Technologies

Take Stunning Landscape Photos With Your Phone Using These Pro Tips

Whether you have an iPhone or Android phone, these pro tips will up your landscape photography game.

Today’s best phones, such as the iPhone 15 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, have amazing cameras that can take images that would make even the best cameras jealous. Even older or more affordable phones, like 2021’s iPhone 13 Pro or the new Google Pixel 8, can take beautiful images that you might want to print and display on your wall.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to take landscape photos with your phone, whether you’re heading into the countryside or deep into the heart of the mountains. While some of the tips apply to recent phones with multiple lens options, many are relevant whether your device is three months or three years old, Apple or Android.

Read more: Best Camera Phone to Buy Right Now

Sort your phone camera settings

Your phone is probably capable of taking a cracking landscape photo in its default auto mode, but let’s take things a bit further.

If your phone has a «pro» mode that gives you manual control of settings, switch into that. If it doesn’t, an app like Moment, Lightroom or MuseCam lets you take control of settings like ISO, shutter speed and white balance.

Crucially, these apps also let you shoot in raw format. Raw images don’t save many of the automatic camera settings that your phone would normally apply to a JPEG image, such as white balance or sharpening. The result is an image that lets you change the white balance, alter color tones and rescue detail from the highlights and shadows much more easily — and with less image degradation — than you can with a simple JPEG. I’ll come back to this more in the editing section below.

Apple’s last few generations of Pro iPhone can use the company’s ProRaw format, which uses some computational photography techniques like HDR blending but still generates an easily editable DNG file. Tapping the Raw button on the camera screen will turn on raw shooting. Google has a similar raw function built into its Pixel line.

In landscapes, altering white balance is often crucial as auto white balance might see a scene with a lot of warm tones (such as fall leaves on trees) and try to use a cool white balance to even it out, but in so doing, it loses all of that natural warmth. Being able to tone down some of the highlights from a bright sky or bring up the shadows in the foreground is important, and being able to alter your white balance after you’ve taken the shot gives you much more flexibility in your editing, rather than having the colors baked into the image when you take it.

The downside to shooting in raw is that your images will likely need some work in an editing app like Lightroom or Snapseed before you can share them. Photographing landscapes is often a slower, more methodical process, and spending time in editing is all part of the experience of crafting a beautiful image.

Shoot early, stay out late

Time of day is everything in landscape photography, because the lighting changes completely as the sun passes overhead. The best time of day to catch dramatic light is either at sunrise or at sunset. The sun is low in the sky both times of day, resulting in directional light and long shadows cast over the scene.

Midday is typically the worst time to shoot, as the overhead light doesn’t create much in the way of shadow detail, resulting in scenes that can look flat and lifeless.

If you have a particular location in mind, it’s worth setting your alarm and getting out early to see what you can capture during the sunrise. If time allows, try and return to shoot the same scene at different times of day to see when it looks best.

Watch the weather

Weather plays a huge part in any outdoor photography, but none more so than with landscapes. Different weather conditions will transform your scene, completely altering its mood, lighting and colors. But don’t assume that bad weather means bad photos.

Personally, I love the foreboding, moody atmosphere of a landscape with dark storm clouds billowing above. Often the light that comes after a storm can look particularly dramatic. So while the hike to your chosen location might be a miserable slog in pouring rain, keep your spirits up by imagining the beautiful photo you might get at the end.

The worst weather for landscapes is that plain, miserable gray sky where there’s no texture to the clouds, no interesting light on the land and no contrast to the scene in front of you.

Keep an eye on your favorite weather app and make the decision based on what’s predicted. As long as you’ve packed the right clothing, you can brave the worst of the weather, and if it gets too bad then navigate Google Maps to the nearest pub to sit it out with a good drink.

Experiment with your wide and zoom lenses

If your phone has a wide-angle mode, then now’s the time to give it a try. If you don’t have a wide mode on your phone as standard, you can use additional lenses to get the same effect.

Superwide landscapes can be particularly dramatic, as they capture so much of a scene in a single image. Mountaintops that would otherwise be out of frame are suddenly captured in all their majesty, while beautiful rivers can now be seen in their entirety, snaking their way into a scene.

But once you’ve had the excitement of seeing the scene in full, try using the telephoto zoom lenses on your phone to focus on some of the details within it. Look for interesting rock formations, patterns in the landscapes or unusual shapes in the scene — all of which can stand out when you zoom in or crop out other distracting elements.

Concentrate on composition

It’s easy to think that just using as wide an angle as possible is a guarantee of a cool landscape photo, but that’s not the case. In fact, to get the best out of your wide shots you need to think about composition even more.

Foreground interest

Look for foreground interest in your scenes. Tree stumps, moss-covered rocks, even some pretty wildflowers can all be used to draw the viewer’s eye into a scene. When you’re at the top of the hill taking your shot, spend a couple of minutes having a look around for something you can place in your shot to help bring the scene together.

Leading lines

Leading lines are also great elements of a brilliant landscape composition. Keep your eye out for pathways, nice walls or other long elements that wind their way farther into the scene — it’s exactly that winding perspective that allows your viewer’s eye to follow along a line and into your image.

Straight horizons

If your phone shows grid lines or a leveling tool on the screen, use that to make sure your horizon line is straight. Then double-check you’re not accidentally chopping the top off your subject, be it a mountain, a building or some trees. Remember, you can do a lot to improve a mediocre image with editing, but you can’t do anything to rescue bad composition.

Edit your photos

Your image isn’t finished once you’ve hit that shutter button; a few tweaks in an editing app is all it can take to transform a simple snap into a beautiful piece of art.

My favorite editing app is Adobe Lightroom Mobile, but I also get great results from Google’s Snapseed, which you can get for free on Android and iOS. You can check out my roundup of the best editing apps, which include various options for those of you who like to get a bit wild with your editing.

I tend to start by tweaking the white balance so the colors look accurate, or to give a warmth boost to a beautiful sunset. It’s here that shooting in raw becomes particularly beneficial. I’ll tweak the exposure levels, particularly the highlights and shadows, in order to bring a bright sky a bit more under control or to boost shadows in the foreground. A bit of additional contrast can help add some punch to the scene as well.

My advice is to make a coffee, sit back and play with the sliders in your chosen app to your heart’s content. Try out the different filters and experiment with layering different effects on top of each other by saving and reimporting your image. Remember that there’s no right or wrong way to edit an image, so enjoy playing around — you can always go back to the original image if you don’t like what you’ve come up with.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 18, #677

Horror-movie buffs, it’s your day to shine. Here are hints and the answers for Connections for April 18, #677.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Movie buffs, you’ll see a topic right up your alley in today’s Connections puzzle. And Gen Xers raised on Schoolhouse Rock? The yellow group might remind you of a fun video. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Rats!

Green group hint: Blob is another one.

Blue group hint: You might do this to flowers.

Purple group hint: Your stuff.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Interjections.

Green group: Horror movies, with «the.»

Blue group: Things you can pick.

Purple group: Personal property minus «S.»

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is interjections. The four answers are boy, goodness, man and wow.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is horror movies, with «the.» The four answers are Birds, Exorcist, Haunting and Shining.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is things you can pick. The four answers are apple, banjo, card and nose.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is personal property minus «s.» The four answers are belonging, effect, good and possession.

Quick tips for Connections

#1: Say the clue words out loud, pausing before and after each. That helps you hear the words in the context of a phrase. The Connections editors love to group words together that are used in similar phrasing, like ____ Up.

#2: Don’t go for the obvious grouping. These editors are smart. Once, they offered SPONGE, BOB, SQUARE and PANTS in the same puzzle. None of those words were in the same category. If you like, hit the «shuffle» button to give yourself a different perspective on the words.

#3: Break down any compound words and look for similarities. «Rushmore» was once in a puzzle where the connection was that each word started with the name of a rock band.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 18, #411

Do you want to play a game? Here are hints — and the answers — for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 411 for April 18.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Todays NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one, especially if you like board games. I initially thought it might just be the names of some games, but other related words also fit in, which makes it a bit trickier. If you’re looking for hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: On the board.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Let’s play.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CHEEK, GAME, LOPE, LOPES, NIGHT, SOLD, MOLT, BAGS, DOME, SHIP, SHAME, CHEER, DIME, POLE, DOLE.

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

TILE, TOKEN, DOMINO, KNIGHT, CHECKER, BATTLESHIP

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is GAMEPIECES. To find it, start with the G that’s four letters over from the far left and three letters down, and twist over and back across.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.

Technologies

Your Phone Is Dirtier Than a Toilet Seat. Now Clean It the Right Way

Using the wrong products can damage the screen and protective coatings. Here’s the safest way to clean your grimy phone.

Americans spend more than 5 hours a day on their phones, according to a December 2024 survey. With that much handling, it’s no surprise your phone becomes a hotspot for bacteria — in fact, it’s often dirtier than a toilet seat. Since you hold it constantly and press it to your face, making regular phone cleaning part of your routine is more than just smart, it’s necessary for your health.

The FCC suggests disinfecting your phone daily, but not all cleaning methods are safe. Harsh chemicals and abrasive materials can damage protective coatings and potentially harm your screen. To keep your phone both clean and intact, it’s crucial to use the right cleaning techniques.

Luckily, there are safe and effective ways to sanitize your phone without causing any damage. We’ll guide you through the best methods and products for keeping your device germ-free, no matter if you have an iPhone or a Samsung or whatever its level of water resistance.

For more cleaning tips, here’s how to clean wireless earbuds and AirPods.

What are the best products for daily cleaning?

After touching surfaces that see a lot of action from the public — such as door handles, seats on public transportation, grocery carts and gas pumps — you might think you need a heavy-duty cleaning agent to use on your phone. However, you should avoid rubbing alcohol or products made of straight alcohol, since they can damage the protective coatings that prevent oil and water from harming your screen.

Some suggest making your own alcohol-water mix, but getting the concentration wrong can damage your phone. The safest option is using disinfectant wipes with 70% isopropyl alcohol. For daily cleaning, consider a UV light product like PhoneSoap, which kills 99.99% of germs and bacteria. We can also turn to phone manufacturers and cell service companies for guidance, too.

Apple now approves using Clorox Wipes and similar disinfectants, which was not recommended before the pandemic since they were thought to be too abrasive on the screen’s coating. AT&T advises spraying a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution on a soft, lint-free cloth and wiping your device down. Samsung also recommends using a 70% alcohol solution with a microfiber cloth. Always make sure your phone is powered off before cleaning it.

What are the best methods for removing fingerprints, sand and makeup?

Sometimes your phone needs a more specific treatment when washing up. The recommended process for daily cleaning may not be enough to remove pesky grains of sand after a beach vacation or tough foundation stains.

Get rid of fingerprints

Fingerprint smudges are inevitable since your skin produces oils. Every time you pick up your phone, your screen will get fingerprints. The safest way to make your screen print-free is with a microfiber cloth. For a deeper clean, dampen the cloth with distilled water (never apply water directly to the screen) and wipe down the surface. This works for the back and sides of your phone as well.

Alternatively, try a microfiber screen cleaner sticker that sticks to the back of your phone for easy wiping.

Remove sand and small particles

Grains of sand and lint can easily get stuck in your phone’s ports and crevices. To remove it, we recommend you use Scotch tape. Press it along the creases and speaker, then roll it up and gently insert it into the ports. The tape will pull out any debris. You can then just simply throw away the tape for easy cleanup.

For smaller speaker holes, use a toothpick gently or a small vacuum crevice tool to suck out the debris. These tools work well for other small appliances or hard-to-reach areas in your car too.

Cleanse makeup off your phone screen

When you wear makeup and skin care products, such as foundation and moisturizers, you’ll leave residue on your phone screen. While makeup remover works for your face, it’s not safe for screens due to potentially harmful chemicals. Instead, try a screen-safe makeup remover like Whoosh, which is alcohol-free and gentle on all screens.

Alternatively, use a damp microfiber cloth to clean your phone, then wash the cloth afterward. Make sure your cloth is only slightly wet to avoid soaking your phone in water.

What if my phone is waterproof?

For waterproof phones (IP67 and above), it’s best to clean the device with a damp cloth instead of submerging or running it under water — even if the phone advertises that it can withstand submersion for a certain amount of time.

Afterward, dry your phone with a soft cloth, ensuring all ports and speakers are patted dry. While your phone can withstand water, submerging it can lead to water in the ports, delaying charging. Remember, water resistance is meant for accidents, not swimming or regular cleaning.

Things to avoid when cleaning your phone

We’ve already covered why you should avoid makeup remover and rubbing alcohol, but those aren’t a comprehensive list of harmful cleaning agents. Here are a few other items and products you should never use to clean your phone:

Hand sanitizer: Fragrances and ethyl alcohol found in many sanitizers can harm your phone.
Window or kitchen cleaners: Harsh cleaners can strip the protective coating on your phone and leave it more vulnerable to scratches.
Paper towels: Paper can shred, making the debris on your phone much worse, and the rough texture can leave scratches on your screen.
Dish and hand soap: Most soaps require you to combine them with water, and since you should keep water away from your phone, it’s best to stick to a damp cloth.
Vinegar: Like cleaners and alcohols, vinegar will strip your phone screen’s coating.
Compressed air: Blowing intense and direct air into your phone’s portals can cause damage, especially to your mic. Apple specifically warns iPhone owners not to use compressed air.