The best phones of 2025, such as the iPhone 16 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra have amazing night photography modes that allow them to capture bright images in low-light situations. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra also seriously impressed us with its night photos from its large sensor and variable aperture. Even the most 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 want to snap some night scenes on your phone.
This type of low-light photography used to require a DSLR on a tripod to take long exposures of several seconds. However, many of today’s phones can take great-looking images at night without the need for any additional equipment. This is great because it means you don’t need to carry a heavy camera and tripod around town every time you want to capture a beautiful shot after sunset.
Samsung’s latest Galaxy S range of flagship phones have had fantastic night mode cameras.
Getting an image you like enough to print and put on your wall isn’t just a case of waiting for dark and pulling out your phone. You’ll still need to put in the work to take pictures you’ll want to look back on for years to come.
I have been a professional photographer for years and often shoot images at night on my professional camera and phone. Here are my top tips on how to get great nighttime images on any phone.
Read more: The best phone camera
1. Know how to enable night mode
If your phone has a night mode — and most phones released in recent 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 start when the phone detects you’re in a low-light situation. Some Android phones also have automatic night modes, while others will ask you to use specific night shooting modes (on the Galaxy S24 range it’s just called Night; on the Pixels it’s 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 even has one — then a quick Google search of the model and ” night mode” should answer your questions. Night modes have increasingly become a must-have feature on camera phones, so chances are if you’ve bought a new phone in the last few years, it will have some sort of night mode built-in.
This night photo is made even more vivid and dazzling by these incredible Christmas lights that decorate the columns.
2. Seek the light
Although the latest iPhones and Galaxy phones can take amazing images in low light, you still have to have them OTHER USEFUL light in the photo to make a compelling image. So, driving into the darkest part of a forest is not likely to give you good results. Instead, try going to populated areas like city centers, where you’ll find light sources in the form of street lamps, shop windows 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 in your shot, and night can be a great time to take those images. When the light is limited, you have to make sure that person is exactly where you want them to be, and that can involve some patience.
Both of these night mode images rely heavily on timing – the one on the left was taking the lone figure walking in the main pool of light on the ground. On the right, it was about catching a speeding cyclist.
For example, imagine you are taking a picture on a street lit by street lights. Each lamp casts a pool of light, and as one walks through it, they light up temporarily before effectively becoming invisible again in the darkness. In that situation, my advice is to have the shot ready, with your finger hovering over the shutter button. It may take a few minutes of waiting, but eventually, someone will walk right through that pool of light and you can take your picture. Patience can really pay off.
4. Stand up for yourself
Although night modes on phones don’t require a tripod in the same way that a multi-second exposure would on a DSLR, you’ll still get your best results if you hold the phone as still as possible while taking the image. If you don’t have a tripod with you, then look around for a low wall, a trash can, or something you can steady your phone on while you take your picture.
If there’s nothing nearby, you can help the phone stand by holding it firmly in both hands, holding it fairly close to your chest, and placing your elbows toward your stomach. This will help reduce some of the natural shake in your hands and can make all the difference in getting a sharper image.
A long exposure nighttime image taken with the Pixel 7 Pro.
5. Use the movement modes, if you have them
The Pixel 9 and 9 Pro (as well as the previous Pixel 8 and 7 series) can take great regular shots at night, but they also have a long exposure mode that allows you to take some creative shots that could normally be achieved only using a tripod. While the mode works well during the day for blurring things like waterfalls, it also works extremely well at night, especially for subjects like cars driving through city streets.
The long exposure blurs the headlights and taillights, turning them from static balls of light into ethereal streaks running across the scene. You’ll need to use your phone’s motion mode to get this effect and make sure Long Exposure is on. Long exposure photos like this work best when you hold the camera still and take a photo that includes both static subjects (like buildings and street lights) and moving subjects (like cars, buses, or cyclists). It can take some practice — and the results can be hit and miss — but when it works, it works really well and adds an extra creative element to your night shots.
Not every phone has this as standard, though, 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’ve 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 into monochrome.
6. Edit your photos
As with any good photo, taking the shot is only half the story; It’s how you edit it that can be the biggest way to transform it into a true work 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 their nature, night photos can be dark, so it’s possible to start by removing the exposure. Be careful: Low light images, even good night mode shots, will have image noise (a grain of blur) that will look worse and worse the more you brighten the image. You may need to tone down some of the highlights (especially if you’ve captured bright street lights) and boost the shadows a touch to balance things out. Pay attention to the details and make sure you don’t push it too far.
From then on, it’s entirely up to what feels right, so spend some time playing around with the available tools 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 a monochrome conversion.
Check this out: Review: iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max are impressive
