You probably unlock your phone dozens of times a day. Open the camera app. Snap a photo. Maybe adjust the brightness slider. But buried in that same camera interface are tools that can fundamentally change how your photos look, and most people scroll right past them without realizing what they’re missing.
These aren’t hidden features in some secret menu. They’re sitting there in plain sight, waiting to be used. The difference between a forgettable photo and one that actually captures what you saw comes down to knowing they exist.
1. The Exposure Lock Nobody Uses
When you tap your screen to focus, your phone does two things at once. It focuses on that spot and sets the exposure based on that area’s brightness. That’s fine for static scenes, but it falls apart the moment anything moves or you reframe your shot.
There’s a small trick that fixes this. On most phones, you can tap and hold on the screen until you see a lock indicator. Now your focus and exposure stay frozen exactly where you set them, even if you move the camera around. This matters more than it sounds like it would.
Imagine photographing someone standing near a bright window. Without exposure lock, your phone keeps adjusting as you compose the shot, bouncing between exposing for the person or the window. With the lock engaged, you decide once and everything stays consistent. The difference shows up immediately in your photos.
2. That Exposure Slider Changes Everything
Right next to where you tap to focus, a small sun icon usually appears with a slider. Most people ignore it completely. That’s unfortunate, because this single control determines whether your photo looks washed out, too dark, or actually resembles what you’re seeing.
The automatic exposure your phone chooses works well in average lighting conditions. But “average” doesn’t cover golden hour at the beach, a dimly lit restaurant, or anywhere with strong contrasts between light and shadow. Your phone’s computer is making its best guess. You can do better.
Pull that slider down to darken the image when your subject looks blown out by bright light. Push it up when details are disappearing into shadows. The changes happen in real time, so you can see exactly what you’re getting before taking the shot. This alone will improve more of your photos than any other single adjustment.
3. Grid Lines That Actually Serve a Purpose
There’s usually an option in your camera settings to overlay grid lines on your screen. Most phones default to having this turned off, probably because it looks cleaner without them. Turn them on anyway.
These lines divide your frame into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. This creates four intersection points. When you place your subject at one of these intersections instead of dead center, photos tend to look more balanced and natural. It’s not a rigid rule, but it’s a reliable starting point.
The grid also helps keep horizons level. Ocean horizons that tilt slightly look wrong in ways people notice immediately, even if they can’t articulate why. Those horizontal lines give you a reference point that’s surprisingly helpful when you’re focused on composition instead of levelness.
4. Portrait Mode Works on Things Besides People
The portrait mode on your phone blurs the background to make your subject stand out. Most users only think to use this for actual portraits of people or pets. But the feature doesn’t care what you’re photographing.
Point it at a coffee cup, a plant, food, or any object that would benefit from a clean, separated look. The artificial blur won’t always look perfect, especially around complex edges, but for simple subjects it can transform an ordinary photo into something that looks deliberately composed.
Some phones let you adjust the blur intensity after you’ve taken the photo. This means you can experiment without committing to a specific look while you’re shooting.
5. Night Mode Isn’t Just for Darkness
When light levels drop, your phone automatically suggests night mode. It takes multiple exposures and combines them to reduce noise and improve detail. What fewer people realize is that you can manually activate this mode even when your phone doesn’t suggest it.
Low light doesn’t just mean nighttime. It means indoor spaces, shaded areas, anywhere your phone would normally boost the ISO and introduce grain. Forcing night mode in these situations often produces cleaner, sharper results than the standard photo mode would deliver.
The tradeoff is that you need to hold still for a few seconds while the phone captures and processes. But for scenes that aren’t moving, that’s not much to ask for noticeably better image quality.
6. The Horizon Level Tool
Many camera apps include a built-in level indicator that appears when you’re holding the phone roughly level with the ground. It’s usually two white lines or crosshairs that align when your phone is perfectly level.
This matters most for architecture, landscapes, and any scene where a tilted perspective looks unintentional rather than artistic. Your eye can deceive you when you’re concentrating on composition. That level indicator removes the guesswork.
7. Why These Tools Stay Hidden
Phone makers design camera apps to work instantly with zero learning curve. One button takes a photo. Everything else gets tucked away to avoid overwhelming casual users. The result is a camera interface that anyone can use immediately, but that hides capabilities most people would benefit from knowing about.
These features don’t require technical knowledge or photography training. They just require knowing they exist and trying them a few times until they become second nature. Your phone camera is already capable of taking dramatically better photos than you’re probably getting from it right now.
