Beginner’s Guide to Cell Phone Travel Photography

You’re planning a trip and can’t wait to take some pics of your travels and awesome places you go. But you’re wondering if you want to take your bulky, heavy SLR camera with you? It takes up room in your luggage; can add extra weight to your already full carry-on or checked bag; and be harder to carry around on your excursions. What to do??? The answer? Your cell phone! Read on to discover tips and basic, but very important, photography skills in our Beginner’s Guide to Cell Phone Travel Photography.

Can you really use your cell phone to take good photos?

Maybe you’re asking, “can you really take awesome travel photos with just your cell phone?”. My answer is, yes you can! With some simple tips on basic photography skills as well as how to use your cell phone’s camera correctly, you will be able to take great travel pics and have the confidence to share them with friends and family and more importantly, document your amazing trip so you can look back at your great photos and remember your fabulous experience.

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Something to consider…

(Caveat here… because of the small camera sensor in a phone, printing your phone pics is more limited than it’s SLR camera big brother. Printing up to 8×10 should be fine (depending on the quality of the photo taken) but if you are looking to print a large wall display or large format print, then having your SLR is necessary to have the kind of photo quality you need for large prints.)

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But with that said, for most people, our digitally taken photos, remain just that…digital; for sharing on Facebook, sharing with family and friends via Google Photos or Flickr, creating a digital photo book using apps or possibly creating small printed photo books that don’t need high resolution quality photos.

The tips I’ll be sharing are based on an iPhone, but the basic photography skills and tips can be used for any phone or camera type. Ok…enough of the introduction. Let’s get to the tips and skills in our Beginner’s Guide to Cell Phone Travel Photography, so you can get out and shoot some awesome travel photos.

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Using Light In Travel Photography:

Light and knowing how to use it is probably the most important aspect of photography and the first section in our beginner’s guide to cell phone travel photography. Photography literally means “light drawing’. We are drawing with light to capture a moment in time.

Back in film days, we captured light with the silver emulsion on the film and then printed using light sensitive paper. Nowadays, we have digital sensors that capture and read light coming into our SLR camera or cell phone camera. But it’s still all about the light and how we use it. Here are some basic skills and tips on how to use light to create great photos.

1. Shadow & Highlight:

Think of light as either shadow or highlight, dark or light. When you are crafting a photo, be aware of where the really bright light is and where the really dark shadows are. For instance, you want to take a photo of a beautiful old building, but it’s really tall and the sun is really bright behind it. If you shoot with the bright light behind it, the building will be very dark and details may be hard to make out. This will be equally true with people set against a bright sun or any other subject. There are several solutions to use shadow and highlight correctly.

A. Zoom in on the details:

Try zooming in on the details of the building instead of trying to get the whole building in one shot. Then you can make sure you have equal lighting in the whole frame, rather than a very bright sky and a dark building, or other subject.

B. Raise your level of shooting.

Try raising your level of shooting. Is there something you can climb onto safely that will allow you to shoot more directly at the building rather than shooting up into the sky? Is there another building across from the one you want to photograph that you might be able to enter and shoot through a window or even rooftop?

C. Adjust the exposure before you take the picture.

**Cell Phone Camera Tips**

1. Use the on-screen exposure slider With the camera open, tap on the screen. You will see a square with a little star or light bulb next to it. Use your finger to slide the star up or down depending on if you need to raise the shadows or reduce the bright highlights.

2. The other way to adjust the exposure, especially in our building situation would be to tap your screen on the dark part of the building. This will correct the exposure based on the part of the subject you tapped on. You might find that now the sky is totally white but the building looks ok. At this point, you can use the star to tweak the exposure until it looks the best it can, given the lighting situation.

3. Use your cell phone camera’s built in HDR setting. HDR, High Dynamic Range, can capture more range of light accurately than the normal setting. Keep in mind though, HDR isn’t always going to give you the best exposure. Depending on the situation, not using HDR can be a better option. Be sure to set your camera to include both regular and the HDR pictures so you can choose which works better for your lighting situation.

D. Change the direction of the shot.

One more option would be to shoot the building from a different side, where the sun is behind you and the camera rather than behind the building. That way the building should have better light and the sky won’t be so bright. This may not be possible if the other side of the building is not as interesting. However, sometimes, shooting different than all the other people shooting the same shot is a good thing.

E. Shoot at dusk

In the photography world, this light is known as the ‘Golden Hour’. Light at dusk, before sunset, is glorious and has tremendous color and tone. Whenever possible, take advantage of this time of day to shoot buildings, landscapes and portraits. Or use both subjects by including people in your landscape shot to capture two different subjects in fabulous light.

2. Indoor lighting:

You are inside a building, maybe a church, a museum or a restaurant and you want to take a couple pics of the interior. But the lighting is not good, fairly dark really. How do we deal with a low light situation? Here are a few options:

A. Use the Camera Flash

**Cell Phone Camera Tip**

The easiest one is to turn on your camera’s flash. Typically, the flash can be accessed by tapping the lightning bolt icon at the top of your phone’s camera screen. From there you have the option to either turn on, off or place the flash on auto. I am personally not a fan of using flash, as it can either brighten up way too much, or will reduce the shadows too much and can remove much of the contrast. Having contrast and some shadows adds interest to a photo.

B. Find a Light Source.

Another option is to find a light source within the building, like a lamp, overhead lighting etc. and place yourself near it to help add ambient light to a smaller subject, such as a piece of furniture, a painting, woodwork detail or your glass of wine and the bottle. ( More tips on how & why to shoot the details later in the post) It’s best to have the light source behind or beside the camera/phone rather than in front of the subject, to avoid a reflected light on the subject. It will help with exposure as well. Try a few different angles, moving up or down and side to side to find where the lighting is best for the detail. Remember to keep in mind where the shadows and highlights are.

C. Add Drama with One Light Source.

Sometimes a dark room with one light source can add drama to the image. You can use the dark shadows intentionally while the single light source will highlight just one part of the subject or space, leaving the rest to imagination… hence, adding drama.

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Using Composition in Travel Photography:

The second photography section in our beginner’s guide to cell phone travel photography is composition. A well composed photo can set your image apart from all the other quick, candid shots. Composition is about how and where you put your subject within the confines of the lens. Basically, how the photo is set up before you click the shutter (or push the button in the case of the cell phone.) Here are a several tips when composing your shot.

1. Rule of Thirds:

This ‘rule’ has you divide the subject or scene into three parts. Horizontally and vertically and create 9 squares with 4 intersecting points. The principle is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines, your photo becomes more balanced and will enable a viewer to interact with it more naturally.

It’s said that people’s eyes naturally go to one of the 4 intersection points. So by placing the main subject or part of the scene at one of the points, you are allowing a more natural way of viewing. This ‘rule’ can be used for people, small subjects, or for landscape shots.

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You can see in the picture on the left, how your eye naturally goes to the pelican first and then the other parts of the scene balance out the photo. If we had put the pelican right in the center, it would not have been as natural or interesting.

In this landscape photo, you can see how we used the rule of thirds by placing the fence on the upper third line rather than right in the center. It makes for a more eye-catching scene. Ignoring the ‘rule of thirds’ will not mean your photos are not interesting, but utilizing the rule can help you be more comfortable composing your images.

Now, rules are great and help us craft a properly composed image, but sometimes those rules are meant to be broken…in the right situation. There may be times when breaking this rule will be the right composition choice. An example would be when you want to fill the whole frame with one subject to showcase it’s details, as in this flower photo.

2. Leading Lines:

When you look at a scene, keep an eye out for leading lines that naturally occur in a scene. Use these lines to draw the viewer’s eye toward a certain part of the scene or to show depth in the photo. Using these leading lines can make your photos stand out.

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3. Framing your subject with another subject.

This is a fun way to highlight one subject by using a surrounding element to frame it within the photo. It could be a window, branches from a tree, parts of a building, or an architectural element. Find an interesting subject and see what is around that you can ‘look’ or ‘peep’ through to create a frame. Have fun with this…

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4. Show perspective when shooting large objects.

Large mountains, a massive statue or an impressive building will be set off so much better if you can add size perspective into your photo. If possible, have a known size object or element, such as a person or a car, in the foreground or next to the large object to show the size perspective.

Otherwise, it will be difficult to know just how large the item you are shooting is. See below for a couple examples. Without the person next to both huge statues, it would be hard to imagine how large they really were. See the right photo without a person vs the photo on the left with a person. Using a known object can really show perspective and the grand size of a subject.

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5. Change Your Angle

The angle you shoot your photo can make a big difference in the creativity and impact of your image. Most of the time, people shoot straight on to a subject. This can be fine at times, but try altering the angle to make your photo more visually dramatic. Following are several angle options to try.

1. Shoot up

Shoot up following the vertical lines from the bottom of a building or even the bottom of a tree, as in these two shots. We often look this way with our eyes, but forget to capture this perspective with our camera.

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2. Shoot low to the ground or at street level.

Shoot low, maybe even all the way from the ground, and tilt the phone camera up to capture a different angle. See the difference in these two photos. With the one on the right, seeing the cobblestones up close gives the viewer a nice perspective and allows you to remember the quaint, albeit hard to walk on, stone streets. 🙂 And as a bonus, you have less sky and more architecture in the right image.

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3. Shoot from the top, looking straight down.

Sometimes the overhead shot works really well, especially for details or food. Instead of always shooting straight at the subject, stand over the subject and get a bird’s eye view. It’ll add interest to your travel photo collection.

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Subject Matter in Travel Photography:

There is so much to photograph when you are traveling. You want to capture everything. And that’s great. But to make more compelling travel photos, try to do more than just the typical candid shots. Try some of the following ideas on subject matter from our Beginner’s Guide to Cell Phone Travel Photography to take your travel photos to the next level. Check out our post on ‘Must-do Travel Photos’ for a more condensed description.

1. Architectural elements:

When you are traveling, chances are you will be seeing lots of buildings, both historic and modern. While taking a picture of the whole building is important, shooting smaller details of the building and it’s architectural elements will make for some intriguing photos. And this will help you remember all the details that make the building special.

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** Cell phone camera tips**

• Use the zoom tool on the camera to get in close to the detail. This is typically done by touching the screen and ‘pinching’ with two fingers moving away from each other to zoom in or two fingers moving together to zoom back out.
• Be aware of where the camera lens is, at the top of your phone. This is important so you can play with the angle of the shot as well as to have the proper perspective and not have distorted lines and angles. Move the camera up and down, side to side and vertical vs horizontal to find the best placement for the architectural detail.

• If you want to create a black and white image, as above, this can be done either pre or post picture taking. I personally like to edit the picture after capturing it. I have more control over how I want the image to look. There are filters you can use to change the image to black and white (both before and after the photo is taken) and adjustments that can be made to the shadows, exposure, highlights etc. If you want to know how to edit your pictures, stay tuned for another post on ‘How to Edit your Cell Pictures’, coming soon.

2. Repeating Elements:

Another interesting subject matter is repeating elements. Whether a set of columns, a group of chairs, or a line of birds, finding repeating subjects can add a more creative side to your photos. Angle is important when shooting the repeating element. You want to be somewhat off center of your subject so you can see each repeating element. You don’t want the first one hiding the rest, especially if you are shooting directly center.

Sometimes it’s good to get low with the camera then tilt it up to give that low to high perspective. And other times, aiming high, looking slightly down at the repeating elements, will give a better perspective instead of being off-center, as in the picture of the line of cannons.

When looking through the phone screen, be sure to line up the shot so the elements are straight. Although that can be adjusted during the editing process. However, it is always a good idea to do as much pre-exposure and pre-composition adjustments prior to taking the picture. It will save time in the editing process later.

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3. Tell a Story

Compose your image with several elements that tell a story of the image and why you took it. For example, instead of just a beach & sea photo, include your flip-flops and a bottle of wine you enjoyed on the beach. By including other elements, you tell the story of your moment in time rather than a random pretty beach picture. You don’t have to only do ‘selfies’ to remember ‘you were there’. Check out the following examples from the Ultimate Guide to Cell Phone Travel Photography.

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The photo on the left suggests a relaxing afternoon café visit on a sunny day with coffee, the hat and the cafe in the background. The photo on the right tells a story of not just wine, but an old city with other tourists mingling and even the name of the little restaurant on the glass. Also notice the angle of the wine glass shot. It’s taken from below to really highlight the wine but still show the environment where it was enjoyed. By including several elements within the shot, there’s more information to remember the moment and the experience.

4. Include the ‘grand vista’ shots for an overall perspective.

The grand vista shots are the easier ones to remember. But be sure to check your lighting. Try to avoid too much sky, especially in mid-day. It can overwhelm the rest of the subject matter. If the weather is cooperative, clouds add more interest to an otherwise plain sky. Although evening, sunset, shots can be different. Be sure to include something interesting in the foreground for the eye to follow. It’s not as interesting to just have grass or hills and sky…even if it’s beautiful to your naked eye. Having something else to look at in the photo will bring interest and allow the eye to follow the whole scene.

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The left photo was taken from high on a neighboring tower. Your eye immediately goes to the small village in the foreground, but then takes in the whole scene. The right photo was taken at ground level. Notice the hay bales in the mid-ground. However, the photo could have been improved even more by having a bale even closer to the front of the picture in the foreground. Notice also, where the horizon line is following the rule of thirds.

5. Food Shots…Make them look amazing!

I don’t know about you, but when traveling, trying new foods is one of the best highlights. And knowing how to take great food shots will help you remember that delicious dish you raved about at the time. The keys to great food shots is focus, color, angle and proper lighting.

Shooting from a slightly lower angle and having some background slightly out of focus is more interesting than just a shot of a plate of food. If possible, include an element such as a menu or napkin that has the name of the restaurant you visited. Then you have a record of where that awesome meal was eaten. That doesn’t mean focusing only on your wonderful plate of food isn’t interesting, especially if you include good lighting and color. However, including different focus, angle and other elements in the photo in addition to the plate will add variety to your food photos.

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Left photo: shows an example of a close-up shot at a lower angle.

Middle photo: an example of including a menu with the name of the cafe.

Right photo: shows the main dish in the foreground with some of the rest of the meal and drinks in the background.

**Cell phone camera tip**

How to create spot focus using AE/AF Lock.

Here’s another Beginner’s Guide to Cell Phone Travel Photography cell phone tip. Create spot focus. Tap and hold on the part of the image you want to the focus to be on. Then tap the shutter button. This will allow you to choose what particular part of the food or entree (or whatever you are shooting) you want to focus on, adding more creativity than just clicking the shutter.

See how the focus is different in the photos below. On the left, I tapped and held on the apple and the bread is slightly out of focus, bringing more attention to the apple. In the right photo, I tapped on the bread instead, making it sharper and the apple more fuzzy. (You might need to zoom in to see the difference up close.) It’s a personal preference which one you like better, but using the AE/AF lock feature gives you the option for more creativity. You can use this phone feature is many situations, from food to landscapes.

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6. It’s all in the Details.

One of my favorite subjects and why it’s included in the Beginner’s Guide to Cell Phone Travel Photography is shooting the details. Taking photos of the ‘big stuff’, the buildings, the mountains, the vistas etc. is great to give the big picture of your travel experience. But having detail shots will provide the means to fill in the gaps, especially in our memory when we try to recall the trip. So be sure to get in close. Capture the intricate architecture, or the one beautiful flower, or a fun item you love in a store but is too pricey to bring home.

You can see what I’m talking about in the two photos below. In the left photo, you can get a feel for the grandeur of the building amidst the rest of the street scene. But in the right photo, by zooming in on the artwork on the side of the building, you get more appreciation for the details and skillfulness of the artist. By adding details shots, you’ll be able to remember not just the bird’s eye view of a place, but the intricate details as well, which adds to the whole experience. Plus, detail shots can become really cool photos in themselves depending on how you shoot and edit them.

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To inspire and give some ideas on what kind of details you can include, here are a few more examples. Using details like these can help to remember the whole travel experience and make for more fun and interesting photos as well.

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7. Don’t Forget to have some fun with your photos.

Travel is about the experiences and the new things we see and do. But it’s also about relaxing and having fun. So don’t get so caught up in taking the ‘perfect’ shot all the time and forget to just enjoy the moment. Be silly with a few photos. Find some humorous sign. Act a little crazy in a photo. Let your personality come out in your photos. That’s where the joy and the fun happens!

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8. Remember to Include People

You probably already know this tip, but be sure to include photos of people in your travel collection. Not just selfies either. Be brave and ask passers-by to snap some photos of you and your travel partner(s). But also include pics of people you meet along the way: the waiter who had the excellent service; the nice woman at the hotel desk who helped so much; the street artist who captivated your attention for an hour; the wonderful couple you met at the restaurant and spent the next two hours talking about life; the street scene full of people going about their day or tourists crowding into a museum or lining up for the next tour, etc. All of these people helped to make your trip extremely special and memorable. So be sure to include them in your photos.

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Travel is such an extraordinary experience. It can change our perspective, give us needed refreshment and show us this beautiful world we live in. And knowing how to take great travel photos will allow you to remember the experience long after you unpack your suitcase. By using all the tips and photography skills in our Beginner’s Guide to Cell Phone Travel Photography, you’ll have the knowledge and ability to use your cell phone to take those awesome shots you’ll be pleased to share with your family and friends.

Remember to use light and shadow correctly and creatively. Keep an eye on composition and the many different tricks you can utilize like the rule of thirds, leading lines, framing your subject, perspective and angle. Use some or all of the seven different subject matter ideas to add variety to your travel photos. Using architectural and repeating elements, story telling, grand vistas, food, details, fun and people will give your photo collection more interest and take your photography to the next level.

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Use your cell phone for those great travel photos and have a great and memorable time on your next travel adventure. And definitely let me know by leaving a comment if you learned something new about photography or if this article inspired you to shoot better photos. And as always, keep making your someday, today! ~ Kathleen

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