It’s true! Great photos can be taken with cell phones. However, as with any camera, a cell phone camera is a tool that you must learn to use correctly. Once mastered, a cell phone camera can produce quality photos that are easy to instantly share with others on the internet. Listed below are five tips for taking great smartphone photos.

Download a great photo-taking application

Downloading a photo-taking/editing application on your iPhone or Android phone will allow you to step up the quality of your photos a notch. Some great free applications available for the iPhone are Instagram, Photosynth, GLMPS, Adobe Photoshop Express and moreBeaute2. Equally great free photo applications for the Android include Pudding Camera, FxCamera, Vignette Demo, Little Photo and Retro Camera. These applications will allow you to change the finish of your photo to give it a more interesting look. Some of the applications allow you to edit your photos the same way you would on your computer’s photo editing program, some allow you to retouch your photo like a fashion photographer and some allow you to take panoramic shots.

Find the right light

This tip is especially important for those smartphone cameras that do not come equipped with flashes. Before taking a photo on your camera phone, make sure the lighting is ideal. This may require you to position yourself and/or your subject to get the best shot. Most of the time you want to avoid backlighting your subject, but sometimes backlighting can create a really great shot (especially if you are using a photo app like Instagram to change the finish of your photo). Practice makes perfect when it comes to learning the difference between bad lighting and good lighting, so just keep trying until you get a great shot!

Use interesting angles

Break away from the landscape/portrait world. If you are taking a photo of your best friend, try turning your camera 30 degrees or crouching down to take the shot from a low angle (or do both). Changing up your angles creates a more interesting photograph with a different point of view.

Stand back

Most smartphones comes with the capability to focus in on far away subjects, so don’t be afraid to step away from your subject or take great landscape shots. If you are walking down a city sidewalk, try taking a perspective shot of the streets. If you are on vacation, try taking a great shot of the beautiful surroundings with a family member standing in the distance.

Create depth

Depth is a very important secret to creating a great photograph. You can do this by making sure there is a foreground and background to your photo. Try taking the photo from an angle where there is an object very close to the foreground in the bottom of your photo with your subject in the background. Doing this creates layers in your photo which gives the illusion of depth.

 Lauren Phillips has been a professional event photographer for 16 years and also owns the site Photography Degrees. She likes to write articles about everything photography.