5 quick tips to get the most out of your Samsung Galaxy S25 camera

Like it or not, most modern smartphones are now equipped with advanced AI tools and features to help make our lives easier. The difference with Samsung’s latest Galaxy S25 series, however, is that its cutting-edge Galaxy AI^[1] tools are top-tier and effortlessly easy to use.

The whole point of an AI smartphone is to enhance the user experience, whether that’s improved performance for gaming or offering help with organisation and life admin, such as scheduling appointments and keeping track of finances.

As a photographer, I’m going to be running through 5 quick tips to help really get the most out of the camera module on your Samsung smartphone, thanks to Galaxy AI.

Quick Tip 1: Text translation in camera mode

For anyone who’s travelled abroad before, I’m sure at some point you’ll have needed to rely on Google Translate to understand foreign languages. For me, it was during a visit to a bakery in Slovenia, and I struggled to decipher the pastry selection (I really hate raisins and nuts).

There are two ways to utilise text translation via the Galaxy S25’s camera, which can help take the uncertainty and stress out of travelling. Simply enter the camera app, point your phone at some script, and a yellow box symbol should appear. You can tap this to capture any text on your screen and then hit the grey translate button (next to the scan button) at the bottom of the screen to translate the text.

Method 2: If the yellow text symbol doesn’t appear when you point your phone’s camera at text, you can navigate through the camera modes at the bottom of the screen until you get to the ‘more’ section, and you need to look for the Bixby Vision icon (it should look like an eye symbol) to enter text translation mode. The great thing about this method is that it can adapt and change as you move your phone camera around, to scan and translate multiple texts in your surrounding environment without needing to re-capture any photos.

Quick Tip 2: Take great after-dusk photos with Galaxy AI Nightography

If you’re in a darker setting that requires optimal low-light performance, such as at a live gig, a jazz bar, or perhaps you’re dabbling in some nighttime street photography – then Samsung’s Night Mode Camera^[2] on the S25 series is exactly what you need to be shooting with. You can access this image mode by swiping across to the ‘More’ section on your Samsung camera phone and tapping ‘Night’. It’s as easy as that.

Night Mode blends innovative AI multi-frame processing (this combines 30 images into one for maximum detail) with a larger sensor and advanced capabilities to optimise colour and sharpness in every pixel. If you’re feeling brave, you can also use Pro mode to manually tweak image settings such as lowering the shutter speed (this is how light trails are created), as well as upping the ISO and using a small aperture for the best clarity.

Bonus tip: If you have an S25 Ultra, you can use its S Pen as a remote shutter for hands-free shooting (great for keeping night shots sharp).

Quick Tip 3: Get your settings right quickly with Scene Optimisation

If you’re fairly new to photography or shooting with a smartphone in general, then Galaxy AI Scene Optimisation was made for you. This feature works by automatically detecting the subject or scene in front of you and applying specific camera settings to help you capture the best shot.

Using Scene Optimisation can help you take great pictures much faster, especially if you’re an amateur photographer. It's already activated by default, but you can turn this feature off or adjust it in the settings menu if you prefer more manual control over your images.

Personally, I would advise using AI Scene Optimisation as a guide to help you learn more about camera settings, and then apply these techniques yourself in the Pro camera mode once you feel confident. The exposure triangle can be tricky to balance, but the payoff once you grasp the photography fundamentals will be all worth it.

Quick Tip 4: Use Galaxy AI Generative Edit for advanced tweaks to photos

This feature might not appeal to everyone, but using generative AI in photography can be a really great way to compose the original image that you had in your mind all along. Using Galaxy AI’s Photo Assist feature, combined with Generative Edit^[3], can take the stress out of trying to capture the perfect photo in the moment.

Galaxy AI’s Photo Assist feature can be found in the native Samsung gallery app, and offers an array of tools to help you fine-tune your photos. This includes a portrait studio, and AI drawing and sketch tools (the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen is perfect for this).

I often use Generative Edit for selecting and removing backgrounds and unwanted people or objects from my photos effortlessly, without needing to meticulously cut around these shapes myself. You can also generate new things to be added to your images using Samsung’s AI generative tools. I really like that Samsung adds an AI watermark to any generative edited photos, to help with much-needed transparency around imagery and AI.

Quick Tip 5: Take photos from far away with AI Enhanced Zoom

The final tip I have to help you get the best out of your Samsung smartphone is to rely on the Galaxy AI-enhanced zoom capability for the best possible image quality at higher zoom levels. You might have heard buzzwords such as digital zoom, optical zoom, and periscope lenses being thrown around when it comes to smartphone photography, but what you really need to know is that the Samsung S25 series has all the tools and AI upscaling you need to get the ultimate shot.

These camera phones rely more on the power of optical zoom (as opposed to digital zoom), which involves the physical movement of the camera lens to magnify your subject, ensuring sharp shots at every level. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra benefits from a periscope telephoto lens with 2x, 3x, and 5x optical zoom, plus a 10x Optical Quality Zoom – though if you need a boost, there’s digital zoom up to 100x.

For the best possible results when shooting with zoom, try and use a phone tripod or something steady. This can be tricky depending on the situation, but the S25’s super-resolution zoom massively improves filming quality at concerts and events, especially if you're at the back near the bar, which is where I usually tend to frequent.

One last thing. If you have somehow missed the buzz throughout the internet tech sphere, Samsung has recently launched their latest foldable wonder – the Galaxy Z Fold7. With major hardware upgrades, such as a 200MP camera sensor, an impossibly svelte 4.2mm thin unfolded chassis, and stunning (2184 x 1968) 8” main display, there’s a lot to get excited about. Visit the Samsung website to find out more specs and pre-order details.

[1] Samsung account login is required for certain AI features.
[2]Results may vary depending on light condition, subject and/or shooting conditions.
[3]Samsung account login is required. Requires a network connection.