How to Take Better Phone Photos
How to Take Better Phone Photos
6 tips for harnessing the power inside those new, expensive phones.
It’s not just that smartphone designers can pack
fantastic image sensors and lenses into a device that fits in your
pocket. Today’s powerhouse phones also lean on their computing prowess,
relying on smart software tricks to deliver stunning photos. I still
love standalone cameras, but the new iPhone XS
set a bar for phone photography so high during my recent test that I
have a hard time convincing myself to bring out my mirrorless Olympus.
To get the most out of that amazing camera in your
pocket, you need to follow classic photography advice while also tapping
into techniques specific to AI-powered phone cameras like the new
iPhone, Samsung Note 9, and Google’s forthcoming new phone.
1. Let the Device Handle It
On iPhones, you can tap and slide to adjust the brightness. But it’s rarely necessary.
While testing the iPhone XS Max camera, I instinctively set it on a
handrail for stability, but the professional photographer I was with
told me not to bother. New phones use software and sensors to predict
shaky hands and stabilize the image. So let the phone do its magic and
focus on the photo (on older phones, though, a device like a grip still does wonders).
The same goes for the old practice of tap-to-focus. Most new phones
analyze what’s in its field-of-view to nail the focus and exposure as
soon as you point the camera at your target. Yes, you can tap on a
specific area to calibrate the white balance or brightness, but
generally, the phone knows best.
2. Turn on HDR
High
dynamic range means that when you hit the shutter, the camera captures
multiple versions of a single image at different settings. Software then
assembles the best elements into a single exceptional photograph. For
example, say a group photo captures everyone’s faces in proper lighting,
but blows out the sky in the background. HDR can combine a frame with
the well-lit humans with a frame featuring a beautiful blue sky. Modern
phones are good at this, so unless you like the challenge of chasing the
one perfect exposure, leave it on.
HDR blends together images at different exposures to form one ideal
image. Leave it on, and turn off the setting that keeps the original.
Pro tip: if your phone has an option to “Keep Original/Normal Photo,”
uncheck it. If you don’t, you’ll end up with duplicates of every shot
you take—the original, and the HDR version. That just eats up your
storage.
3. Stop Holding Your Phone Like That
Gripping your phone so that your fingers can click the volume button for the shutter works awesome for quick photos.
You’ve no doubt seen the way most people hold their phones while taking a
photo: carefully balancing the glass rectangle in one hand, and either
contorting that thumb or using the other hand to tap the on-screen
shutter button. I used to do this, too, and I think its a habit that
stems from the worry that covering the back of the phone will obscure
the lens. But remember, your phone’s camera lens is tucked into a corner
on the back. Holding a phone as you would in normal use works
brilliantly.
While testing iPhone XS Max, I watched the aforementioned pro
photographer hold his phone with a wide grip around the back, and using
his thumb (he’s a lefty) to hit the volume button to take a photo. You
have to contort your hand a bit to get into landscape mode, but the
benefits are the same. It’s much easier to point, and the secure grip
minimizes your chances of an expensive drop.
4. It’s Okay To Shoot Faces From Below
Functions like Portrait Mode work even when shooting from low down, which usually widens features
The classic rule is that photographing from below
adds chins to people. But here again, software is coming to the rescue.
The iPhone’s Portrait Mode corrects distortions that would otherwise
look unflattering. Now this perspective is often the best way to capture
someone’s face.
5. Get the Grid
Using the grid overlay helps you place subjects at the intersections, which is a good guide for composition.
Most phones have a setting that will display a 3 x 3
grid on the screen while shooting. This is a guide for the Rule of
Thirds, a classic composition technique in which you place the focus of
the photo at the intersections of those lines. It’s why you see
professional portraits with the subject’s eyes around 2/3 of the way up
the page, and the top of his or her head cut off.
It’s not law, but aiming for those lines, rather than at the center of the frame, will conspicuously improve almost any shot.
6. Turn Off the Shutter Sound
This
one is pet peeve. Skeuomorphism is a technology term for using an
outdated or obsolete user interface to appear familiar. The yellow legal
pad color on the Notes app is one example. The fake mechanical shutter
sound on your phone camera is another. Your phone camera isn’t making
that sound; Apple put it there because your brain associates the click
with the idea of taking photos. If, like me, you dislike it, you can
turn it off, though the only way on the iPhone is to flip the silencing
toggle on the upper left of the phone.
It’s not just that smartphone designers can pack
fantastic image sensors and lenses into a device that fits in your
pocket. Today’s powerhouse phones also lean on their computing prowess,
relying on smart software tricks to deliver stunning photos. I still
love standalone cameras, but the new iPhone XS
set a bar for phone photography so high during my recent test that I
have a hard time convincing myself to bring out my mirrorless Olympus.
To get the most out of that amazing camera in your
pocket, you need to follow classic photography advice while also tapping
into techniques specific to AI-powered phone cameras like the new
iPhone, Samsung Note 9, and Google’s forthcoming new phone.
1. Let the Device Handle It
 |
| On iPhones, you can tap and slide to adjust the brightness. But it’s rarely necessary. |
While testing the iPhone XS Max camera, I instinctively set it on a
handrail for stability, but the professional photographer I was with
told me not to bother. New phones use software and sensors to predict
shaky hands and stabilize the image. So let the phone do its magic and
focus on the photo (on older phones, though, a device like a grip still does wonders).
The same goes for the old practice of tap-to-focus. Most new phones
analyze what’s in its field-of-view to nail the focus and exposure as
soon as you point the camera at your target. Yes, you can tap on a
specific area to calibrate the white balance or brightness, but
generally, the phone knows best.
2. Turn on HDR
High
dynamic range means that when you hit the shutter, the camera captures
multiple versions of a single image at different settings. Software then
assembles the best elements into a single exceptional photograph. For
example, say a group photo captures everyone’s faces in proper lighting,
but blows out the sky in the background. HDR can combine a frame with
the well-lit humans with a frame featuring a beautiful blue sky. Modern
phones are good at this, so unless you like the challenge of chasing the
one perfect exposure, leave it on.
 |
| HDR blends together images at different exposures to form one ideal image. Leave it on, and turn off the setting that keeps the original. |
Pro tip: if your phone has an option to “Keep Original/Normal Photo,”
uncheck it. If you don’t, you’ll end up with duplicates of every shot
you take—the original, and the HDR version. That just eats up your
storage.
3. Stop Holding Your Phone Like That
 |
| Gripping your phone so that your fingers can click the volume button for the shutter works awesome for quick photos. |
You’ve no doubt seen the way most people hold their phones while taking a
photo: carefully balancing the glass rectangle in one hand, and either
contorting that thumb or using the other hand to tap the on-screen
shutter button. I used to do this, too, and I think its a habit that
stems from the worry that covering the back of the phone will obscure
the lens. But remember, your phone’s camera lens is tucked into a corner
on the back. Holding a phone as you would in normal use works
brilliantly.
While testing iPhone XS Max, I watched the aforementioned pro
photographer hold his phone with a wide grip around the back, and using
his thumb (he’s a lefty) to hit the volume button to take a photo. You
have to contort your hand a bit to get into landscape mode, but the
benefits are the same. It’s much easier to point, and the secure grip
minimizes your chances of an expensive drop.
4. It’s Okay To Shoot Faces From Below
 |
| Functions like Portrait Mode work even when shooting from low down, which usually widens features |
The classic rule is that photographing from below
adds chins to people. But here again, software is coming to the rescue.
The iPhone’s Portrait Mode corrects distortions that would otherwise
look unflattering. Now this perspective is often the best way to capture
someone’s face.
5. Get the Grid
 |
| Using the grid overlay helps you place subjects at the intersections, which is a good guide for composition. |
Most phones have a setting that will display a 3 x 3
grid on the screen while shooting. This is a guide for the Rule of
Thirds, a classic composition technique in which you place the focus of
the photo at the intersections of those lines. It’s why you see
professional portraits with the subject’s eyes around 2/3 of the way up
the page, and the top of his or her head cut off.
It’s not law, but aiming for those lines, rather than at the center of the frame, will conspicuously improve almost any shot.
6. Turn Off the Shutter Sound
This
one is pet peeve. Skeuomorphism is a technology term for using an
outdated or obsolete user interface to appear familiar. The yellow legal
pad color on the Notes app is one example. The fake mechanical shutter
sound on your phone camera is another. Your phone camera isn’t making
that sound; Apple put it there because your brain associates the click
with the idea of taking photos. If, like me, you dislike it, you can
turn it off, though the only way on the iPhone is to flip the silencing
toggle on the upper left of the phone.
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