Key Takeaways
- Symmetry and reflections elevate smartphone photos: use artificial light, water reflections, and leading lines.
- Think about what to capture, remove distractions, consider compositions, and take multiple shots.
- Use filters, find unique perspectives, and practice taking lots of photos.
Have you heard countless people tell you that the only way to take great photos is by getting a better smartphone camera, and now you’re feeling disheartened? The good news is that those people are wrong, and I’ll prove how you can get stunning photos regardless of your phone’s camera quality.
1 Look for Symmetry and Reflections
Looking for symmetry is one of the easiest ways to elevate your smartphone camera, regardless of its quality. I love doing this in low-light conditions, especially with artificial lighting. For example, I took the photo above in an amusement park after the sun had gone down; I think the final result was pretty solid.
However, you don’t need artificial lighting to create reflections. You can do this close to most bodies of water, especially if you’ve got some bright colors to work with. I can also recommend finding reflections in puddles and other water sources after it has been raining; you can get some interesting street-style shots in these instances.
Symmetry, however, does not need to involve water. You can utilize leading lines if both sides of a river or street look similar. I also like looking for shapes when I photograph buildings.
2 Plan the Shot
FOMO is real in photography, and it’s easy to think that every moment is fleeting. This can be true; you probably aren’t going to see a dinosaur riding a skateboard down the street every day, for example. But when capturing static scenes, or even those with one common moving subject (e.g. bicycles and boats), you’ll almost always get a second chance.
I still take many more pictures than the average person, but I am now making it a habit to stop and think about what I want to capture. Even more important than thinking about what I want to keep in a scene, I look at what to remove. For example, I probably don’t want to have a trash can in my photo, at least most of the time.
Once I see something that I want to include in my image, I’ll happily try and capture it. And if I fail the first time around, I’ll just give it another attempt until I’m happy with the result.
3 Find Complementary Colors
As you can see in this photo, I’ve used a mixture of complementary colors. The pastries and berries go well together, but the green filling also adds something to the image (and makes it look even more delicious, if you ask me).
You can read our full guide on what complementary colors are and how to use them in design if you still don’t know where to start. These principles also apply to photography and every other form of digital art.
4 Find Unique Perspectives
Whether you’re taking photos in popular spots or you’ve found a hidden gem, knowing how to find unique perspectives will make it much easier to take stunning smartphone photos. For example, I wanted to originally take a picture of the city skyline in the above shot. However, I then chose to include the surrounding trees as part of the composition.
You can also find unique perspectives in many other ways. For example, if you’re capturing an image from a plane, consider adding the wing to your picture. Other things to think about include capturing pictures through small spaces and waiting for special events—such as Christmas markets—before capturing your shots.
5 Use Basic Composition Principles
One of the most common smartphone photography mistakes that I have made in the past is trying to make things too complicated. The truth is that most photos that stand out do not have that many elements, and you can often use many of the same composition principles to get amazing results. For example, in the photo above, I used the rule of thirds.
I often use other composition ideas, too, such as thinking about my foreground, middle area, and background. You can also think about using negative space, straight lines and shapes, and many other styles. If you need more inspiration, learn what happened when I tried different composition techniques with my smartphone.
6 Make the Most of Your Smartphone’s Camera Filters
Some purists think that editing your photos is akin to a crime, and I think that those people are foolish. Editing is how most photos that you like look the way that they do. The nice thing about having a smartphone is that you don’t even need to buy complex software. Filters are a fantastic starting point, especially if you have an iPhone.
The filters I use will vary significantly depending on the type of picture I take and what its colors are. I’ll often think about any extra editing I want to do, and how the filter will complement these. Apart from your phone’s native filters, there are plenty of other ways to get Instagram-style filters on your smartphone. Even if you don’t want to post your photos online, you can use these principles to make them stand out.
7 Take Lots of Photos
The number one reason why I’m good at taking photos these days is because I’ve taken well over 20,000 pictures. I started taking photography more seriously in 2017, and even before then, I already had a considerable amount of work to look back on. If I had never picked up my smartphone camera (or my mirrorless/DSLR cameras), I would not be very good.
Learning photography is not too different from any other skill. You must have a growth mindset and believe that you can take better pictures. Just as importantly, you have to go out and actually take some pictures. If you do this for several year, you’ll advance quicker than you thought possible.
8 Don’t Be Scared of Blurry Photos
While you’ll often want to avoid taking blurry pictures, you can sometimes use this effect to your advantage. Learning how to use motion blur in photography is a great way to show how quickly something is moving in front of your main subject, and it’s an excellent way to capture cinematic-style shots.
Blurry photography is something that you’ll have to experiment with, and it can be quite challenging. Nonetheless, I don’t think that you should automatically dismiss a picture just because it’s not 100% sharp.
9 Pick the Right Lighting Conditions
Another way that I take better smartphone pictures regardless of camera quality is by picking the right lighting conditions. All of photography is about lighting, and if you’re choosing times of the day that aren’t very appealing, you will struggle to take the kinds of pictures that you want.
When I’m out with my smartphone camera, I’ll typically take photos when the lighting is softer. It’s also, in most cases, a good idea to capture an image with your camera pointing in a different direction from the light source. However, if you wish to get creative, you can take lens flare photos with your smartphone.
You don’t need a fancy smartphone camera to take better pictures; many of your results will depend on how you use the tools you already have. Always consider your lighting conditions, learn the basics of composition, and don’t be afraid to use your smartphone’s camera filters.
