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5 Easy Tips for Cityscapes // Mobile Photography for Beginners Pt. 4
In this fourth episode of my series on mobile photography for beginners, I will share 5 easy tips to take some amazing photos of the city using only your phone (features the Google Pixel 4a). We will discuss leading lines, the importance of looking up, what light can do, why you should wait and a bonus tip!
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📖 CHAPTERS 📖
00:00 - Introduction
00:31 - Tip #1: Leading lines
01:00 - Tip #2: Look up!
01:33 - Tip #3: Light and shadow
02:22 - Tip #4: Wait!
02:57 - Tip #5 + Bonus tips!
03:45 - Conclusion
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- Welcome to another episode in my series on mobile photography for beginners. In this episode we're going to talk about how to take some big pictures inside of a city, which are also known as cityscapes. Let's roll the intro. (air whooshing) (wood clanking) (rain falling) For those of you who are new to this channel, I'm Loic Bellemare-Alford, and if you haven't already, you should go check out my video on landscape photography because most of the techniques for landscapes also apply for cityscape. (bouncy percussive music) (camera clicking) The most important tip I can give to get some great pictures inside of a city is to get some strong leading lines. The good news is that they're everywhere inside of a city. So it could be a street, (camera clicking continues) it could be walking path, it could be some straight buildings, and it can be so much more. One very important thing is that your leading line needs to lead toward a subject. So a little trick to test this out is to take a picture and look at it and try and notice if while looking at the picture the line leads towards your subject. If it doesn't, you need to find a stronger leading line inside of of your image. My next step might seem kind of obvious, but it's to look up while taking a shot inside of a city. This is going to allow you to get some really cool shots, of patterns, of architecture, or of some buildings. Because people, when walking around, usually tend to look at eye level. So by moving up you're going to be able to get some much more interesting shots. The second reason why this is great is it allows us to remove a lot of distractions out of the shot. So by simply moving upwards your camera you're going to remove everybody who's walking at the bottom, the cars, and all kinds of distractions that are on the street and you can really simplify your shot and get a better shot in the end. I usually wouldn't suggest going out on a bright sunny day to take some picture, but it's an exception for cityscapes because you can use it to your advantage. By creating contrast you can force your eye to look at certain parts of the image at the first place. So if I have a very bad part of the image, your eye is always going to look at that part first and then look at the parts that are a little bit darker. So for example, if you have an alleyway here and you want to show what's in the background here, you can make everything else a little bit darker in the alleyway and really force your eye to look at the subject at the end of the place here. This can work with pretty much anything else as long as you have a lot of contrast in your photos, you have one part as darker and one part as brighter. You can either do it directly in your phone if you have something like a Google Pixel 4a, where you can bring down the shadows, or you can do it with editing afterwards and bring down everything that is a little darker and make it even more darker to add more contrast inside of the image. The next step might seem a little bit weird and it's simply to wait. So if there's too many things inside of your shot or too many peoples, too many cars or anything that is distracting, you can simply wait 'til they go away. In the other case, if you want to have somebody that's walking by, a bike, or a card title, a bit more interest, you can also wait for the perfect one to pass by. This is a technique that good photographers use all the time when taking photos, but it might take hundreds of time, exactly the same shot, until they get the right person, the right bike, the right car, or whatever else they're looking for inside of their shot. So just wait to get the perfect shot when you're taking pictures inside of the city. My bonus tip is to go outside while it's raining or right after it rain if you don't have a waterproof cell phone. If you get really close to the ground you can use water puddles as mirrors and get some really cool reflections that are going to create very unique shots. If you go outside at night while it's raining or right afterwards you're also going to get some reflections from all the lights around, so it can create even more unique shots than if you're just going out in the day or at night. So it's definitely worth trying out, to go outside while it's raining or right afterwards, to get some more unique shots because most people just won't think to go out inside of the rain or right afterwards. (bouncy music continues) (camera clicking continues) I hope you enjoyed this episode on taking cityscapes using your phone. If you did, please let me know by hitting like the like button below and definitely subscribe for the upcoming episodes on my series on mobile photography for beginners. See you in the next one. Bye-bye. (bouncy percussive music)
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- 👉 OTHER EPISODES
- Instagram: @loic.bellemare.alford ()
- TikTok
- My online store
- Affiliate link for Epidemic Sound
- https://kit.co/loic.bellemare.alford/youtube-gear
- DJI Pocket 2 Creator Combo
- 128 gb MicroSD card
- Canon 6D Mk
- Google Pixel 4a
- Canon ZOOM LENS EF24-105mm F4L IS II USM
- Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 Lens
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L-IS II USM Lens
- VANGUARD VEO 2 265CB CARBON FIBER TRIPOD
- DJI MAVIC AIR
- http://bit.ly/loicba
What is this video about?
Welcome to part 4 of my mobile photography for beginners series. Today I'm sharing five easy tips to help you capture amazing cityscape photos using nothing but your phone—I'm using a Google Pixel 4a, but these techniques work on any device.
Tip #1: Leading Lines
Cities are full of them. Streets, pathways, building edges—they're everywhere. The key is making sure your leading lines actually lead somewhere. When you review a photo, trace the line with your eye and check if it points toward your subject. If it doesn't, reframe and find a stronger line.
Tip #2: Look Up
Most people walk around looking straight ahead, which means most photos look the same. Tilt your camera upward and you'll discover patterns, interesting architecture, and building compositions that cut out distracting street-level details like crowds and cars. It's a simple shift that instantly makes your shots more interesting.
Tip #3: Light and Shadow
Bright sunny days are actually perfect for cityscapes. Use contrast to your advantage—bright areas naturally draw the eye first, so you can use darker zones to frame or emphasize your subject. If your phone has exposure controls like the Google Pixel 4a, dial down the shadows to increase contrast. You can also fine-tune this in post-processing.
Tip #4: Wait
If your frame is cluttered with people, cars, or other distractions, just wait. Conversely, if you want a specific element—a person, cyclist, or vehicle—patience often pays off. Good photographers take the same shot hundreds of times waiting for the perfect moment to pass through the frame.
Bonus Tip: Shoot in Rain
This is where you can really stand out. Rain creates reflections in puddles that become mirrors when you get close to the ground. Shoot at night or right after rain for even more dramatic reflections bouncing off wet surfaces and ambient lights. Most people avoid shooting in these conditions, which is exactly why your images will feel unique.