The best phones of 2025, like the iPhone 16 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, have amazing night photography modes that allow them to capture bright photos in low-light situations. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra also impressed us greatly with night shots from its large sensor and variable aperture. Even more affordable phones, like the Pixel 8A, are equipped with amazing night photography capabilities, so you may not need to empty your entire bank account if you’re keen to capture some night scenes on your phone.
This type of low-light photography required a DSLR camera on a tripod to take long exposures over several seconds. However, many of today’s phones can take great-looking photos at night without needing any additional equipment. This is great because it means you won’t need to carry a heavy camera and tripod into town every time you want to take a great shot after sunset.
Samsung’s recent Galaxy S range of phones has amazing cameras with a night mode.
Having a photo you like enough to print and put on your wall isn’t just a case of waiting out the dark and taking out your phone. You’ll still need to put in some effort to capture shots you’ll want to look back on in years to come.
I have been a professional photographer for many years and often take photos at night with my professional camera and phone. Here are my top tips on how to get great nighttime photos on any phone.
Read more: Best camera phone
1. Learn how to activate night mode
If your phone has a night mode — and most phones released in the past few years do — it’s important to make sure it’s actually activated before you start shooting. On phones like the iPhone 16 series, or other recent iPhones, Night Mode will automatically turn on when the phone detects that you’re in a low-light situation. Some Android phones have automatic night modes too, while others will require you to use specific night photography modes (on the Galaxy S24 range it’s simply called Night, and on the Pixels it’s called Night Sight).
Different phones may have different options or naming conventions, so if you’re not sure how to use your phone — or if your phone has one — a quick Google search for model and “night mode” should answer your questions. Night modes are increasingly becoming a must-have feature on camera phones, so chances are that if you’ve bought a new phone in the past few years, it will have some sort of night mode built-in.
This nighttime picture is made even more vibrant and dazzling thanks to the stunning Christmas lights decorating the columns.
2. Find the light
Although modern iPhones and Galaxy phones can take amazing low-light photos, you still need to some Light in the shot to create a convincing image. So, heading into the darkest part of the forest is unlikely to give you good results. Instead, try going to populated areas like city centers, where you’ll find lighting sources in the form of street lamps, store displays, and maybe even some festive lighting during the holidays.
Read more: The best iPhone camera accessories
3. Wait for your moment
Great city and street photography often includes a person as the subject of your shot, and nighttime can be a great time to take those images. When light is limited, you have to make sure that person is exactly where you want it, and this may require some patience.
Both Night mode images depended heavily on timing – on the left was the image showing the lone person walking in the main pool of light on the ground. On the right, it was about catching a speeding cyclist.
For example, imagine that you are taking a photo on a road lit by streetlamps. Each lamp casts an array of light, and when someone walks through it, it is temporarily illuminated before becoming effectively invisible again in the dark. In this case, my advice is to have your shot ready, with your finger hovering over the shutter button. It may take a few minutes of waiting, but eventually, someone will walk through that array of light and you can take the photo. Patience can really pay off.
4. Prove yourself
Although night modes on phones don’t require a tripod in the same way that multi-second exposures on a DSLR do, you’ll still get the best results if you keep the phone as still as possible while taking the photo. If you don’t have a tripod with you, look around for a low wall, a trash can, or something that you can hold your phone on while you take the photo.
If there’s nothing nearby, you can help stabilize the phone by holding it steady in both hands, holding it fairly close to your chest, and tucking your elbows toward your stomach. This will help reduce some of the natural wobble in your hands and may make a difference in getting a sharper image.
Long-exposure night photo taken with the Pixel 7 Pro.
5. Use action modes, if you have them
The Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro (as well as the previous Pixel 8 and 7 series) can take excellent regular photos at night, but they also have a long exposure mode that allows you to get some creative shots that would normally only be achieved with a tripod. While the mode works well in the day to blur things like waterfalls, it also works very well at night, especially for subjects like cars driving down city streets.
A long exposure blurs the headlights and taillights, transforming them from static balls of light into ethereal lines, snaking across the scene. You’ll need to use your phone’s action mode to get this effect and make sure you turn on long exposure. Long-exposure photos like these work best when you keep the camera still and take a photo that includes both stationary subjects (such as buildings and streetlights) and moving subjects (such as cars, buses, or cyclists). It can take some practice – and the results can be both hit and miss – but when it works, it works well and adds an extra creative element to your night shots.
Not every phone has this standard, and while there are some third-party apps that aim to replicate it, I haven’t found many that really work or come close to the quality I achieved with the Pixels.
I love this black and white edit of a night photo. The natural contrast of bright street lights against shadowy backgrounds translates well to monochrome.
6. Edit your footage
As with any good photo, taking the photo is only half the story; How you edit it is the biggest way to turn it into a true piece of art. I use Adobe Lightroom Mobile for most of my editing, but Google’s Snapseed is also really powerful and is completely free on iOS and Android.
By nature, night photos can be dark, so you may want to start by raising the exposure. Be careful: low-light photos, even good shots in Night mode, will have image noise (fuzzy grain) that will look worse and worse the brighter the photo. You may need to reduce some of the lighting (especially if you take photos of bright street lights) and boost the shadows a touch to balance things out. Pay attention to the details and make sure you don’t overdo it.
From here on out, it’s completely up to what you feel looks good, so spend some time experimenting with the tools available and see what you can come up with. I personally find that night scenes can often look great as black and white images because the natural contrast of bright lights and dark backgrounds lends itself well to monochrome conversion.
Watch this: Review: The iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are impressive