Use grid lines. In your phone’s settings, click on camera and you will find a toggle for grid lines that will separate your photo into nine different boxes. These are crucial to make sure your photo is balanced.

Rule of thirds. In nearly every photography textbook, you will find the rule of thirds as a technique to uphold. The rule of thirds is when the subject of your photo is in one-third of the photo, leaving the other two-thirds open. This is where grid lines are handy to physically see where your subject lines up.

Don’t zoom. Personally, this was a hard habit to kick. It is instinct to want to zoom in on subjects when shooting photos on your smartphone. But when you zoom in, you are reducing the resolution of your photo. At last year’s Husker Harvest Days, where I was an intern, I was given wise words of wisdom on breaking this habit. Jenni Latzke, Kansas Farmer editor, told me to “zoom with my feet” when I want to get closer to the subject.

Fix the exposure. By a simple touch on your phone screen, you can correct your exposure. When you touch your subject on your phone, you are telling your camera that you need to correct the lighting you are seeing. This can make all the difference in enhancing the quality of your photo.

Pay attention to the time of day. It is no secret that taking photos in the middle of the day will bring too much light into your phone’s camera and leave it overexposed. My favorite time of day to capture some cool farm photos is during the “golden hour.” This happens an hour after sunrise and, then again, an hour before sunset.

Keep it simple. Having too many subjects in the frame can make the photo too busy. A simple photo of a cow in a pasture can be more appealing than a ton of moving parts. Instead of adding more subjects into your frame, consider taking the photo at different angles or using your feet to zoom in on a unique part of your subject.