Smartphone cameras have come a long way in the past few years. Mobile photography is becoming more popular as the number of smartphone users increases globally. It is a task that requires a proper skillset and an understanding of the behavior of light with different objects. However, one can not only capture beautiful and meaningful photos if they possess the skills.

You need a good smartphone equipped with the proper hardware to shine among a crowd of mobile photographers. This article lists the five best camera smartphones of 2023.

Note: This article reflects the author’s choices.

Best smartphones for mobile photography

Here is a list of five phones with the best cameras for mobile photography:

1) Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G

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The Samsung S23 Ultra 5G is equipped with a powerful camera system that offers impressive capabilities for photography and videography. The device boasts a quad rear camera setup, featuring a 200-megapixel f/1.7 primary sensor, a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide sensor, a 10-megapixel f/2.4 periscope telephoto lens, and a 10-megapixel telephoto lens.

Additionally, the S23 Ultra 5G also comes with a 12-megapixel front-facing camera for stunning selfies and video calls. The major highlight of the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the zoom lens that can go up to 100X and provides impressive image stabilization. This is the best device for videography, and for those who want to do astrophotography with their mobile phones.

Here is a feature that can help you decide which Samsung flagship to buy.

2) Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

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The camera on the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max is an exceptional piece of technology that is widely regarded as one of the best smartphone cameras on the market. This camera has three lenses: a 48-megapixel f/1.78 wide-angle lens, a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide lens, and a 12-megapixel f/2.8 telephoto lens.

In addition to its impressive hardware, the iPhone 14 Pro Max camera includes advanced software features such as night mode and deep fusion technology, which allow users to easily capture stunning photos and videos. In terms of comparison, here is an article on the Samsung S23 Ultra vs iPhone 14 Pro Max.

3) Xiaomi 13 Pro

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Xiaomi 13 Pro’s image-taking capabilities are highlighted by a triple-camera layout co-developed with Leica. Each shooter is capable of producing 50MP images, with the primary camera featuring a 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor. There’s no scope for doubt about the phone’s latent photography abilities in any lighting situation.

The snaps are extremely detailed and have a wide dynamic range. Aside from that, there are numerous camera settings to experiment with. The device is also equipped with a 32MP selfie camera.

4) Google Pixel 7 Pro 5G

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This flagship smartphone from Google boasts a triple-camera hardware setup. This includes a 50 MP f/1.85 Wide Angle primary sensor, a 12 MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle camera, and a 48 MP Telephoto Camera.

Google smartphones are known for their image processing capabilities through software, and this phone does a pretty good job in terms of low-light photography, nightography, and portrait mode. The front camera is a 10.8 MP f/2.2 hardware that does its job well while clicking selfies and recording vlogs or reels.

For an in-depth comparison, check out the Google Pixel 7 Pro vs Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max camera comparison.

5) Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max

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The predecessor of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is appropriately equipped for your photography needs and is still pretty relevant. The device flaunts a triple-camera setup of a 12MP f/1.5 primary sensor, a 12MP f/1.8 ultra-wide-angle sensor, and a 12MP telephoto lens.

The software processing of the images is as impressive as the hardware. In daylight and landscape shots, the dynamic range and color contrast are close to natural lighting, and it does a spectacular job in night mode photography.

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Mobile photography has emerged as a hobby in recent years, as smartphones are geared up with more advanced hardware and availability in a larger market.

A glaring limitation for smartphones is that a larger sensor can’t be equipped with limited hardware space for cameras. But companies are leveling the ground by working more on software-based processing of images. Phones cannot be a match for a professional camera, but for a regular hobbyist or user, they don’t need to splurge on cameras.

Founded over 150 years ago, Leica is a German company known for its high-end, professional-quality photography equipment, including cameras and lenses. Since 2019, the company has run an annual women’s photography contest designed to promote a female perspective on storytelling.

This year for the first time, the Leica Women Foto Project was opened to participants outside of the United States. The four awardees represent the US, UK, Mexico, and Canada. A distinguished panel of judges from the world of photography selected the winners, who each received a Leica camera, a lens, and a cash prize of $10,000.

Here are the stories of three of four awardees. All the women share an agenda of helping to expose social injustice and bring about positive change.

1. Eli Farinango

Eli Farinango is a Kichwa artist and visual storyteller born in Ecuador and raised in Canada. She aims to reclaim personal and ancestral memory through her image-making and collaborative processes. In her documentary work, she advocates for indigenous rights and sovereignty. Her work has been published in The New Republic, NPR, Remezcla, and other publications.

“My purpose is liberation and healing not only for ourselves, but also for our communities and for future generations,” said Farinango in an exclusive interview with Forbes. “I deeply believe that personal healing is directly tied to collective healing. One of the main reasons why I do the work that I do is to inspire others to delve into their own personal stories and find the healing that they need. Through my work, I seek to empower and uplift stories that are often ignored, erased or intentionally forgotten.”

As an indigenous woman, Farinango seeks to challenge colonial stereotypes of indigeneity, as well as patriarchal and capitalist structures that have caused harm in the lives of many indigenous women. She hopes her photographs “contribute to the imagining of new futures, where indigenous peoples are thriving, where our sovereignty is respected, our territories are protected, bodies are kept safe and we are the drivers of our own narrative.”

Having herself faced abuse, racism, discrimination and machismo throughout her life, Farinango has learned to navigate these challenges by using photography as a vehicle for healing and self-empowerment. “It takes a lot of time, personal work and requires support,” she says. “Being able to articulate what I am feeling through image-making has given me the space to work through very complicated and painful emotions. Making this body of work has allowed me to be vulnerable, connect to the strength of my ancestors and chosen community, and reclaim agency by writing my own story.”

To aspiring makers and artists Farinango says, “Be patient with yourself as you learn to step into your power. Empowerment doesn’t happen overnight, but it is necessary for us to nurture our power for ourselves and our communities. It’s important to take time to learn who you are, advocate for yourself and remain grounded in your values, your goals and most importantly your heart.”

2. Mary F. Calvert

Mary F. Calvert uses photography to influence social change by documenting social justice issues neglected by the media at large. She believes that journalists have a duty to shine a light into the deepest recesses of the human experience and provide a mirror for society to examine itself.

For the past nine years, Calvert has focused on bringing attention to sexual abuse of women and men in the U.S. Armed Forces. Her work was a finalist in Feature Photography in the 2020 Pulitzer Prizes, has won numerous awards, and has been supported by grants from Getty Image and the Alexia Foundation.

Growing up, Calvert was artistic and also became interested in social justice issues. By the time she was 10 years old, she says, she could tell that “our world was a very difficult place for too many people.” Later, her interest in visual arts merged with this concern for the disadvantaged, and she became a photojournalist.

Ten years ago, when she became aware of the alarming number of sexual assaults in the U.S. Armed Forces and the military’s pattern of blaming, harassing and discharging victims, Calvert determined to cover this issue. “I never imagined it would become my life’s work,” she says. “But every time I think my coverage is complete, another layer of the crisis reveals itself.”

The greatest challenge Calvert has faced has been not letting fear of failure paralyze her ability to move forward, take risks and accept new challenges. “I came to realize that failures are a key ingredient to success if they are answered not with surrender, but embraced as lessons,” she explains. “Overcoming these hurdles is what leads to growth as a professional and confidence in myself in all areas of life.”

The best advice Calvert has for aspiring artists and change makers is to realize that “there are no short-cuts to success. There is no substitution for working hard, paying your dues, learning from missteps and building a reputation for dedication and integrity.”

3. Greta Rico

Mexican documentary photographer, journalist and educator Greta Rico focuses her works on gender and human rights issues. Through her images, she reflects on coloniality, gender culture, violence, and trauma. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, an many other publications.

“I have always been passionate about telling stories,” says Rico. “I feel very fortunate to do so with my camera. The stories I tell are not mine, but rather people collaborate with me, allowing me to tell their stories and amplify their messages and experiences.”

One of the biggest challenges Rico has faced has been daring to expose herself and make herself vulnerable with her documentary project, Madre Sustituta. This project tells the story of her cousin Fernanda, who was sexually abused and then murdered, and how her family coped. Yet the project also helped the family heal wounds from the past, especially by sharing the story of the cousin who became the mother of the young girl orphaned by the event – the Substitute Mother.

Rico advises aspiring artists and change makers to stay true to their ideas of the world. “Convince yourself of the importance of your work. The world needs to know about all these issues from other points of view to broaden our understanding of current issues,” she says.

What if I told you there is a social media platform on which you can earn money whenever somebody likes your content? And it’s not owned by a big corporation but is governed by its community. In this article, I share my experience with such a platform that has been around for several years already.

Recently, I published an article about a scam in the crypto world targeting photographers. In that article, I highlighted that you should always be cautious when there’s easy money to be made. But not all is bad in the crypto space. Some projects are worth exploring, and the Hive Blog is one of those.

Hive Blog

Unlike traditional social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram, which rely on likes and comments as their main form of interaction, the Hive Blog takes it a step further by offering actual rewards to content creators.

It is a decentralized blockchain-based platform with a unique way to monetize content. On Hive, you can not only showcase your photographs and share your articles, but you can also earn so-called Hive tokens. And while this might sound abstract, there’s an easy way to convert those into Fiat currency.

I’ve been using the Hive Blog since its creation in 2020. Before that, I was a regular contributor to Steem, from which the Hive blockchain was forked when concerns about the concentration of power among a small group of Steem stakeholders arose. The goal of this fork was a more decentralized, community-driven platform for content creators, curators, and users. If the Hive blog will succeed with that in the long term is to be seen. But for now, the developers and the community still actively work on those goals.

On Peakd, one of the many decentralized app front ends for the Hive Blog, you can get an overview of current proposals for improving Hive’s blockchain and infrastructure. Such proposals are a way to influence the direction of Hive. Developers use them to allocate funds, and users can vote for proposals they deem important.

Before I now share how you can earn money on Hive, I want to explain a key aspect of the blockchain. I mentioned that you earn Hive tokens for your content contributions. I also wrote that you can exchange those tokens for Fiat currency. But they have another use: you can convert them into so-called Hive Power, which translates into influence on the blockchain. One example is when you vote on other content. The more Hive Power you have, the more your vote is worth. You can even decide how much of your Hive Power you want to dedicate to a vote as a way of giving better content large rewards.

I should mention that only Hive Power worth several $1,000 will have a noticeable impact when voting on content. A typical contributor will not move the needle a lot.

How to Earn Money With Your Content

Let me be honest: Posting content on the Hive blog is no way to get rich quickly. It’s not even a way to get rich. As with any social media platform, getting noticed and building a following takes time. But if you regularly share content, you’ll slowly gain traction, and your posts will start earning rewards.

I’ve been on the blockchain for several years and have built a small following. But the money I earn from my articles varies. That’s why I was looking for a way to provide value to the blockchain without much effort. My solution for that is reposting articles I write for my blog. The amount of work to create a repost is minimal, as I show in the feature video. It takes less than 10 minutes.

With apps like TravelFeed, you can set a “canonical” tag so Google doesn’t flag such content as duplication. Instead, you gain additional exposure and another way of creating backlinks to your homepage.

From my experience, longer articles create more exposure than just posting a photo with text. The core idea of Hive is that the more value you add through your contribution, the more rewards you should get. It doesn’t always work, and it’s best to experiment and see what content gains the most traction for you.

On my blog, I post my long-form content only once a month with different success. The earnings vary, as not every article gets seen by the same amount of people. In one year, I make several hundred dollars that way with minimal effort. I keep one part of it on Hive and exchange the rest into other currencies through BlockTrades. If you have an account at one of the major trading platforms, you can use BlockTrades to send your money there and convert it into Fiat currency.

It’s also important to note that the earnings are split equally between the authors of an article and the people voting on it within the first seven days after its creation. The idea is to create an incentive to be active on the blockchain and interact with other users’ content. It means that my Java Indonesia Landscape Photography Guide did earn me around $65, while the voting period on my Sekumpul Photography Guide is still active.

Conclusion

If you are a professional photographer, a few $100 might look like peanuts. Turning posting on the Hive blog into a proper income stream would require effort and a much higher frequency of contributions and interaction with other users’ content than I do.

It might still be beneficial to get an account and at least dabble with the Hive Blog. It has been proven that it’s not one of the many fading trends in the crypto space because even though the token prices are down, people continue to post articles. And if the crypto market enters a period of hype and rising prices again, its nature will also help the Hive token to gain value. Then, a few $100 a year can quickly multiply.

And the best thing, in my opinion: you don’t have to put any money into Hive to get started. It’s one of the rare crypto apps where you can make money from a blockchain without an initial monetary investment.