What should I do if the light flare is too severe at night?

First, try cleaning the oil off your lens. If it doesn't solve the problem, activate 'Night Mode', hold your breath to minimize subtle shaking while shooting, or lean your arms against a railing or similar structure to steady yourself.

How can I take clean portrait photos in crowded tourist spots?

Position your subject as close to the background as possible and set the camera slightly lower than the subject's eye level. As the background clutter is blocked by the subject, you will get a much cleaner shot.

The Class of Domestic Travel Photos: 5 Practical Tips to Capture 'Life Shots' with Just a Smartphone

1. Cleaning the lens is the basics, start by checking settings

We've all had that disappointing experience of checking photos from a trip once we're back at our accommodation, only to find them blurry or plagued by light flares, right? At first, I thought my camera was broken, but it turned out to be fingerprints on the lens.

Always wipe the lens with a microfiber cloth or an eyeglass cleaning cloth before shooting. Just doing this will improve image quality by twofold.
Always turn on the 'Grid' feature in your camera settings. Simply aligning the horizontal and vertical lines makes a world of difference in the stability of your photos.
On very bright days, use the 'Exposure Adjustment' feature. Tap the brightest part of the screen, then drag the sun icon down slightly to capture the sky with richer, more vibrant colors.

2. How to become a 'human tripod': Stability and horizontality

Carrying a tripod adds too much weight to your luggage. That's why I actively use stone walls, street lamps, or café tables.

Preventing shake: When pressing the shutter, wrap your entire palm around the smartphone rather than just using your fingertip, and keep your elbows tucked against your ribs. This significantly reduces shake when shooting at night.
Have a fixation on horizontal lines: When taking photos of the sea or mountains, even a slight tilt in the horizon line makes the whole image look unstable. Align the grid lines on your camera screen with the horizon. While you can fix this in post-processing, aligning it while shooting results in less loss of image quality.

3. Understanding light gives photos depth

It's an amateur mistake to only shoot photos during the bright noon hours while traveling. The direction of light determines the mood of a photo.

Utilize the Golden Hour: Aim for the time right after sunrise and right before sunset when light hits at a long, soft angle. Skin tones look much more radiant, and background colors become richer.
Backlit shooting: Try placing your subject in backlighting and lowering the exposure slightly. Silhouette photos come out atmospheric, and if you leverage the 'flare' effect where light spreads around the subject, you can get results that look like magazine spreads.

4. 'Subtraction' is key to composition

When we see a great landscape, we often want to capture everything, so we resort to using wide-angle shots. However, when you look at them later, they often end up being empty photos where you can't tell who the main subject is.

Rule of Thirds: Divide the screen into a 3x3 grid, and place your subject (flower, person, landmark) at the points where the lines intersect. It looks much more stable and draws the viewer's eye.
Simplifying the background: If there are people passing by or a messy trash can in the background, don't be afraid to move, or lower your camera to use the sky as your background.
The magic of low angle: When taking portrait photos during your trip, try flipping your smartphone upside down (with the camera lens at the bottom) and shooting upward from a low position. Your legs will look much longer, and the grandeur of the background will be maximized.

5. Master just one post-processing app

Editing is just as important as shooting. Instead of complex tools, I recommend the mobile version of 'Lightroom'. Even beginners can reduce the chance of failure with just the 'Auto' button.

Contrast and Saturation: For landscape photos, increasing the contrast and saturation ever so slightly brings them to life.
Portrait editing: When a person is the main subject, simply raising the 'Highlights' slightly to brighten skin tones makes a big difference.
Avoid excessive filters: Instead of using heavy filters that ruin the original feel, practice adjusting the basic settings little by little. You will be able to keep photos that won't get old over time.

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