Key Takeaways
- There are several smartphone photography issues that are quite easy to fix.
- Adjusting brightness settings and finding optimal focus areas can improve lighting.
- Blurry smartphone photos are easily fixed with proper technique and editing.
Smartphone photography isn’t always easy; even though I’ve been doing it for years, things still sometimes go wrong. But some smartphone photography disasters are easy to turn into wins. Here’s how I do it for a number of different scenarios.
1 Lack of Sharpness
One of the most common issues I encounter with smartphone photography is a lack of sharpness in my images. Even with the latest phone camera, this can still happen. For me, this problem often occurs when capturing nighttime photos.
A lack of sharpness can happen for several other reasons. In some cases, it’s because there’s too much going on in the image. On other occasions, it’s the result of me not stabilizing my camera properly. I can also encounter a lack of sharpness when I forget to focus on a clear part of my images (this also happens in my pictures with a professional camera).
How I Turn This Disaster Into a Win
The easiest way that I turn this into a win is by choosing a clear part of the image to focus on. In most cases, choosing the primary subject is the most logical option here.
If I’m capturing images at night, I often accept that they might not be as sharp as I’d like. Similarly, if I like the picture and just want to add something extra to make it sharper, I can do this in my phone’s native editing app or before uploading to social media.
2 Incorrect Brightness and Lighting
One of the most irritating and repetitive smartphone photography drawbacks is how hard it can be to get the exact brightness you want. Some smartphone camera apps will lead to better photos by allowing you to change the ISO and whatnot, but you typically don’t have this option on an ordinary smartphone camera.
Sometimes, you may also encounter your phone camera changing your focus area back to its default—even if you already changed it manually—which can impact the lighting.
How I Turn This Disaster Into a Win
It’s often easier to control the brightness of the scenery you capture than to adjust your in-camera brightness on a smartphone. I try to photograph at times when there is sufficient lighting for my images. While I really don’t like photographing in the middle of the day (during the summer, anyway), just before or after can provide better results.
On my phone, I try to find which focus area will let the most light into my picture. You’ll notice that this will change depending on which part you select. You can also lock a specific area by pressing and holding your screen if you have an iPhone, which is one thing I’ve started doing to great effect.
3 Lack of Detail in Overcast Weather
I love taking photos when it’s cloudy, but I don’t like how smartphone pictures can sometimes look flatter in these conditions than they otherwise would. Portraits don’t seem to be a problem, but landscape pictures are particularly susceptible to this issue.
This problem can also extend to rainy day photography.
How I Turn This Disaster Into a Win
Understanding my smartphone camera’s limitations has been really helpful here, but I don’t just abandon my pictures altogether. If the clouds look interesting, I’ll try to focus on them instead. On top of that, I’ll also try and add some color to my images.
Focusing on interesting subjects, such as architecture and umbrellas, can also help.
4 Blurry Pictures
One of the difficult things about learning smartphone photography is having to go through that initial phase where most (if not all) of your pictures are blurry. I’ve had to do this with many of my cameras, and while it doesn’t happen as often now, I’m certainly not immune to it.
Blurry pictures can occur for several reasons, but they almost always tie back into the same thing: your smartphone wasn’t kept still when you took the picture. I’m susceptible to blurry pictures in cold weather and at night. This is especially true with the latter, as my device will also use a slower shutter speed.
How I Turn This Disaster Into a Win
Amusingly, blurry photos are very easy to fix—despite being perhaps the most annoying smartphone photography error. You can use several tools to fix your blurry pictures, but I honestly would rather just get it right when shooting.
One of the first things I do is keep my camera as close to my body as possible to minimize shake. In cold weather, you should also consider capturing shots with a side button rather than your touchscreen. Doing so will enable you to keep your gloves on and avoid losing heat.
If I need to use software, I’ll try sharpening the image with something more advanced than my phone’s native photo editing app. Lightroom (available on iOS and Android) is my preferred choice, but it’s not foolproof.
5 Low-Quality Zoomed Images
One of the main reasons I got my first DSLR camera is because I wanted to take better zoom images. And that point still stands, to be honest, because I really don’t like the quality of zoomed smartphone photos (most of the time). My opinion would probably be different if I had an external lens, but I don’t.
Some devices are definitely better than others; I actually felt like the zoom camera was better on my iPhone 8 Plus than it is on my iPhone 13. Nonetheless, it’s still not on the same level as DSLR or mirrorless cameras.
How I Turn This Disaster Into a Win
I prefer to get closer to my subject, but this isn’t always possible. So, if I have no other choice, I like leaving some extra space around my subject.
Using a filter can also hide the negative effects of your zoom.
6 Your Battery Dying
Smartphone batteries are definitely better than they once were, but that doesn’t mean your device’s battery will never die when you need it most. I can vividly remember this happening to me on a trip to Oslo in February 2018. It was 15.8ºF (-9ºC), which made taking photos difficult enough in and of itself. But to make things worse, my battery decided to call it a day when I was out and about.
This probably also had something to do with me using a skeptical third-party charger (useful side note: always check the charger you use), but the cold weather absolutely played a role as well. Pretty ridiculous of me not to think about this, since I almost exclusively travel to cold countries—but you live and learn.
How I Turn This Disaster Into a Win
Having a portable charger that you’ve verified is safe can help, as can keeping your device out of the cold as much as possible. For example, if you’re wearing a warm jacket, you may want to keep it in your inner pocket.
I also recommend bringing your charger with you; it’s a great excuse to spend some time in a cozy café. It’s also worth examining whether something else is causing your phone battery to drain so fast.
7 Unwanted Grain
One of the most peculiar challenges I’ve encountered in smartphone photography relates to taking pictures of older architecture. When capturing images of brick buildings and similar materials, I notice that there’s more grain in my pictures than I would like.
Of course, you can make grainy pictures look cool—it’s one of my favorite effects. However, I don’t want it there all the time.
How I Turn This Disaster Into a Win
Picking something else as the focus point, such as a window, can definitely help here. Getting further away from the building might also work.
Worst-case scenario, I’ll use an editing app to denoise the picture. I wouldn’t use AI tools for this, though, because they can make it look too smooth.
Several things can go wrong when taking pictures with your smartphone, but they’re often easier to fix than you might think. If you’re encountering any of these problems, try using my recommendations and seeing whether they work for you.
