Smartphones are simply too small to pack in much optical zoom, and the digital zoom only crops the photo for a pixelated close-up. https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/smartphone-travel-photography-tips/

8/13/2018 Smartphone Travel Photography Tips: How to Shoot Big with Little Gear | Digital Trends
https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/smartphone-travel-photography-tips/ 1/21
PHOTOGRAPHY
How to take travel photos with just
your smartphone
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Big cameras mean big features — and trekking to a travel destination
with gear heavy enough to put a kink in the neck and extra baggage fees
in the airline ticket. Smartphone cameras, on the other hand, are perfect
.... .... .... .... ....Menu

for travel photography. They are easy cameras to pack, because it’s
always in your pocket, and the newest models have great specs for
capturing great images (and videos) of entire vacations, from start to
ﬁnish (you can also quickly share to social media to induce instant
jealousy from your followers). But, are they ideal for travel photography
— do you risk missing out on something by not bringing more advanced
cameras?
To ﬁnd out if a smartphone is up to snuff, we recently joined Adobe in
the British Virgin Islands — with the turquoise waters of the Virgin Gorda
Baths and Jost Van Dyke as backdrops — where the company challenged
ADVE R T I SEMENT

photographers to put down their DSLRs and spend an entire day
shooting with nothing but our phone (we were guests of Adobe, but all
opinions are our own). And while we were happy to return to the DSLR,
we found today’s smartphones are indeed capable travel cameras and
easier to manage while, say, hiking through beachside caves. For many of
you, that’s probably not news. But with any camera, whether a DSLR or
phone, photography requires an understanding of the basic ins and outs,
which can go a long way. Here’s what travelers planning on wielding only
a smartphone camera need to know.
KNOW YOUR SMARTPHONE CAMERA’S LIMITATIONS
The key to actually getting good travel photos with a smartphone is to
understand what your smartphone can do — and what it can’t. Most
smartphones have a single lens with a wide-angle focal length, while the
dual-lens models have a bit more versatility with a slight zoom. Either
way, if you expect to zoom in to the top of the Eiffel Tower with just your
smartphone, you’ll be sorely disappointed. Smartphones are simply too
small to pack in much optical zoom, and the digital zoom only crops the
photo for a pixelated close-up.
If you expect to zoom in to the top of the Eiffel
Tower with just your smartphone, you’ll be sorely
disappointed.
Smartphones also aren’t as adept in low light and have more limited
hardware. Most smartphones can’t use a slow shutter speed for creative
blur or low light. The camera sensor is much smaller than what’s inside a

DSLR or even an advanced point-and-shoot, and the resolution is
typically lower, so if you want to make a giant canvas print of your trip to
hang on the walls, a smartphone probably isn’t the ideal travel camera
for you.
UNDERSTAND A SMARTPHONE CAMERA’S STRENGTHS
Smartphone cameras may be more limited than dedicated cameras, but
that doesn’t mean they don’t have their perks. First and foremost is the
size. Besides easily fitting inside your carry-on or a pocket, smartphones
are easier to carry around while exploring. Hiking in The Caves at the
Baths on Virgin Gorda required fitting through some tight spaces, so
shooting with a smartphone was easier than removing a heavy gear bag
in order to hike through a crevice.
Hillary Grigonis/Digital Trends
While a smartphone’s built-in lens means you can’t zoom in to that far-off
landmark, their wide-angle focal length are ideal for capturing
landscapes. It’s easy to fit the scene in the photo, and if not, to use the
built-in panorama mode.
DSLRs have better hardware, but smartphones have better software. As
smartphone makers continue to look for ways to improve the camera
without allocating any additional space, software solutions like built-in
High Dynamic Range and Portrait Mode are born. Besides the in-camera

options, there’s no shortage of apps to edit and share those images
quickly.
DITCH THE NATIVE CAMERA APP (MOST OF THE TIME)
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
One of the easiest ways to get more from your smartphone camera is to
use a good third-party camera app instead of relying on the one that is
preinstalled on a smartphone. These non-native camera apps tend to be
rich with advanced features, making a smartphone shoot just a bit more
like a DSLR with manual settings and the option to shoot RAW, which is
an uncompressed ﬁle type that offers more ﬂexibility for editing those
images. The built-in app is good for casual shots, but when you want to
edit travel photos to make them pop, an advanced camera app is great
tool.

The shots shared here were taken using Adobe Lightroom CC for mobile,
with a few taken with the iOS camera app on an iPhone 7, as well.
Besides shooting in DNG (Adobe’s RAW format) Lightroom lets you
manually adjust shutter speed, ISO, and white balance. Lightroom also
has a built-in HDR mode that’s helpful in diﬃcult light, and there are
post-editing tools galore. If you have an Adobe CC subscription, you can
sync your photos with your other devices or store in the cloud. The app is
free to use, with a subscription required for some of the extra features.
Non-native camera apps tend to be rich with
advanced features, making a smartphone shoot
just a bit more like a DSLR.
But Lightroom isn’t the only mobile app out there. For example, we’ve
recently fallen in love with Moment’s camera app, which provides plenty
of manual adjustments and RAW capture, but in elegant and easy-to-use
interface. Essentially, look for an app with manual controls, DNG
shooting and an HDR mode. Start by reading our guide.
PACK A PORTABLE CHARGER
Heavy use of a phone’s camera will wear down the battery quickly. Weak
signal strength and heat can also negatively impact battery life, so in
remote or hotter regions, having extra juice is very important. Bring a
portable USB charger (see our favorites) to keep your phone topped up
so you can stay out shooting until sunset. Turning the power save mode
on, disabling Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, or turning airport mode on can also
extend battery life.

PACK A WATERPROOF CASE
Many of today’s phones are dust and splash proof, but most can only
survive brief and shallow dunks below the surface of water. For
waterside destinations, pack a waterproof case (here are our favorite
waterproof phones and cases). An inexpensive waterproof smartphone
pocket with a lanyard keeps the device safe from splashes, while more
rugged cases are designed for submerging the phone.
LEAVE ENOUGH FREE SPACE FOR PLENTY OF PHOTOS
Nothing quite deﬂates the moment like getting a pop-up message that
you’re out of free space. Save any images on your smartphone to a hard
drive to free up space before you leave, and if you have a smartphone

with a micro SD slot, use one to keep shooting longer. Naturally, if you
have Google Photos or iCloud, you can also back up images to the cloud
to free up space on your device.
TAKE THOUGHTFUL COMPOSITIONS
Good photography isn’t as much about the gear as it is about the
photographer — that means, with some extra thought, you can improve
your smartphone photos without investing in (or hauling) lots of gear.
Preview the shot and consider ways to make the image better before
snapping the photo. Are there any distracting elements that you can
eliminate just by adjusting your perspective? Does the image improve
when you kneel or hold the phone higher in the air? Does the image look
better with some negative space, or centered on the subject? A few

simple composition adjustments can go a long way improving the shots
from smaller cameras.
TAP TO FOCUS AND USE EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
Outside of the small size and software, simplicity expands the list of
perks to using a smartphone for photography. If the focus isn’t quite
right, tapping the screen adjusts the focus to that point. Most
smartphone apps, even the built-in apps, also have exposure
compensation, which will lighten or darken the image even if you don’t
understand how to use the advanced settings.
LOOK FOR “GOOD” LIGHT

Advanced photographers know how to spot or create the ideal light for
the shot — but understanding a few basics can help travelers capture
most postcard-like scenes. The position of the sun is typically best for
photos early in the morning and later in the afternoon, and worst in the
middle of the day. Plan to visit the top landmark on your list first thing in
the morning or later in the evening.
Plan to visit the top landmark on your list first thing
in the morning or later in the evening.
Shooting towards the sun is also tough to do with a smartphone camera,
so consider where the sun will be when planning which landmark to see
when.
SHOOT IN DNG AND EDIT FOR THE BEST RESULTS
One of the perks of using an advanced camera app, even if you don’t
understand the manual settings yet, is DNG. A DNG is a type of RAW
image file that contains more information than the typical JPEG. Because
of that extra information, DNG files have more flexibility when editing
later. If the image is too dark, for example, you can brighten a DNG file
more than you can a JPEG. DNGs will take up a little more space on your
smartphone, but the end result is usually worth it.
DNG files are designed for editing. Use a RAW photo editing app to
adjust the brightness, color, contrast, and more. Some advanced camera
apps, like Lightroom CC, have both a camera and editing tools built in

while others are editing only. Other editing apps include VSCO, popular
for ﬁlm simulation effects, and PicsArt, popular for remixing photos.
CONSIDER SMARTPHONE LENSES AND A MINI TRIPOD
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
You can’t swap out your phone’s lens for something else, but you can add
a lens on top of it for more versatility. Add-on lenses will allow you to
capture wider scenes, zoom in on something, or get up close for macro
shots. That means packing a bit more, but on some trips, the versatility is
worth carrying a pocket full of extra lenses.
A mini tripod can also come in handy for shooting in low light. Tripods
also help take less awkward selﬁes — some advanced camera apps will

have a timer in them, or you can try a tripod set with a Bluetooth remote
like the Joby GorillaPod.
If the smartphone accessories are essential to getting those shots, tuck
them into a carry-on so they don’t end up halfway between paradise and
home in a shredded suitcase — which happens to be the reason none of
the photos you see here were taken with add-on lenses or a tripod.
WHEN SHOULD I PACK A DIFFERENT CAMERA?
Smartphone lenses cannot replace advanced cameras, but what they
lack in hardware they make up for in size, software, and simplicity. That
makes smartphone cameras ﬁne for many different types of travel — but
how do you know to invest in a better travel camera? If you want zoom,
underwater diving capabilities or you want to make a large print from
your adventure, a smartphone probably won’t quite cut it. A bridge-style
zoom camera, waterproof compact or a mirrorless camera may be the
better choice for those treks.
For snapping wide-angle landscapes without gear sapping your energy
on a long hike, you can capture better travel snapshots with a
smartphone and a few tricks. Because if there’s anything carrying a 50
pound bag of DSLR gear on top of a fresh sunburn through three
airports has taught us, it’s that sometimes, simplicity is a good thing.
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Smartphones are simply too small to pack in much optical zoom, and the digital zoom only crops the photo for a pixelated close-up. https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/smartphone-travel-photography-tips/

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Smartphones are simply too small to pack in much optical zoom, and the digital zoom only crops the photo for a pixelated close-up. https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/smartphone-travel-photography-tips/