 3x telephoto lens for a more true-to-life look. “Your standard 23mm primary camera has too wide a focal length for natural face shapes,” he explains. “Switch to a 2x or 3x telephoto lens for a more accurate look.”

Tip 3: Use 2x More Than 1x

Rita El-Khoury, Features Editor, suggests trying the 2x crop option instead of sticking with 1x. “If a photo doesn’t look as appealing as you thought it would, just switch to 2x zoom and see if you get a better-framed photo,” she says. “You’d be surprised how often it happens that cropping the photo and shooting ‘less’ is better than shooting more and having a lot of distractions in your shot.”

Tip 4: Take an Ultrawide Shot Too

Matt Horne, Deals Editor, recommends taking a picture with the ultrawide camera for a different perspective. “I want to be VERY clear that I suck at photography and the average Joe on the street would likely have better photography tips than me,” he says. “However, discovering ultrawide was an eye-opener for me. Ultrawide photos of groups, landscapes, and other scenes not solely focused on one subject all look better than 1x shots, or are nice alternatives at the very least.”

Tip 5: Take Loads of Photos

Andy Walker, Senior Writer, suggests taking more photos. “I used to be reluctant to take photos, but I’ve found that the more I used my phone to snap pictures, the more I learned about the process,” he says. “It’s an obvious tip, but one that can be easy to forget if you’re hypercritical of the results. You can always delete the photos you don’t like later. No one will know.”

Tip 6: Tap to Focus First

Oliver Cragg, Managing Editor, reminds us to tap to focus before taking a shot. “Tap to focus! Always tap on the subject before you take a shot,” he says. “A lot of people don’t do this! I don’t always do this as I tend to trust that my smartphone’s autofocus will work just fine. However, there have been more than a few occasions where my phone’s autofocus wasn’t playing ball, particularly in mixed lighting.”

Tip 7: Turn on the Grid Lines

Paul Jones, YouTube producer, recommends turning on the grid lines. “Grid lines are so simple, but they help you frame your shots better, and using the rule of thirds will always give you a better shot,” he says. “You can use grid lines on almost any native camera app.”

Tip 8: Use Natural Light Instead of the Flash

Adamya Sharma, News Lead, suggests using natural light instead of artificial light sources or flash. “Of course, I’m no professional photographer but another one of the most basic tricks I follow is to always use natural light to take pictures instead of an artificial light source or flash,” she says. “This is an excellent tip as artificial light sources can introduce white balance issues, while smartphone flashes can often be blinding and result in overly bright shots.”

Tip 9: Take Photos During the Golden Hours

One of our favorite tips is to take photos during the golden hours, around sunrise and sunset. “Take photos during this time of the day, and you’ll usually get rich, golden hues and long shadows,” says Oliver. “Conversely, photos of the same scene taken in the middle of the day can look overly bright and washed out.”

Tip 10: Shoot RAW if You Plan to Edit the Photo

Several team members also suggested shooting in RAW if you plan to edit your snaps. “The more information your image has, the more you can play around in post (editing),” says Kaitlyn. “If you’re not worried about saving space on your phone, toggle on the JPEG + RAW option.”

Tip 11: A Few Bonus Pointers

The team also has a few extra smartphone photography tips worth noting. “Remember to clean your lens before taking photos,” says Adamya. “Try out alternative camera apps,” recommends Bogdan. Rita also suggests enabling quick access controls on Pixel phones to quickly dial in your photos. “I got my shot by ignoring the AI-suggested framing, but I did look at the framing, and it was great if I was trying to capture the entire scene/object,” says Jonathan.