Some once said that the best camera is the camera you have on you. For most of us its our phone. The phone has truly replaced the compact (and sometimes professional) camera. If you have a phone that was made in the last 5 years, you most likely have a camera that can record amazing images. Yet, sometimes we take images that don’t exactly live up to expectation and the natural thing is to blame the camera. But it seems to be inconsistent. Sometimes we get amazing photos and other times the photo seems a little washed out. Have a look at the 2 images below. They were both taken on an iPhone11 Pro. Both photos were taken with exactly the same setting within 5 seconds of each other. Can you see how much more contrast and definition there is on the second shot?

The second shot has much better detail and the colours look more vibrant too. The first image almost looks like I’m shooting through a window. So what is the magical feature I used to get a better picture? I cleaned the lens. That’s it! Nothing else changed. I simply cleaned the lens on the camera. And before you ask what kind of cleaner or lint-free material I used……. I used my t-shirt. Phones are constantly being handled so it’s no surprise we end up with dirty and greasy camera lenses. So next time you are about to take a photo, give that lens a little wipe with your t-shirt, rub it on your jeans or a paper napkin and see the difference it makes.