Your Guide to Taking Superb Smartphone Holiday Snaps

A large camera, while it does take amazing photos, isn’t a very practical option if you’re going to be on a more adventurous holiday. They’re big, bulky, expensive and because they’re such a serious gadget, travel insurance premiums might be higher to make sure you’re covered in case of theft or damage – and let’s face it, a big fancy camera is more or less a ‘rob me!’ sign hanging around your neck…

We don’t go anywhere without our phones these days, and most modern smartphones are equipped with very decent cameras that you can do more with than you might expect. A few tips can help you make the most of the camera that comes with your phone, and our top hints are outlined below to help you snap the best photos to remember your trip.

The Benefits

As soon as you reach WiFi after a day out adventuring, you can share your photos with friends and family instantly. They’re really lightweight and compact, so ideal for backpackers or anyone on an active holiday to just slip into a pocket or backpack compartment.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Smartphone

• It can be as simple as giving your lens a quick wipe to make sure it’s not grubby (which, let’s face it, it probably is after being shoved in and out of your pocket all day, every day!).
• Forget the flash! Flash photos often turn out terribly, so just keep it off to improve the quality of your photos. For best results, take photos in plenty of natural lighting.
• Get as physically close as possible to your subject. Fill the entire frame and use your camera app to help position your phone to get the focus right.
• Phone cameras typically use a digital zoom, which means that when you zoom more, the quality of the image decreases. Basically, your photo will be horribly pixelated and essentially unusable. Just focus on the one part of the photo you really want to capture, and crop the rest out later.
• You could apply basic photography principles, like the rule of thirds, to your photo taking if you have time.

Embrace Some Tech

Thanks to the fact you’re leaving the big camera at home, you can find some room to squeeze in a couple of compact solutions to the main problems with smartphone cameras that we outlined above.

• Get App Happy: There are heaps of really good free and cheap applications available to download that can improve your photos dramatically. Try one that helps with focus area, ISO and controlling your shutter speed to start with.
• Try a Tripod: These bits of kit are relatively low-cost, and improve photo quality – especially if you’re snapping away in low lighting. By reducing camera movement, your photos will come out less blurry. Also, if you’re a solo traveller, a tripod will be your cameraman and selfie taker all in one.
• Brave the Bluetooth: This tiny little remote will allow you to take group photos from afar and improve the quality of your shots because you won’t have to actually touch your phone to take a photo!

You’ve Got Your Gadget! Travel Insurance is the Next Essential

You’re ready to go forth and take incredibly envy-inducing Instagrams, but not before you buy appropriate gadget travel insurance. Your phone isn’t just a phone on your travels, but a camera, bank, map and currency converter – so you really can’t afford to have something happen to it!