Mobile tricks for a more photogenic summer
High-quality optics and AI features blur the lines between image capture and retouching.
BarcelonaThe smartphones Today's smartphones offer semi-professional photography capabilities that we often don't fully utilize. With advanced techniques and specific settings, it's possible to achieve studio-quality results while on vacation using only your phone. Models like the iPhone 16 Pro, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, and the Google Pixel 9 Pro include computational capabilities that completely transform the mobile photography experience.
Better in RAW format
There are very competent automatic modes, but if you have photographic aspirations, it's best to opt for the RAW format, which applies minimal processing to images. The iPhone 16 Pro's ProRAW lets you capture 48-megapixel (mpx) files with a capture lag of just 900 milliseconds. The haptic Camera Control button lets you adjust exposure (±6 EV), optical zoom up to 5x, and Photographic Styles in real time. It's little known that these styles are reversible: the aesthetics of the image can be changed after capture without losing quality.
The RAW Expert on the Samsung Galaxy S25 captures RAW files (200 mpx on the Ultra model) with fully manual control. The Virtual Aperture feature, an alternative to Portrait mode, simulates different depths of field (f/1.4 to f/16) using algorithms. Single Take records 15-second videos, automatically analyzes the best moments, and extracts highlight photos, clips, and effects-applied versions—perfect for capturing spontaneous vacation action.
The Google Pixel 9 Pro features an AI-powered 30x digital super zoom and Video Boost, which processes videos in the cloud with HDR+ for cinematic quality. The augmented reality Include Me feature lets you virtually add yourself to the same group photo you're taking.
Generative AI: Beyond Traditional Photography
The most visible evolution comes to integrated generative AI. With drafts magical Apple and Google's can automatically remove unwanted elements: the tourist passing behind, the trash can spoiling the atmosphere, or some electrical cables. Samsung's goes further: it analyzes the composition and automatically suggests which objects to remove.
The iPhone 16 Pro's intelligent framing optimization analyzes the rule of thirds, guidelines and the distribution of visual weights, and suggests reframing that improves the composition. Samsung's Scene Optimizer adjusts exposure, saturation and contrast in more than 30 scenarios detected by AI, such as beach, mountains, food or portraits.
All of these interventions go beyond traditional photography, and move towards a "creative computational photography" blurring the lines between capture and retouching.
Advanced techniques for summer
Almost all of them smartphones Current modes include variants of Live Photos (Apple), Motion Photos (Google), or Shot Suggestions (Samsung). These modes capture 1.5- or 3-second sequences around the moment of shooting, which solves the problem of closed eyes, awkward grimaces, or fleeting childish moments. They can usually be exported as a short video or animated GIF.
The main challenges with summer photos are harsh light and extreme contrast. If you can't avoid the midday sun, use Samsung's AE Bracketing (seven frames at ±3 EV) or manual exposure to capture multiple successive images. A pro technique: to maintain detail in the highlights, force a couple of stops of underexposure and then recover the shadows by editing the RAW file.
Beach photos require specific strategies because the sand and water reflect a lot of light. Enable Skin Tone Control or use manual white balance to compensate for the sun's color temperature. Secret: With Samsung and Pixel cameras, you can shoot selfies with your palm showing, capturing them without touching the screen; this way, you'll avoid sand and water droplets.
High mountains require dynamic range management. RAW modes allow for more precise manual mode (changing a single parameter) than automatic modes. Set an ISO of 50-100 with fast shutter speeds (1/1000s+) to capture action in bright light.
Lesser-known professional retouching applications
Affinity Photo 2 for iPad (€19.99) offers 32-bit editing with CMYK and LAB support. Its frequency separation feature is on par with Photoshop's for professional skin retouching. ON1 Photo RAW Mobile (€8.70/month) syncs for free with the desktop version and offers advanced RAW processing and offline filters.
Beware of cloud-based generative AI tools: platforms like Adobe Creative Cloud or Canva use the images you upload to train their algorithms. To maintain privacy, opt for local AI options on your phone like the Magic Eraser app or the built-in features from Samsung and Apple.
Intelligent storage management
Beyond generic cloud services like those offered by Google, Apple, and Microsoft, there are also cloud services specifically for photography. Aside from the aforementioned Flickr, we highlight pCloud, which offers lifetime plans up to 10 TB. Many photo cloud services already feature AI to organize images: Excire Foto (€199 lifetime) automatically analyzes content, facial expressions, and context. Mylio Photos (€25/month) syncs photos across devices, hard drives, and SD cards without going through the cloud, reinforcing privacy.
Activate Smart Collections, which automatically update based on files' EXIF metadata. This way, you'll easily find all photos taken with specific settings or in specific locations. Flickr and SmugMug (€30/month) retain full EXIF data, while social networks delete it.
How to maintain quality
Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram automatically compress images, significantly reducing their quality. The best strategy is to create shared albums on Google Photos, OneDrive, or Flickr and send only the link to the recipients. This will maintain the original resolution and avoid cluttering up conversations. Giving them permission to add their own photos will keep them all in one place.
The new HEIF format offers 50% more efficiency than JPEG and better quality, with 10-bit color. Save originals in HEIF and convert them to JPEG only when you need universal compatibility. Similarly, always convert to sRGB before publishing on the web, but keep the Adobe RGB versions for printing. This will ensure color consistency across devices.
If you're posting on social media, optimize by platform: Instagram displays 1,080x1,350 pixels for vertical posts, while Facebook works best with 1,200x628 pixels. Always export to the exact size for each platform to avoid recompressions.
Professional Workflows
Even if you prefer a conventional camera, combining it with your phone or tablet can be practical. By connecting the two devices with the Capture One mobile app, you can preview the viewfinder and apply styles in real time. Once on your computer, Adobe Creative Cloud Photography (€19.99/month) automatically syncs it with your phone to apply AI processing. FilterPixel and Narrative also use AI to analyze focus, composition, and expressions, reducing selection time by 80%. The latter works offline, making it ideal for using with your laptop in the field.
The convergence of advanced hardware, professional software, and AI is transforming the world of photography. smartphones in professional photography tools. The user is left with the choice between documentary fidelity and creative manipulation.