Tips for taking pictures on your phone at night

The importance of light to a good photograph is in the word itself as ‘photo’ means light and ‘graph’ means to draw, so to photograph something is to draw with light.

By keeping the phone steady, making use of nearby light sources and getting acquainted with some of the smarter mobile phone features, anyone can get closer to capturing the perfect night time picture.

Tips for taking pictures on your phone at night:

Keep your phone stable

It doesn’t take much for a photo to appear blurry, especially if it’s taken at night so you’ll want to ensure your camera is as stable as possible. You could either invest in a handheld tripod or hold your phone with a tight grip in both hands.

Download long exposure apps

Professional photographers tend to use longer exposure when taking pictures at night. This means the shutter speed of the camera is slower and can capture blurring motions too whilst still getting a sharp and crisp image. Although you can’t physically do this to your phone's camera settings, you can download an app to help

The flash isn’t always the solution

When taking a picture at night or in the dark, a lot of people assume the flash will solve all their problems. Whilst this does do the trick sometimes, it’s not always the answer and can sometimes ruin the picture.

Use nightmode

The majority of the latest smartphones have night mode to help enhance the pictures we take. Night mode takes several frames and then combines different elements of each to create a crisper image.

Adjust the ISO

ISO determines how sensitive to light your camera is and essentially helps brighten or darken an image. Not all phones allow you to change the ISO but it is an option on some. The higher the ISO, the brighter the image will be.

A spokesperson from Parrot Print said: “Taking a photo on a phone in the dark can be difficult and often leaves us feeling like we can’t quite capture the beautiful moment in front of us whether that be of a loved one or of a breathtaking view.“