Take Better Phone Photos, Part 1, Tips & UI Tricks
Take Better Phone Photos, Part 1
by Jenifer Juris
One of my favorite hobbies is photography. I love using my mirrorless camera to take photos of my favorite people, my pets, wildlife, and anything else I enjoy.
But sometimes, taking my big-girl camera with me isn’t always an option.
In those times, the best camera you have is the one you have with you. So over the next few weeks, we’re going to look at some very simple things we can do to take better photos with our cell phones.
In this first installment of the series, we’re going to look at some tips and tricks you can use to start taking better phone photos.
Tip #1: Clean the Lenses
Have you ever tried to take a photo, especially in a sunny or bright situation, and seen a hazy sheen or streaks? This is often caused by a dirty lens. Here’s a photo I took with my phone before cleaning my lenses, next to a similar photo after cleaning my lenses:
The difference is very noticeable! A clean lens makes for a clearer and better-looking photo.
Our phones go everywhere with us. So, it’s no surprise that the lenses on our phones get dirty or greasy from time to time. Because of this, it’s a good idea to regularly clean those lenses. I wear glasses, so I have disposable lens wipes at the ready. I like to use these because I know they are safe and won’t leave scratches. You can also use a reusable lens cleaning wipe. Keep one in your purse for whenever you need it.
Tip #2: Tap the Screen
This tip is the first of our UI tricks. (UI stands for user interface.) For most brands of cell phones, when you open the native camera app, you can tap anywhere on the screen to select that portion for determining the exposure and the focus. So let’s look at my plant in the window again.
I have an iPhone, so my screen may look different from yours, but this is what my screen looks like just after opening the camera app. The phone is doing its best to adjust the exposure for the brightness in the window. Because of this, my plant and the black planter it’s in are looking somewhat dark.
So, if I tap the screen on the black planter, now my phone knows that this is the part of the photo I want it to expose for and this also the part I want it to focus on:
I know it might be difficult to see in the screenshot above, but a yellow box with a sun next to it shows up wherever I tap the screen. (Your screen or UI might look different from mine, but for most phone camera apps, this will work generally in the same way.) Now my plant isn’t so dark, but the window area is very bright and blown out.
I can also tap the window area of the screen and get my phone to adjust the exposure and the focus for the window area:
This makes my plant darker and slightly out of focus because now the scene outside is where the phone is targeting.
So, if you didn’t already know how to do this, you will now have more control over how your phone takes a photo. You get to pick where it focuses and where it calculates the exposure. You get to be the boss!
Tip #3: Tap and Hold
This tip is another UI trick. If you tap and hold on the screen, most camera apps will then pop up something that says AE/AF lock or a similar version of that wording:
This means that you have now locked the Auto Exposure (AE) and the Auto Focus (AF) to the spot indicated on the screen (in my case, the yellow square). Doing this will allow you to move the phone around without the phone constantly trying to readjust the focus and exposure.
Before I locked the AE/AF, my phone would jump back and forth from trying to focus on what’s outside to my plant inside. Locking the AE/AF allowed me to take my time to position the phone how I wanted before I snapped the photo, and I didn’t have to worry about the phone changing my exposure or focus area while I did so.
Here’s my final photo, after using my 3 tips (plus using the crop tool):
I did no other edits to this photo except for the cropping. If I were going to use this photo for a project like a digital scrapbook page, I would do some extra editing in Adobe Camera Raw. But this is a MUCH better photo than it would have been if I had let my phone do all the thinking.
So, remember to clean your lenses regularly and tap or tap and hold your screen. You’re off to a great start at taking better phone photos!
NOTE: There is no way to cover every single kind of phone or camera app for this series. If your camera app (for some reason) doesn’t work the same way, I recommend doing an internet search to find out how you can change the exposure/focus or set the AE/AF lock on your phone’s camera.
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Author: Jenifer Juris | Contact Us
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This is going to be a great series! Thanks for these tips, Jenifer. I knew about tapping the screen, but didn’t know it mattered where you tapped…and holding it to lock the focus! That’s amazing how much difference it makes! Thank you SO much!
Some great tips Jenifer 👌
Thank you for this information. It’s very helpful!
Thank you so much for this information. I only use my phone when I want to take pictures but not always happy with the results now I know how to fix them.
Thank you! I didn’t know about Tap and Hold to lock exposure and focus! This series will be so helpful!
Great reminders – thanks 😊
Great tips, especially AF/AE! I usually use my “real” mirrorless camera, but now I will use my phone more often.
Very helpful!
Great information! I’m going to start tapping!
Can’t wait for the rest of the series! Thank you.
Keep them coming. I definitely needed this. Thanks, and keep them coming. 🙂
Definitely going to try those UI tips on my phone! Thank you.
Thank you so much for this! I look forward to more tips – I really need it! (BTW – beautiful view out the window, too!)
These are great first-pass tips for phone photography and the tip about locking the focus and exposure is essential, especially for photos involving people outdoors.
thanks for these great tips…. we are about to go on a trip to Europe and these will come in real handy…….
Thank you for this helpful information. Now I just need to implement it.
Thanks Jenifer! Great tips, I’ve learned something new, very much appreciated.. I will pass along another tip. When I purchased by last mobile, I invested in lens covers for the back lenses. Now I’m not as frightened of cleaning process. Worse case I would have to buy new covers.
WOW Jenifer…this is my learn something new everyday!!!! I’ve already tried it with my MEL photos for today!!! THANK YOU!
Although I knew about tapping on the screen, I seldom think to do it, so this was a great reminder. I did not know about the tap/hold AE/AF feature – so this was good info that I can’t wait to try. Thanks so much, this was very informative.