Gone are the days when you needed a fancy digital camera to take great photos. These days, your smartphone camera can do the job just fine and in some cases better.

By implementing these simple tips, you can start taking stunning photos with your smartphone that will have everyone thinking you used an expensive DSLR camera.

1. Use a Mini Tripod

Whether you’re taking photos with your phone on the street or on the trails, using a good mini tripod will greatly improve the quality of your photography.

The best types use flexible legs. This allows you to take photos from awesome angles that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to.

For instance if there’s no level spot to stand it on, you can simply wrap it on a post.

A mini tripod also allows you to take photos of yourself or groups of friends without having to get someone to take the picture.

Some mini tripods even come with Bluetooth remotes to make it even easier.

Perhaps the best thing about having a mini tripod is the portability.

Unlike large tripods that are tough to carry around, you can simply place a mini tripod in your bag or even your pocket and easily bring it anywhere.

2. Use a Phone Lens Attachment

The quality of photos you can get from your phone have increased tremendously over the years, but one limitation remains: phone cameras are stuck with a single, fixed lens.

Some newer, high-end models include an additional telephoto or wide-angle lens like the iPhone 7 Plus.

However, these are yet to reach the point where they can replace dedicated interchangeable lenses.

Fortunately, a solution exists, a phone lens kit.

There is a lens out there for pretty much any situation. Whether you want wide angle, fish eye, telephoto or polarizer. The list goes on. However sometimes it can be tough to know which lens is best for you.

This is when phone lens kits come in handy. You can have every lens for any situation all in one kit.

3. Get a Phone Tripod Adapter, for Large Tripods

If you prefer to use a large tripod but aren’t sure how to use it with your smartphone, fear not.

All you have to do is attach a phone tripod adapter to it.

There are plenty of options out there, however getting one that is strong enough to hold your phone steady is very important. Smartphone cameras don’t do well with shaky movements.

Phone tripod adapters simply attach to any tripod by using a universal 1/4” screw.
Also make sure to get one that can expand large enough to hold any size phone, as some can be fairly limited.

Get 15% off all KobraTech phone photography products with coupon code 'KOBRA15' Shop Now 

4. Use a LED Light

We’ve all been there, wanting to capture a great shot but it’s just too dark. No matter if It’s outside or inside, having an LED light does wonders.

Sure you can use the one of your phone, in most cases it works well.

However a LED light attachment usually comes with multiple brightness levels and produces much more light than your phone’s light, so you can add the perfect amount of light without adding too much or not having enough.

Get 15% off all KobraTech phone photography products with coupon code 'KOBRA15' Shop Now 

5. Adjust Phone Settings

In order to take breathtaking photos using your phone camera, you need to make sure you have optimal settings. Most of the time the factory settings that come with the phone are not the best.

Often, you may need to increase the resolution in your phone’s settings as sometimes it may be set at a lower resolution in order to save storage.

Important to note is that high resolution photos take up a lot of storage space. So if your phone does not have external storage, it’s a good idea to save the photos elsewhere like on your computer or in the cloud in order to free up space in your phone.

5. Use Editing Apps

Whether you’re using an iOS or Android phone, a number of camera apps, both free and paid, are available to help you add additional features to your phones camera, improve its performance, and process photos better. 

Examples of good camera apps for Android include Camera FV-5 Lite and Camera MX.

Camera FV-5 is particularly useful if you’re interested in the manual camera features as it includes ISO, manual shutter speeds, and light metering among other features.
Camera MX, one of the most popular Android camera apps, is very useful for simple Android phone photography and photo-editing.

For iPhone, there are also numerous great app options. A couple of our favorites include Camera+ and Facetune.
Check them out, see what you think.

Summary

We all love capturing breathtaking shots that we can always look back on. By adding a couple of these tips to your arsenal you can take your photos to the next level and blow everyone away!

Get 15% off all KobraTech phone photography products with coupon code 'KOBRA15' Shop Now