10 ways phones can help your photography

Phones can boost the creativity and quality of your photography with a conventional camera, as Kingsley Singleton reveals

Phone cameras have certainly killed off the market for compacts, but it's not the time to be resentful. There are also many ways that the huge range of apps for your phone can improve, rather than stifle, more creative photography taken with a dedicated device.

Here you'll find a spread of handy ways to use apps to aid your picture taking, many of which help plan shots, as well as improving technique. Of course there are tons of these apps, and many features occur across titles - particularly the case with the excellent Photo Pills. Take a look and see what works for you.

But just two notes of caution before you do: first, if you're relying on apps while on location, invest in a battery pack for your phone so you don't lose access to the information or features you need. They're cheap and invaluable. Second, don't let apps rule your life. Mistakes and improvisation are part of photography, so take what's good, but don't let it hold you back.

Go long

Shooting long exposures should be about more than hit and hope. That goes for composition, where the technique needs to offer the right mood to the scene or subject. And it goes for exposure, too. Overexposed or underexposed shots simply won’t have the same quality, often losing fidelity through editing and showing up unsightly noise. Cameras also struggle to accurately meter through very strong filters, so it’s up to you to do the sums.