Thanks to your smartphone, it’s now easier than ever to capture the memories that you hope to never forget. Whether it’s a 1st Birthday or an epic adventure, your smartphone will be right there in your pocket, ready for you to click away and take as many photos as you can.

However, even though your smartphone is readily available for you to take photos, that doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to be the next Ansel Adams. And when you lose focus and end up with a blurry photo of your memory, then it’s almost like not having the photo at all.

To help you make the most of your memories so that you never forget them, here are some tips for getting the best photographs using your smartphone.

Know Your Phone

If you look on Instagram and notice that everyone has really beautiful photos, only to look at your own roll of images to notice that they aren’t nearly as detailed, it’s important to understand the capabilities that your phone has. Many factors, such as the megapixel count or auto-stabilization settings, will impact the overall quality of your photo. If you aren’t happy with yours, consider upgrading for a better option.

Pro Tip – You may want to use a different app than the one that natively comes on the phone. Third party photo apps often have much better capabilities for taking the perfect photo.

Lighting Is Your Best Friend

Ever notice that the pictures you take in light are much better than those you take in the dark? That’s because the lighting of your image will do some wonderful things in terms of how it looks once you take the picture. To take better photos, become familiar with how lighting impacts your image and then look for the best spots for lighting when capturing your memories.

Pro Tip – Ditch the flash. New smartphones have enough technology to make lighting more visible. Therefore, get rid of the flash, which can often negatively impact the overall image.

Be The Right Distance

How far your medium is will have a big impact on how the overall image looks. If you are taking a selfie, then having your smartphone close to your face will be helpful. However, if you want to get an entire mountain range in focus, you’ll need to be far away enough to capture all of it’s beauty.

Pro Tip – Consider cropping after you take the photo versus zooming in. Zooming in will make the image blurry, while cropping can help you get the perfect dimensions.

Edit On Your Own

When everything’s done, go through and edit things on your own. By altering the brightness, contrast and focus on your own, you can make the image look better than it would if you used preset filters.

Pro Tip – Avoid adding too many features, such as blurs. These can help your photos look better, but they can also take away from the main focus of your image.

You can improve your photo taking skills and make better memories. To do so, consider these tips when taking photos with your smartphone.