Advanced Smartphone Photography

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Learn more about the advanced smartphone photography features available in the new Samsung Galaxy S9+.

My previous phone had been paid off for quite some time, but I was hesitant to purchase a new phone because I just didn’t know what I wanted. But when I saw the complete technology overhaul in the new Samsung Galaxy S9+, I had to check it out for myself! I headed to Target, where I was able to purchase my new phone with my current carrier. The major selling point for me was the camera. Photography is my absolute favorite hobby and obviously a main source of income for my family, so I wanted to see all of the amazing new features available, specifically the Dual Aperture lens that allows you to capture pictures in both bright daylight and low light. And since there were so many awesome camera features on the Samsung Galaxy S9+, I’m going to highlight a few of my favorites. Note: I did not edit any of these images, beyond just resizing and watermarking to add to my blog. I wanted my readers to truly understand the quality of photography without additional enhancements.

I purchased my new phone in the late afternoon, so after dinner, we headed out to this new shopping area in town to try out the low-light photography capabilities. This is a feature I have seen mentioned several times in online reviews, so I had to check it out for myself. These photos were taken around 8:45 to 9:15 pm using several different settings. I did not use the flash at all. This first photo is shot in Auto. It gives a consistent appearance for novice photographers who just want to point-and-click as they are used to doing with smartphones. I love how the kids’ skin tones look warm, the sky is a beautiful blue, the lights are glowing, and overall the colors are clear.

For the next image, I tried the Food mode. This mode contains a central focus, which is a circle you can drag to highlight a specific area of your image to really focus on, blurring the portions surrounding that central area. I wanted to try this both with food and without to see how I could achieve different effects with this mode, so the top image in this post was also shot with the Food mode. I think it’s really interesting and would be fun to play with to get great images for Instagram!

For the next image, I tried the Live Focus mode. This gives you an image that is similar to one you would take using a standard camera, without having to carry around all types of equipment. You simply select your focus for the foreground and determine how much blur you want for the background. Obviously my daughter kissing my son was the focus for the image, and I got a little blur in the background. I found that with moving images {like my children} adding too much blur could compromise the overall appearance of the image, but for still images, you could add a lot of blur to create a great professional look. The blur is a range up to 7, so 7 would be great for nature photography! You can also view your image as close-up vs. wide-angle for two different versions of the same photograph. This is the up-close version.For the professional on the go, there’s actually a Pro setting that allows you to customize the ISO, aperture, white balance, select from a few different tones {similar to filters}, and even choose between auto and manual focus. These advanced smartphone photography features can help you achieve a professional look without the hassle of carrying around a standard camera with multiple lenses.

We left this new shopping area {which we absolutely loved} at around 9:30 pm, so it was really dark outside. With the minimal lighting available at that time, and again no flash, I was able to capture the vibrant colors in this sign on Auto. The increased pixels help to create a crisp image even in low light.

The next morning, we headed to our local farmer’s market, and I couldn’t help but capture a few daytime photos as well. The flowers are my favorite thing at the farmer’s market, and I love how I could use the full view for a 16:9 aspect ratio to capture a nice horizontal image. If taken vertically, this is great for Instagram stories!

Are you ready for a smartphone that offers great photography features in addition to all of the standard features that you’ve grown to love in your previous devices? Head to the Target Tech department to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S9+. It is available in three color options: lilac purple, midnight black, and coral blue. You will love the Infinity Display, a beautiful edge-to-edge screen that allows you to see full images and videos. It’s also waterproof.