1. Clean the lens. You would not believe how many pictures are shot with a dirty lens. A dirty lens will have low contrast and a halo around bright objects. Just give that lens a little wipe (with a t-shirt if you have to) and watch those photos jump to life.

2. Hold the phone still. Most blurry or out of focus images are caused by movement in the phone. The shutter is open for a small amount of time but any motion that takes place during that time will also be recorded making your photos look blurry. Rather than stretching your hands out when holding the phone, tuck your elbows in to help you stop movement.

3. Zoom with your feet. Never use the digital zoom in your camera. This is an artificial zoom that will pixilate your images. If you need to zoom into something, just walk closer to it. You can use digital zoom when editing if you really need to.

4. Take a few photos of the same shot. Sometimes you may not notice small issues with your photo (like someone blinking) which may ruin a shot. The great thing about digital photography is that it doesn’t cost any more to take 3 shots of something copared to just 1 shot so shoot away and pick the best one to keep.

5. Use plenty of light. The thing that most phone cameras struggle with is light. Low lighting will result in photos that look grainy and noisy. You will have seen this when taking photos in a dark environment where the black in the image has tiny little coloured pixels. This is the camear trying to pick up as much light as possible and reaching the capabilities of the sensor so always pick the better lit scene.

I hope these tips help you get better photos with your smart phone. If you have any tips you would like to share with use please leave them in the comments section. Now go take some pictures!