Tips to Take Better Pictures

Updated October 2026

Our oldest advice is still our best: know your camera. Spend twenty minutes with it (yes, even the manual) and your photos will improve. A few habits help on top of that.

Look at the light before anything else. Window light and cloudy skies are kind to faces. Noon sun makes people squint.

Get closer. Most snapshots have too much background. Take two steps in.

Don't always center the subject. Turn on gridlines and try putting it where two lines cross. It's the old "rule of thirds," and it usually makes a photo feel less static.

Hold still indoors. Tuck your elbows in or lean on a doorframe. Camera shake causes more blurry indoor photos than anything else.

What the modes do

Macro / close-up

Lets the camera focus very close. Many phones switch to it on their own.

Portrait

Blurs the background behind a person. On a phone that blur is done in software, so check the edges of hair and glasses.

Landscape

Keeps near and far sharp, and usually punches up the color.

Night

Takes a longer exposure (or several, blended) to brighten a dark scene. Hold very still.

Sports

Uses a fast shutter to freeze motion. On a phone, use burst mode instead.

Panorama

Stitches frames into one wide shot. Turn slowly and keep the phone level.

Tips by subject

Pets · Birthday parties · Kids & babies · Flowers · Sports · Weddings · Self-portraits

Selling something? Our product photo guide is where most of our effort goes these days.