Your Old Phone Can Still Take Stunning Photos With These Pro Tips

The iPhone 14 Professional, Google Pixel 7 Professional and Samsung Galaxy S23 Extremely are among the many greatest digicam telephones you should buy in 2023. Full of a number of lenses and wonderful AI software program, these telephones can take pictures that rival skilled mirrorless cameras. 

Nevertheless, these high telephones include enormous value tags that make them out of attain for many people. Fear not. Even when you’ve obtained an older iPhone or Android cellphone or a budget-focused mannequin with out all of the bells and whistles, there’s loads you are able to do to nonetheless take lovely pictures. In any case, as any photographer will let you know, it is not simply the very best digicam that takes the very best pictures. 

Nonetheless, you will must put in some effort your self to raise your pictures from easy “ho hum” snaps to “oh, wow!” items of artwork.

Right here, then, are my high ideas for the right way to get the very best pictures from an older iPhone, Galaxy cellphone or any older Android cellphone. 

Nail your composition 

You’ll be able to take a photograph utilizing probably the most superior digicam system on the planet, however when you’ve tousled your framing, you will nonetheless get a foul photograph. In any case, when you’re taking a photograph of a stunning church and also you handle to cut off the spire, no quantity of enhancing will carry it again. 

Do not simply snap away wildly at your photograph location. As a substitute, decelerate, stroll round and contemplate the scene in entrance of you and the way you need it to seem in your shot. Taking a panorama shot? Search for main strains reminiscent of pathways or previous stone partitions that snake their means into the scene. Or maybe there’s some fascinating rocks or flowers that might add some curiosity within the foreground. 

It’s also possible to activate a “rule of thirds” grid overlay within the settings to assist line up the totally different components in your scene in a visually pleasing means — or just to assist hold your horizons straight. 

In case you’ve obtained a number of rear cameras that provide a zoomed-in or wide-angle view, experiment with these totally different choices. Perhaps zooming in may also help get rid of distracting components, or maybe that wider view can seize extra of the attractive scene in entrance of you. 

If you do not have a wide-angle view, attempt utilizing the panorama mode to get a wider shot than the usual digicam can obtain — or use clip-on lenses, as I focus on under.

Inform a narrative

Probably the most impactful, iconic pictures by the years aren’t merely those taken with the very best digicam, however the ones that inform a selected story or seize a second in time. And certain, possibly you are not making an attempt to win a photojournalism prize in your summer season trip, however considering like a photojournalist may also help you’re taking pictures that you’re going to need to look again on in years to come back. 

Maybe you are heading to the attractive Italian coast this yr. After all, you will get a pleasant snap of the ocean out of your lodge terrace, however bear in mind what else has made your journey so memorable; the plates of scrumptious meals, the previous, dusty streets, the musician taking part in within the sq. or the colourful colours of the fruits and flower stands on the native market. All these components will make for nice pictures that seize the center of the placement and inform an ideal visible story if you look again by them. 

And it does not should be one thing you do solely on a giant household trip. A weekend stroll downtown to the street-food market will provide up nice storytelling alternatives, from the graffiti artwork you see alongside the best way to the plates of vibrant delicacies you select on arrival. And none of these items require the most recent digicam {hardware} to seize fantastically.

Use the sunshine to your benefit

Although right now’s high telephones can take nice nighttime pictures, older fashions probably will not have evening modes. In consequence, darkness will not be your good friend if you’re making an attempt to get nice pictures. In case you’re heading to a viewpoint overlooking town, attempt to get there in the course of the day, maybe when there is a beautiful blue sky sprinkled with fluffy clouds.

Center-of-the-day images is commonly averted by panorama photographers due to its harsh high quality, however when you’re exploring metropolis streets, it will possibly provide some nice alternatives to search for distinction attributable to shadows, which might make for dramatic pictures.

No multi-camera iPhone? Use clip-on lenses

Older iPhones would possibly lack the a number of lenses discovered on the newest fashions, however you do not simply should make do. Firms like Second and Olloclip make lenses that connect to your cellphone, offering wide-angle, telephoto and even macro views. 

Positive, you must carry an additional little merchandise in your bag or pocket as you discover, however including a clip-on lens is an effective way to get a superwide view for these sweeping cityscapes with out having to splash the money in upgrading your cellphone.

Shoot in DNG uncooked, even on previous telephones

Apple’s ProRaw picture format, launched on the iPhone 12 Professional Max, makes use of computational imaging methods like HDR however nonetheless offers you with a DNG uncooked file that is a lot simpler to edit in apps like Adobe Lightroom. It is not a perform discovered on older iPhones, however these of you on older telephones can nonetheless shoot in common uncooked when you’re eager to do your personal edits.

You’ll be able to’t shoot in DNG uncooked in the usual digicam mode, so you will want to make use of a third-party digicam app that provides uncooked taking pictures. I often use Lightroom itself, as its digicam shoots in uncooked and robotically imports the photographs into your library. However I’ve additionally had good outcomes with the Second app.

Taking pictures in uncooked permits you extra flexibility to regulate white steadiness and shade tones whereas usually making it simpler to tone down shiny highlights or loosen up shadowy areas. These of you seeking to squeeze each ounce of high quality out of your cellphone digicam ought to think about using uncooked — so long as you are prepared to spend the time enhancing.

Have in mind, although, that uncooked recordsdata are bigger than their JPEG counterparts, so you will shortly replenish your cellphone’s storage when you shoot the whole lot you see in uncooked. 

Get inventive with enhancing apps

Taking your photograph is just a part of the method, and a eager eye within the enhancing stage could make all of the distinction in creating lovely photographic artwork. If you wish to keep a extra pure trying {photograph}, look towards apps like Lightroom or Google’s Snapseed. These uncooked picture editors offer you management over colours, publicity and distinction and allow you to fine-tune your pictures to fit your style.

Or you’ll be able to take your creativity to a complete different stage with apps like Prisma, which transforms your pictures into typically psychedelic-looking scenes, or Bazaart, which helps you to simply create wild photograph collages that may look actually cool. You’ll be able to take a look at my roundup of my favourite picture enhancing apps for extra inspiration.

The nice factor with enhancing is that there is no proper or mistaken solution to do issues, and you may at all times return to your authentic picture when you do not just like the adjustments you made. However utilizing a few of these methods can flip an in any other case forgettable shot into one thing that basically stands out. My recommendation is to make a cup of tea, settle into a comfortable chair and mess around with the sliders in your app of selection and see what you’ll be able to give you.

Learn extra: Finest Free and Paid Photograph Enhancing Apps for iPhone and Android