You don’t need a DSLR to take great travel photos, portraits, or everyday snaps. Apply these easy ways to take better photos with the camera you carry with you everywhere — your phone!

All photos below were taken on my iPhone 4s. You may recognize them from my Instagram feed.

Don’t Use Filters on Food

It looks fake. We all know what color apples are supposed to be. Don’t turn them blue.

Turn Architecture Black and White

If you like the composition of your picture, but the lighting is bad, turn it black and white or apply a cool filter. Architecture and strong shapes stand out even more in monochrome.

Apply the Rule of Thirds

Divide your frame in to three sections and put your subject in the far left or far right section. Now you’re shooting like a pro!

Find Symmetry

This is the opposite of the Rule of Thirds. Instead find subjects that are perfectly symmetrical, then aim at the middle. The human eye can detect even a millimeter of deviation from center, so hold your phone steady and pay attention to the edges of your frame to be sure your subject is centered.

Find Reflections

This is another easy way to create symmetry in a composition. Giving the subject and the reflection half of the frame each makes for an engaging photo.

Add Whitespace

Whitespace is the negative or empty space in a composition. As well as being visually arresting, it makes your subject stand out even more. Apply the Rule of Thirds with whitespace and voila! gorgeous images every time. If you need a background remover, consider using one before you post a photo.

Look for Repetition

Another photographer’s tip is to find a subject with repeating objects of three or more. The more you do this, the more your eye will be trained to look for repetition every time you take a picture.

Use Blur to Create Depth of Field

What phone cameras lack, filters make up for. Use the “Tilt Shift” filter in Instagram to blur everything but your subject. This makes it look like you shot with a DSLR!

Create a Sense of Place

Put your viewer in your shoes to make them feel like they’re where you are (or make them want to go there). This requires you have a foreground object like your cappuccino, your hand, or your feet propped up on a chair. You can focus on either the foreground or the background.

Rotate Your Phone

Easy, right? Turn your phone 30 degrees or so to add interest to your photo (or just rotate in Instagram). This takes your photo from ordinary to interesting in no time.

Play with Light

When the sun is low in the sky or peeking between palm trees, I like to take full advantage of sunbeams and add them to my composition. My iPhone seems to magnify the intensity of sun beams even more than my DSLR. Just don’t stare too long!

Create Thoughtful Collages

Choose three to four simple and sharp images with similar color and create a collage in Pic Stitch. Apply an Instagram filter to give the entire image a continuous look and feel.

K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

Less is more when it comes to photography. I admit I am often the biggest offender at this, but at least try to vary your photos — some detailed, some simple. When framing up a composition, ask yourself what the subject is? If you can’t tell, zoom in or crop out unnecessary details. Pay attention to the photographs that you’re most drawn to. You’ll likely find they are instantly impacting because the subject is clearly presented without clutter.

Follow me on Instagram

I’d love to hear from you. Share your tips below!