Landscape photography tips using just your smartphone

With insights from award-winning nature photographer Shane Turgeon.

You don’t need a high-end camera to take stunning landscape photos—your smartphone is a powerful tool in the right hands. With a few expert techniques, you can elevate your images from simple snapshots to frame-worthy captures.

To help you get the most out of your phone camera, we turned to Shane Turgeon, an award-winning nature photographer whose work has been featured in the pages of prestigious publications and won awards in photography competitions.

Drawing from years of experience behind the lens—and a journey that began with a smartphone—Shane shares practical, field-tested tips to help you shoot compelling landscapes right from the trail.

“Where I am now in photography does not belie the fact that I started with an iPhone. The best camera is the one that we have in our hand,” Shane tells Uplift. “Your phone can be a gateway into photography and for me, it was absolutely that.”

Shane’s journey might surprise you. Nature and his phone helped him rediscover beauty, mindfulness, and inspiration.

“It was when I was in a really dark place and spending more time in nature with my dogs that I started noticing small things and wanted to take pictures of them to remind me of that experience. I could look back at that photo and think, ‘oh, I didn’t feel so bad in that moment when I was looking at that flower or that sunset,’” Shane says.

“That was like the loose thread on a sweater and soon, I was unravelling this whole sweater into a journey into photography. And that all started with a cell phone.”

Before we dive into Shane’s landscape photography tips, let’s talk about one of his favourite spots to shoot in the Rockies: Lundbreck Falls. According to Shane, there’s so much to photograph there—from grand scenes of the thundering cascade to more intimate shots of water reflections and close-ups of birds.

6 landscape photography tips from a pro

Whether you’re capturing sunrise over Turtle Mountain or chasing moody light through the forests of Castle Provincial Park, these insights will help you make the most of every moment.

Tip 1: Master the light

Lighting is everything in photography. Shane recommends heading out during golden hour—shortly after sunrise or before sunset—when the light is soft, warm, and magical.

Midday sun? Skip it if you can. It’s harsh, flat, and not flattering. And if you’re not comfortable hitting the trail during those off-peak hours, Uplift’s certified guides can get you there safely and confidently.

Don’t write off cloudy days either—they’re absolute gold for creating moody, dramatic shots that have serious emotional impact.

Tip 2: Play with composition

Start with the rule of thirds—a simple guideline that breaks your frame into a three-by-three grid. Placing your subject along those lines or at the intersections tends to create balanced, engaging shots.

It’s Photography 101, and enabling the grid on your phone will help you nail it. But here’s where Shane has a really interesting tip:

“There’s a lot of people who think you should never put your subject in the middle of the frame; I’m a person who loves putting my subject in the middle of a frame. Once you know the rules, you can break them and sometimes, that creates more interesting photos,” he says.

And here’s an important reminder: practice edge control. That random branch poking into your frame from the side? Step two feet forward and eliminate the distraction.

“One of my philosophies in photography that I tell everybody when I teach is that photography is a game of millimeters, and the difference from moving forward a couple of feet, crouching down, or moving your camera over just a little bit can be the difference between a bad shot and a great shot. Don’t be afraid to explore and try different things,” he says.

Always try to move your body instead of using digital zoom. Your phone’s resolution takes a hit the moment you start zooming, so if you can physically get closer to your subject, do it.

Tip 3: Avoid these rookie mistakes that kill great shots

First things first: wipe your lens. Seriously. Your phone lives in pockets, purses, and hands that touch everything. A grimy lens is a great shot killer.

But Shane’s biggest pet peeve? Crooked horizon lines. This is what he calls “the biggest rookie mistake” that’s absolutely inexcusable.

“If you’re not paying attention to your horizon line, it feels like the whole landscape’s about to slide. When I judge competitions and I see a crooked horizon line, it’s an immediate disqualification. There’s no excuse for it,” he says.

Tip 4: Don’t rush the shot

In our Instagram-obsessed world, Shane notices a troubling trend: the grab-and-go approach to photography in general.

“So many people just walk up to a location, take the prerequisite photo for Instagram, turn around, and walk away. They won’t even sit and take in the landscape personally without looking through their phone. I suggest that when you’re in a beautiful landscape, put your phone down, and then when you feel inspired after being immersed in the landscape, then take your phone out to take some more meaning from it,” says Shane.

This isn’t just about getting better photos—it’s about connecting with the landscape and finding those unique perspectives that everyone else misses because they’re too busy rushing to the next viewpoint.

Tip 5: Leverage your phone’s features

From portrait mode to panoramas, your phone has tools to play with.

Portrait Mode: Great for close-ups with a soft background (that bokeh look).

Panorama: Perfect for sweeping mountain views—but keep steady and stay aligned to avoid wonky curves.

A favourite tip from Shane?

“One thing that I think is fantastic that people overlook when using their phone camera, is turning it upside down. Just turn the camera upside down and take your photos on the bottom side, and then you can get closer and different perspective to low subjects, like flowers,” he says.

This technique saved the day during one of Shane’s Northern Lights workshops in the Northwest Territories. Clouds blocked the aurora for three straight nights, but instead of calling it a bust, Shane turned it into an impromptu iPhone mushroom workshop. The group spent hours exploring the forest floor, phones flipped upside down, discovering intricate fungi from angles they’d never considered.

“It’s that active engaging and mindfulness where we forgot that we were there for Northern Lights and we didn’t see them for three nights. We were just having the best time playing with our camera upside down looking for mushrooms,” he says.

A few more pro tips:

• Avoid burst mode and live shots—they eat up storage space and let’s be honest, you’ll never look at 47 nearly identical shots anyway. Shane’s method: “Take one, then take a second for safety.”
• Hold your phone steady (or use a tripod) for low-light shots.
• Use your camera’s timer (two- or 10-second delay) to prevent motion blur.

Tip 6: Edit like a pro, but keep it real

“Editing is where you bring your photos to life, and it really doesn’t take much to bring a little more life to a photo,” says Shane.

Start simple: add a subtle vignette around your subject, bump up the brilliance, lift those shadows slightly. These small adjustments can transform an okay shot into something that stops the scroll.

The golden rule? Keep it natural. “Definitely don’t overuse filters if you use them at all,” says Shane.

Here’s a curve ball: try the monochrome filter for shots taken in harsh midday light. “It’s great for shooting in harsh midday light. One way to counteract harsh midday light is turning them black and white and it’s not so obvious,” he says.

Bonus: Mountain-specific advice

Mountain photography comes with unique challenges. Weather can shift from sunshine to snowstorm in minutes, and cold temperatures drain phone batteries faster than you can say “whoops.”

“Being prepared is the best thing. We live in an age of information, and we have weather apps at our fingertips, so you should know what the potential for the day is going to bring,” says Shane.

And yes, always carry bear spray.

“Your basic mountain tips are just as applicable for photography. The only thing with photography is that you’re carrying more gear. Pack for what you think you’re going to encounter,” he adds.

Ready to Capture Your Adventure?

Some of the best souvenirs are the photos you take and the memories they represent. Whether you’re brand new to photography or looking to build your skills in the wild, our guided hikes take you through some of Alberta’s most photogenic terrain, from cascading waterfalls to alpine meadows—and we can even customize a private trip around your photography interests (just send a message to tell us your goals).

Want to see more of Shane Turgeon’s incredible work or learn about his photography workshops? Check out his website and upcoming sessions—you might just discover that loose thread that unravels into your own photographic journey.

Ready to put these tips into practice? Book your next adventure with Uplift Adventures and discover what your smartphone can really do in the hands of an inspired photographer.