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Your Old Phone Can Still Take Excellent Photos With These Pro Tips

Don’t count out the camera on your older phone. It can still take fantastic photos.

The iPhone 14 ProGoogle Pixel 7 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra are among the best camera phones you can buy in 2023. Packed with multiple lenses and amazing AI software, these phones can take shots that rival professional mirrorless cameras

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However, these top phones come with huge price tags that make them out of reach for many of us. Worry not. Even if you’ve got an older iPhone or Android phone or a budget-focused model without all the bells and whistles, there’s a lot you can do to still take beautiful images. After all, as any photographer will tell you, it’s not just the best camera that takes the best photos. 

Still, you’ll need to put in some effort yourself to elevate your shots from simple «ho hum» snaps to «oh, wow!» pieces of art.

Here, then, are my top tips for how to get the best images from an older iPhone, Galaxy phone or any older Android phone. 

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In this shot, taken on the iPhone X, the road snaking its way into the frame helps to add a leading line that guides the eye up toward the cloudy mountains.

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Nail your composition 

You can take a photo using the most advanced camera system on the planet, but if you’ve messed up your framing, you’ll still get a bad photo. After all, if you’re taking a photo of a lovely church and you manage to chop off the spire, no amount of editing will bring it back. 

Don’t just snap away wildly at your photo location. Instead, slow down, walk around and consider the scene in front of you and how you want it to appear in your shot. Taking a landscape shot? Look for leading lines such as pathways or old stone walls that snake their way into the scene. Or perhaps there’s some interesting rocks or flowers that could add some interest in the foreground. 

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Taken on the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus. I used the curving rock face as foreground interest, shooting through the gap that points toward the reservoir in the distance.

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You can also turn on a «rule of thirds» grid overlay in the settings to help line up the different elements in your scene in a visually pleasing way — or simply to help keep your horizons straight. 

If you’ve got multiple rear cameras that offer a zoomed-in or wide-angle view, experiment with these different options. Maybe zooming in can help eliminate distracting elements, or perhaps that wider view can capture more of the beautiful scene in front of you. 

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With no wide-angle lens on the iPhone 11 Pro, I used the panorama mode to capture a much wider scene here.

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If you don’t have a wide-angle view, try using the panorama mode to get a wider shot than the standard camera can achieve — or use clip-on lenses, as I discuss below.

Tell a story

The most impactful, iconic images through the years aren’t simply the ones taken with the best camera, but the ones that tell a particular story or capture a moment in time. And sure, maybe you’re not trying to win a photojournalism prize on your summer vacation, but thinking like a photojournalist can help you take images that you’ll want to look back on in years to come. 

Perhaps you’re heading to the beautiful Italian coast this year. Of course, you’ll get a nice snap of the ocean from your hotel terrace, but keep in mind what else has made your trip so memorable; the plates of delicious food, the old, dusty streets, the musician playing in the square or the vibrant colors of the fruits and flower stands at the local market. All these elements will make for great photos that capture the heart of the location and tell a great visual story when you look back through them. 

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This beautiful, shaggy Highland cow wasn’t the reason I visited Scotland, but this was a great opportunity to capture an image of an iconic animal. And the shot really adds to the story told by the images I took on that trip. Taken on the iPhone 11 Pro.

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And it doesn’t have to be something you do only on a big family vacation. A weekend walk downtown to the street-food market will offer up great storytelling opportunities, from the graffiti art you see along the way to the plates of vibrant cuisine you choose on arrival. And none of these things require the latest camera hardware to capture beautifully.

Use the light to your advantage

Though today’s top phones can take great nighttime images, older models likely won’t have night modes. As a result, darkness won’t be your friend when you’re trying to get great images. If you’re heading to a viewpoint overlooking the city, try to get there during the day, perhaps when there’s a lovely blue sky sprinkled with fluffy clouds.

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Though the middle of the day isn’t always a great time for landscape photos, you might capture moments of peace like this. Taken on the iPhone X.

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Middle-of-the-day photography is often avoided by landscape photographers because of its harsh quality, but if you’re exploring city streets, it can offer some great opportunities to look for contrast caused by shadows, which could make for dramatic images.

No multi-camera iPhone? Use clip-on lenses

Older iPhones might lack the multiple lenses found on the most recent models, but you don’t just have to make do. Companies like Moment and Olloclip make lenses that attach to your phone, providing wide-angle, telephoto and even macro views. 

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Using its standard lens (left) the iPhone X can only fit so much in frame. But with the Moment wide angle adapter (right) we get a much wider view.

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Sure, you have to carry an extra little item in your bag or pocket as you explore, but adding a clip-on lens is a great way to get a superwide view for those sweeping cityscapes without having to splash the cash in upgrading your phone.

Shoot in DNG raw, even on old phones

Apple’s ProRaw image format, introduced on the iPhone 12 Pro Max, uses computational imaging techniques like HDR but still provides you with a DNG raw file that’s much easier to edit in apps like Adobe Lightroom. It isn’t a function found on older iPhones, but those of you on older phones can still shoot in regular raw if you’re keen to do your own edits.

You can’t shoot in DNG raw in the standard camera mode, so you’ll need to use a third-party camera app that offers raw shooting. I usually use Lightroom itself, as its camera shoots in raw and automatically imports the images into your library. But I’ve also had good results with the Moment app.

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By shooting in DNG raw, I had even more flexibility in Adobe Lightroom to make this portrait of my sweet bundle of beautiful wonder look even more heartacheingly gorgeous. 

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

Shooting in raw allows you more flexibility to adjust white balance and color tones while generally making it easier to tone down bright highlights or lighten up shadowy areas. Those of you looking to squeeze every ounce of quality from your phone camera should consider using raw — as long as you’re willing to spend the time editing.

Keep in mind, though, that raw files are larger than their JPEG counterparts, so you’ll quickly fill up your phone’s storage if you shoot everything you see in raw. 

Get creative with editing apps

Taking your photo is only part of the process, and a keen eye in the editing stage can make all the difference in creating beautiful photographic art. If you want to maintain a more natural looking photograph, look toward apps like Lightroom or Google’s Snapseed. These raw image editors give you control over colors, exposure and contrast and let you fine-tune your images to suit your taste.

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Edited in Prisma, the abstract art style means it doesn’t matter if the original image isn’t amazing quality.

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Or you can take your creativity to a whole other level with apps like Prisma, which transforms your shots into often psychedelic-looking scenes, or Bazaart, which lets you easily create wild photo collages that can look really cool. You can check out my roundup of my favorite image editing apps for more inspiration.

The great thing with editing is that there’s no right or wrong way to do things, and you can always go back to your original image if you don’t like the changes you made. But using some of these techniques can turn an otherwise forgettable shot into something that really stands out. My advice is to make a cup of tea, settle into a comfy chair and play around with the sliders in your app of choice and see what you can come up with.

Read more: Best Free and Paid Photo Editing Apps for iPhone and Android

Technologies

Apple and Amazon Debut Musical Year-End Recaps While You Wait for Spotify Wrapped

Apple’s Music Replay 2025 and Amazon’s 2025 Delivered examine your listening habits for the year.

Spotify has yet to release its 2025 edition of its popular Wrapped year-in-review feature (last year it debuted on Dec. 4), but Apple Music and Amazon Music are here to fill the void with their own versions of the year-end recap (if you use those services).

Apple Music Replay is now live and puts together a playlist of your most-listened to songs as well as shareable videos and images. You’ll be able to see your top artists, amount of time you listened to Apple Music songs and genres. 


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Similarly, Amazon’s 2025 Delivered feature tracks what you listened to across music, podcasts and audiobooks, but this year Amazon’s theme is a music festival, with some of your listening habits presented as badges. It will also generate a festival poster with artists from your listening history.

Even YouTube is getting into the act with a recap of what you watched in 2025.

How to get to Apple Music Replay and Amazon 2025 Delivered

Both Apple Music Replay and Amazon 2025 Delivered are available in their respective apps.

Apple Music Replay is on the homepage of the Music app and under the «New» tab, but can also be found at replay.music.apple.com

For Amazon’s 2025 Delivered, go to the Library page in the Amazon Music app if Delivered doesn’t appear on the home page. It doesn’t appear to be available in the web version of Amazon Music. 

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Technologies

Metroid Prime 4 Beyond on Switch: This Was Worth Waiting For

Come on in, the space desert’s fine.

Winter’s coming, and Nintendo has delivered an epic Switch game to get lost in for the season. After a week of playing Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, I know this is the one I’ve been waiting for. It’s full of alien motorbikes, alien relics, psychic powers and a lot of puzzle-solving.

It’s been a long time since I played a Metroid Prime game. I used to huddle around my GameCube in California, playing the first one. I never got sucked too far into 2D Metroid games, but Prime’s mysterious unfolding caverns and worlds felt like exploring space tombs. It’s always had a bit of a 3D Zelda vibe to me. The Prime games felt more powerful, more immersive than the 2D ones, even Dread. (The original Prime is on Switch too, remastered and worth playing.)

With Prime 4, announced more than eight years ago, it took me some time to get back into it. But now it’s all I think about playing. My recommendation is to just go in for the experience. Go in knowing nothing, and maybe even skip everything in this review, or any other review. Mystery is Metroid’s calling card. Your big adventure on the Switch is here. 

If you’re new, here’s the deal: 3D Metroid is a first-person shooter adventure, but with a lot more emphasis on exploration and puzzle-solving than straight-up battle. Once again, you play as Samus, the bounty hunter who quietly explores her world. Enemies and bosses do pop up, and they can be hard, but expect challenges similar to boss battles in a Zelda game. Just like all the other Metroid games, your various powers are lost and must be found again, piece by piece. Besides running and jumping and shooting, you can morph into a ball. Or, this time, hop on a Tron-like space bike called Vi-O-La.

I wasn’t sure if Prime 4 would be for me, or if I’d feel lost in lore I’d forgotten or hadn’t absorbed (since I hadn’t finished Prime 2 or 3, and barely remember what happened in Prime). It’s OK. This game assumes you might be coming in clean, though knowing the Metroid series will help.

Hollywood flair, but not too much

It’s also clear that Nintendo is pushing the Metroid series more into the mainstream. With Nintendo making theme parks and films now, Metroid seems like a future candidate for another franchise spin-off. The game’s stellar opening video sequences feel like being propelled into Star Wars, and yes, the new talking side characters are peppered throughout. Some are annoying, some a bit clichéd, but all seem like they’re possibly auditioning for roles in future entertainment to come.

That annoying guy who seemed to always barge in during early game demos a few weeks ago? He doesn’t bother me too much. Definitely a lot of chat at first, but it settles down later. And, good news: So far, hours into playing, these characters don’t bother you all the time. In fact, in most of the maze-like maps, they’re out of communication range, and you’re on your own. Don’t worry, the lonely Samus vibe is still there.

Just enough feelings of getting truly lost

Samus ends up isolated on a new planet, Viewros, which is full of ancient artifacts from a civilization called the Lamorn that need to be awakened. You don’t know why you’re there, and you don’t know where to go. I mean, there are maps, and suggestions, and sometimes the game pings you a specific map goal. But the game doesn’t hold your hand much. I often wondered what to do next, which isn’t a bad thing at all. There are in-game suggestions and clues, and the design also lends itself to further suggestions. 

A semi-open world

And what I’m still wrapping my head around is the vast desert overworld of Viewros, which exists within a mega map where specific regions to visit are scattered throughout. The desert feels largely empty, but there are mysterious things to find in it, some of which can’t even be accessed at first. Underground shrine-like caves. Pieces of rubble. Odd machines.

Also, the motorbike you uncover and ride — Vi-O-La, aka the Zelda Horse of Metroid Prime 4 — adds a nice bit of open-world feel here. Not a massive one so far, but enough to give the game dimension. It’s not Breath of the Wild, but it is a bit like Ocarina of Time’s handling of space. I love riding that Tron bike around, and I want all the Metroid games to add this type of layer. (Would there ever be a spaceship to fly? Is there one later, in this game? I don’t even know yet.)

It’s great (on Switch 2)

I haven’t played Metroid Prime 4 on the original Switch, but just like Pokemon Legends Z-A, it’s both Switch and Switch 2 playable. The Switch 2 version features a silky-smooth 60 frames per second (or 120fps at a lower resolution) and a fun mouse mode with the Joy-Cons, but I barely used it. I just find standard controls perfectly great as they are.

And, you do a lot of scanning of things in this game, using a Psychic Visor mode that sometimes activates relics, or scans and catalogs creatures, items and artifacts. That left trigger is maybe the most-used button in the game. 

The game plays great both docked and handheld, which is good news because I’ll be traveling with this one for a while. I’m nowhere near finishing (sorry, I’m a slow gamer), but this earns the hype, even if it’s not a total reinvention of the control and play style. Now erase your brain of everything I said and dive in. Better you know nothing at all.

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Technologies

Cyber Monday Might Be Gone, but This Record-Low Price on the Google Pixel 9 Is Still Here

Take hundreds off the Google Pixel 9. But hurry, there’s not much time left to score this after-Cyber Monday deal.

If you’re looking to get your hands on one of the best Android phones out there, Google is the best place to look. The company has been producing stellar phones for some time now. But like all great things, it certainly comes with a pretty big price tag. If you’re not eager to get the latest and greatest model, Cyber Monday had some pretty nice deals you can still grab while they hang around a smidge longer. You can save significantly on previous-generation devices if that works for you.

Right now, you can pick up the previous-gen Google Pixel 9 for just $499. This post-Cyber Monday deal brings the phone to its lowest-ever price with a 38% discount. That’s an exceptional price for one of the best phones you can buy, but that also means it’s unlikely to last for very long. So, if you want to pick this one up, we recommend doing so soon before it sells out. 

The Google Pixel 9 is the sweet spot if you’re looking for a compact phone that doesn’t compromise on camera, performance or display specs. It has a 6.3-inch display, a long-lasting battery and is 5G-ready. This previous-gen flagship’s camera system is the same as the bigger model of its series. It also comes equipped with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The phone is available in multiple colors, but the special price isn’t offered for all of them. For that reason, we suggest checking the price of your preferred color before placing your order. Don’t worry if the Pixel 9 isn’t for you, though. 

Not the phone you wanted? We’re rounding up all the remaining Cyber Monday phone deals so you don’t wind up paying more than you need to.

Why this deal matters

This Pixel 9 isn’t the latest that Google has to offer, but it’s still a great option. The Pixel 9 will continue to receive Android feature and security updates for a long time to come. That means you won’t need to replace your Pixel for years, making this deal an even better value. If you’re an Android fan who likes your phones to be as straightforward as possible, Google’s Pixel phones are a great place to start your search. And now that Cyber Monday is behind us, this deal won’t last much longer. 

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