I still shoot on my phone more than most people expect from someone who makes a living with a camera. Sunday morning photo walks, quick grabs when the light does something unexpected, or just to remind myself that gear is rarely the real problem. What’s usually the problem is not having a clear framework for the decisions that happen before you tap the shutter. That’s exactly what makes this tutorial so useful.

In this William Patino tutorial, Watch the full tutorial on YouTube, he walks through four pillars of stronger phone photography: location, composition, light, and processing. It’s filmed on location at a lake at golden hour, and he works through each principle in real time against a real scene. No gear talk, no app rabbit holes. Just decisions. That structure is something I wish someone had handed me when I was starting out.

What follows is my breakdown of what he covers, with enough detail that you can take it straight to your next shoot without needing to pause and rewind every thirty seconds.

Step 1: Choose a Location With Intention

Photographer standing at lakeside surveying the surrounding landscape Photographer standing at lakeside surveying the surrounding landscape Most people pick a pretty spot and immediately start photographing. Patino’s first move is to stop and ask what specifically is speaking to him about this place. That pause matters more than it sounds. At his location he identifies three distinct elements: the wharf on the lake, the lit mountain range in the background, and the position of the setting sun. By naming them out loud, he narrows the infinite scene down to a manageable set of choices.

Before you raise your phone, spend two or three minutes walking the area. Look at what draws your eye and, just as importantly, what doesn’t. The goal isn’t to find the most dramatic view. It’s to find the view that has a clear story. A grand landscape with no anchor is just a wallpaper.

Step 2: Establish Your Main Subject Before You Frame Anything

Camera pointed toward mountain range with wharf visible in foreground Camera pointed toward mountain range with wharf visible in foreground Composition decisions only make sense once you’ve committed to a subject. Patino locks in the mountain range as his primary focus, and every other choice after that point serves that decision. This is the step most beginners skip, and it’s why so many phone photos feel cluttered or uncertain.

Pick one thing. It can be a peak, a person, a building, a tree. Once you’ve named it, you have a filter for every other question: does this angle show it better? Does this foreground element support it or compete with it? Your main subject is the spine that holds the whole image together.

Step 3: Use Leading Lines to Move the Viewer’s Eye

Wharf and shoreline extending toward mountain range in background Wharf and shoreline extending toward mountain range in background A leading line is any line within the frame that the eye will naturally follow. It doesn’t have to be a road or a fence. At this location, Patino uses the pier and the curve of the shoreline. Both pull attention from the foreground toward the mountains without the viewer even noticing it’s happening.

Look for lines that point toward your main subject. They can be man-made or organic: a row of rocks, a riverbank, a shadow, a path of light on water. If a line in your scene leads the eye away from your subject, reposition until it doesn’t. This is a small shift with a big payoff, and your phone makes it easy to test quickly without committing to anything.

Step 4: Get Lower to Build Depth With Foreground Layers

Phone camera lowered to ground level capturing rocks, water, and mountains Phone camera lowered to ground level capturing rocks, water, and mountains This is one of the most immediately useful things in the video, and it costs nothing. Patino holds his phone up at eye level and shows a flat, simple image of water and mountains. Then he drops down to ground level and suddenly rocks fill the foreground, creating three distinct layers: rocks, water, mountains. The image goes from flat to immersive.

Depth is what makes a viewer feel present in a scene rather than just looking at a record of one. You don’t need a wide-angle lens or a special app. You need to get lower. Ferns, stones, sand patterns, puddles, even out-of-focus grass can all serve as foreground interest. The further you drop, the more pronounced the effect.

Step 5: Balance the Frame So the Eye Has Somewhere to Rest

Ferns on the left of frame balanced by secondary elements on the right Ferns on the left of frame balanced by secondary elements on the right Patino makes a quiet but important observation about balance. If you have strong visual weight on one side of the frame and nothing on the other, you create negative space that pulls attention in the wrong direction. The image feels lopsided and the viewer’s eye doesn’t know where to settle.

He positions himself so ferns on the left are matched by secondary elements on the right, creating a natural symmetry that funnels the viewer toward the background. You don’t need perfect mirror symmetry. You just need enough visual weight on both sides that the frame feels intentional rather than accidental. Walk two steps left or right and see how much that shifts.

Step 6: Shoot During Golden Hour and Let Light Direct Attention

Shoreline with darker foreground leading toward sunlit mountains at sunset Shoreline with darker foreground leading toward sunlit mountains at sunset The eye goes where the light is. Patino leans into this by positioning himself so the darker foreground leads toward the brightest part of the scene, which is the lit mountain range at sunset. It’s a composition and a lighting decision happening at the same time.

Golden hour, roughly the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset, gives you softer shadows, warmer tones, and that low directional light that makes everything look three-dimensional. If you’re shooting landscapes or outdoor portraits on your phone and you’re doing it at midday, the light is working against you. Adjust your schedule before you adjust your settings.

A Note From My Own Experience

The framework Patino lays out here is clean and teachable, but I’d add one thing he doesn’t focus on: try these steps in a familiar place before you try them somewhere new. My most-shared phone photo ever was taken three blocks from my apartment, on a route I’d walked dozens of times. I finally stopped to look at it the way Patino describes looking at a location, and I found a shot I’d been walking past for months.

Exotic locations are great. But if you practice this framework somewhere ordinary first, you’ll arrive at the beautiful places knowing exactly what to look for.

The single most important shift in this whole tutorial is also the simplest: stop as soon as you arrive somewhere, look around, and name what’s speaking to you before you touch your camera. Every other decision flows from that one moment of intention.

Watch the full tutorial on YouTube to see Patino work through each of these steps in real time against that lake location. Seeing it happen in a live scene makes the composition principles click in a way that’s hard to get from reading alone.