7 essential techniques for taking landscape photos on your phone

If you want to take better landscape photos with your phone, you've come to the right place. Today's article will cover what you can do with your smartphone camera to make images look better, along with how to maximize your surroundings for optimal results.

1. Zoom in smaller on smartphone

For some landscape photos, you'll want the photo to have more detail. This often happens when taking photos from a vantage point, such as a mountain, or after just hiking to a high altitude (whether it's in nature or atop a church tower in a city). city). The easiest way to get better landscape photos is to zoom in on your smartphone.

The options will depend on the device being used. For example, you can zoom down to 0.5x on iPhone.

You can also buy lenses for your smartphone, but this is an expensive option. If that's something you want to do, consider checking out these smartphone camera lenses.

2. Look for interesting features in the landscape

Another way to instantly make landscape photos look better on your smartphone is to look for interesting features in the landscape you're photographing. Also think about the time of day when shooting - for example, in winter, go out at dawn to get beautiful pink skies.

If you're in a rural area, looking for single-family homes and similar features is also an effective way to immediately focus the viewer's attention on one place. Isolating your subject also helps use space effectively in photography.

3. Include people in landscape photos

Taking unique photos in famous tourist destinations is difficult, because there will be a lot of them in your photos. One of the ways to handle this is to make the people appear very small compared to the surrounding landscape, by zooming in or moving further away.

Doing so will emphasize how vast and impressive the landscape is. You can also get closer if needed, but the landscape must still be the priority in the photo, otherwise it will turn into a portrait.

4. Use objects around you

A common misconception in landscape photography is to only shoot what's in front of you. However, it is one of many landscape photography mistakes that people often make. All types of objects can be used to add a more dynamic look to the photo; The important thing is to take advantage of all that is around.

An example of what you can try is taking photos through objects. For example, it is possible to stand inside the cave and take photos outside, with the ceiling of the cave also in view. You can also look for holes in trees or buildings from which to record your surroundings.

Another option worth trying is standing behind trees, walls, and similar objects. You can also pick up some snow or leaves and throw it towards the lens to add more naturalness to the photo!

5. Use a tripod (or something similar)

You may encounter situations that require your smartphone to be stationary. For example, when taking photos in low light conditions, the device is susceptible to vibration and many other unpleasant problems. Similarly, windy and cold weather can cause your body to move more (resulting in an increased likelihood of blurry photos).

To ensure sharper images, consider purchasing a tripod for your smartphone. In addition, flat surfaces such as walls and floors can be used.

6. Add clarity or sharpness in the editing application

So far, the article has covered how to make landscape photos look better by focusing on the environment or controlling the camera on a smartphone. However, to get the best results, it's also a good idea to use a photo editing app to add clarity or sharpness.

Unless HDR is used, smartphone cameras can sometimes be "flatter" than desired. This can be a common problem when trying to represent texture in an image. Adding clarity or sharpness will allow this to be done without any hassle.

If you own an iPhone, you can add clarity and sharpness through the Photos app. Other options for smartphone users include Lightroom and Photoshop Express.

7. Know when to shoot in landscape or portrait orientation

Many people think that you should always turn your phone sideways when taking landscape photos. But sometimes, you should shoot landscapes in portrait orientation.

Examples of when to take landscape photos in portrait orientation include:

1. Take photos of tall objects and stand close to them (e.g. mountains and trees).
2. Planning to share my pictures on Instagram.
3. Wants to focus on specific objects and eliminate objects around them.

If you're not sure, you can always take the same photo in both portrait and landscape orientation and make a decision later.

You don't need a fancy camera to take interesting landscape photos; the smartphone will still get the job done and the finished product will look great if you spend some time giving it some care. You can take advantage of your surroundings and consider how to place your phone appropriately. Use these tips as a starting point to take better landscape photos on your smartphone!

Lesley Montoya

Update 09 May 2024