There is an adage that says "camera you have is the best camera," for most of us today our mobile phones are tasked with that job daily. Over the years the mobile phone cameras have continued to improve significantly. However, there are still certain situations that may require a little more forethought before taking photos with your mobile device. For example, kids and pets can be quite a challenge they are fast moving and unpredictable. If your taking photos of children or pet's outdoors, most mid-range to high-end smartphones are perfectly capable of obtaining correct exposure due to the ample availability of daylight.

Once you are indoors in mixed or low light situations, your smartphone camera shutter needs to remain open longer to allow more light to come into the camera sensor. Slower camera shutter also means that your smartphone camera is a bit more susceptible to your hand shaking, which may result in photos that may not be very sharp or out of focus.

Smartphone companies like Google, Apple, and Samsung are well aware that most people aren't well versed in all the aspects of photography. So they included many additional features in your cellphone camera to help you capture the decisive moment. 

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

Some mid-range to high-end smartphone camera's may have a camera setting called HDR. This setting allows the smartphone camera quickly takes two-three photos at varying exposures and are then combined together to bring out the detail in the bright/dark spots.

Move Towards The Light

This may sound obvious but it's often overlooked, simply opening a window or turning on the lights will help improve the opportunity to get well exposed and in focused photos.

Explore Camera Settings

Mobile cameras are equipped with lots of additional features to help you get the best photos possible. It's just a matter of taking the time to explore. 

Clean Your Camera Lens 

Before you take a picture always check to see if you have any finger prints on your smartphone camera lens. Dirty lens can increase the amount of time it takes the camera to focus. A smudge up camera lens combined with low light situation will definitely yield poor results. Also don't forget to also clean the front facing camera lens, it also can get pretty dirty. Hopefully these five tips will help improve your mobile photography photos.