Expert guidance for your phone photos. Cut through the confusion, unlock your phone’s potential, and take creative, standout photos that tell stories and make a difference. Drawn from Gabrielle’s 17+ years of professional photography experience, each weekly e-mail is filled with practical tips and none of the complex technical jargon.
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The Step Most People Skip After Taking a Photo
Published 6 months ago • 3 min read
Why Editing Changes Everything in Photography
PHONE PHOTOGRAPHY with Gabrielle Touchette | April 15, 2026
WHY PHONE CAMERA PHOTOS LOOK DULL
Most phone photos look flat straight out of the camera.
They're usually a little grey, a little dull, and missing a bit of pizzazz.
That's normal. Phone cameras are purposefully designed to take average photos for the masses.
They are made this way so that everyone who buys the phone can take photos in auto-mode and get decent results.
But the problem with auto-mode:
... it creates average photos that don't stand out.
DON'T LEAVE YOUR PHOTOS HALF-FINISHED
Here's what I really believe:
A photo isn't finished when you take it.
If you don't edit your photo, you're leaving half its worth behind.
BRIGHT, VIBRANT PHOTOS
I always edit my photos before I post them or print them. It's the final step I take to really make my photos come to life.
This is where I fix the dull grey look of the auto-mode capture.
This is where I boost the colours so they don't get lost.
This is where I increase the brightness so my image actually stands out.
And finally, this is where I create a consistent, polished look - so that all my phone photos carry my signature look.
LIGHTROOM MOBILE: THE BEST EDITING APP
I've been using Lightroom for my photography business since 2008 and I love it.
And now that Lightroom Mobile is available for phone editing, it's what I tell all my students to use!
Best of all, it's a free app made by Adobe, one of the most trusted names in professional editing. It's super easy to use for the average person, while still providing powerful features for more advanced editing.
8 REASONS WHY I LOOOOOOOOOVE LIGHTROOM
1. Contrast control
Phone photos often have grey, weak blacks.
In Lightroom, I can bring back depth and make the image feel richer instantly. I use the Blacks slider for this.
When I want to have extra control, I use the Tone Curve tool.
2. Copy + paste edits
When I’m editing a series of photos, I don’t start from scratch every time.
I can apply the same look across all of them in seconds.
You can select the photos you want to paste your previous edits onto. This makes it quick to batch edit several photos in one series.
3. Colour control
This is where I get to bring so much warmth, tone and vibrancy to my photos. I can even adjust each colour individually. This is where Lightroom's powerful tools really help.
4. Masking
I use the masking tool to control specific parts of an image.
Like brightening the sun so it feels soft and glowing instead of my iPhone's default way of capturing the sun: always blocky and blotchy.
Look at the difference:
No mask. Notice the unnatural yellow edging on the sun.
With mask. Edited so the sun looks truer to what the eye sees.
5. Selective edits (light control)
I can brighten shadows without ruining the rest of the image.
This is what gives me so much control over the final look of my photos. Something the phone camera just doesn't do on its own.
No light control editing has been applied. This is the default grey, dark look that a phone camera produces.
The shadow areas have been brightened while maintaining the integrity of the darker areas.
6. Presets (speed editing)
When I’m short on time or too tired to do custom editing, I just apply my base preset and adjust quickly.
It keeps my style consistent and allows me to edit photos quickly and effortlessly.
7. Exporting photos in specific formats
I can export JPGs, convert files, and prep images for anywhere I want to use them. Whether I'm posting them online, uploading them to a print lab website or wanting to email them to my friends, Lightroom lets me control the final output of my image files.
Huge, high-res files, or small, low-res jpgs - Lightroom lets me control that.
Always export a high-res jpg file before printing your edited phone photos.
8. Editing anywhere
No computer needed. I can edit on my phone while I’m literally on the go. Rather than doom scrolling or reading the news, I can actually do productive editing work on my phone anywhere, anytime. I love the convenience!
PHOTO EDITING IS A MINDSET SHIFT
Editing isn’t about making photos fake or "dressing them up" because they're bad.
It's about finishing the creative work that photography was meant to be all along.
If you’ve ever felt like your photos look almost good but not quite there…
editing is usually the missing piece.
And this is exactly what I teach in my Lightroom workshop.
LEARN LIGHTROOM EDITING WITH ME
If you want to learn how to edit your phone photos, I'm hosting a live Zoom workshop on May 12th. I'll show you the exact steps I use in Lightroom to make my photos pop and I'll also give you my base editing "recipe".
You'll also learn how to modify the recipe and create your own custom presets. Learn more here:
Hi I'm Gabrielle. I run a full time photography business in Winnipeg, specializing in portrait and commercial photography. This newsletter started with my passion for helping everyday people realize their full photography potential. With a bit of technical and creative help, you too can take better photos with the phone camera you already have.
Expert guidance for your phone photos. Cut through the confusion, unlock your phone’s potential, and take creative, standout photos that tell stories and make a difference. Drawn from Gabrielle’s 17+ years of professional photography experience, each weekly e-mail is filled with practical tips and none of the complex technical jargon.
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