Samsung Still Life Photography: Window Light and Settings

You can shoot photos with a Galaxy phone using slow shutter speeds and the lowest ISO by using a tripod. Still life is the perfect type of photography for this, since there's nothing moving (unless you move it!) and you can take your time setting up the lighting just the way you want it. You don't need much more than a window, two pieces of card and a pile of books to get started.

Still life settings by situation

It’s important to turn off Scene optimizer for products, because customers want to see true-to-life colours. In newer versions of Samsung’s software (like One UI 9), the switch is called Scene detection and sits under the Photo enhancer option in the Camera settings. For older versions, see our Scene optimizer guide.

A window-light setup, step by step

1. 1

   Find soft window light

   If it’s an overcast day, or you’re shooting by a window that doesn’t get hit directly by the sun, you’ll get really nice soft light and shadows won’t be much of an issue. When the sun does shine directly on your subject you get harsh shadows with hard edges, and controlling those can be a challenge.

2. 2

   Build a simple backdrop

   With a big piece of white card make a seamless background. Place it behind your subject and curve it down to form your backdrop. To reflect light back into shadow areas use another piece of white card. Hold this on the side of your subject opposite the window.

3. 3

   Fix the phone in place

   For consistent composition while you adjust the lighting, you can use a small tripod or even a stack of books to keep your phone in the same position. Our tripod guide compares stands that can be used to hold your phone.

4. 4

   Choose the lens and distance

   You can shoot with the 3x telephoto from about half a metre away, and things will look undistorted. Telephoto lenses are designed to shoot far-away objects, and according to Samsung, using one to shoot something up close can result in a blurry picture. If you find your subject is too close for the 3x to focus on, try taking a step back.

5. 5

   Set Pro mode

   Go into Pro camera mode (you’ll find this option under “More”). Choose the lowest ISO setting available on your phone. Decrease the shutter speed until the exposure indicator is centred (this will likely be somewhere between 1/30s and 1/4s if you’re shooting indoors). Set your white balance to a specific Kelvin temperature so that your photos will have consistent colour.

6. 6

   Focus by hand

   You can enable manual focus by sliding the focus bar to adjust the focus distance. Camera Assistant on One UI 9 on a Galaxy S25 Ultra also brings focus peaking in Pro modes which can highlight the edges of objects to help you figure out what’s in focus. Slide the focus bar until you see the edges of the foremost object light up.

7. 7

   Use the timer

   To avoid shaking your phone when you press the shutter button during long exposures, use the shortest available timer in Quick controls.

Still life photography typically requires controlling both shutter speed and ISO, so having ISO locked to a particular value is not a bad thing. According to Samsung’s guide to using Pro mode, ISO can’t be set to Auto if you’ve changed the shutter speed. Our Pro mode guide explains each control.

File format and resolution

RAW (DNG) is mentioned as an available picture format in Pro mode in the S26 user guide, along with an option to save both RAW and JPEG files at the same time. RAW files can help with post-processing, giving you more flexibility to correct issues like white balance or recover detail in bright reflections, which is handy when shooting products. On Ultras, the separate Expert RAW app goes further, and our RAW vs JPEG comparison explains when the larger file sizes are worth it.

200MP on the Ultras can preserve more detail, which is great if you plan to crop into the shot, but can be trickier to use at close range. According to Samsung’s own support page, some areas of a 200MP photo may appear blurry, as the in-focus area can vary depending on aperture, shooting distance and subject placement. Our 12MP vs 50MP vs 200MP guide will tell you that for most still life the default resolution looks cleaner if you have good light.

Arranging the subject

Still lifes shouldn’t feel cluttered, so take props away until each one earns its place. According to our rule of odds guide, things arranged in odd numbers are often more aesthetically pleasing than those arranged in even numbers. Leave space around your subject, and add a linen cloth or old wooden board to avoid a clinical look.

Try shooting at three different angles: 1) from table level, 2) 45 degrees and 3) directly above. You’ll find the best angle will depend on what you’re shooting: bottles look great shot from a lower angle, as do any tall items; 45 degrees is probably going to be your most used position; and flat lays work best shot from above. Turn on Composition guide in Camera settings to get a handy level and grid to make sure everything’s straight.

When still life goes wrong

• Mixed lighting: when shooting near a window with the light on indoors you can end up with two different colour casts in the same picture (one from the window, one from the bulb). Try switching off other lights and using just the window light.
• Reflections: shiny objects reflect light from windows. Either turn the object slightly or cover the window with baking paper to diffuse the light.
• Soft pictures: at slower shutter speeds it’s likely that the phone moved a little during the exposure. Use the timer and be careful not to touch the table.
• Backdrop in focus but not the subject: the autofocus system locks on to areas of contrast, which could be in the background. Try focusing manually (available in Pro mode).
• Whites look grey: cameras try to turn everything into an average picture, so they can underexpose a white subject. Increase the exposure by lengthening the shutter speed by one step.

Editing for a clean, consistent look

If you're shooting on a white background any colour cast will be very obvious, so start with white balance. It's easily dealt with using Lightroom (if you're shooting in RAW, noting that Adobe restricts this to Premium) or Snapseed's free White Balance tool. Samsung's Gallery has a decent editing app (tap the pencil icon when viewing a photo). Crop and straighten first, then adjust brightness and contrast (sun icon).

If you're taking photos of a range of products for a shop, try to shoot them all with the same lighting, distance and Kelvin value and you'll find it much easier to keep the edits consistent. For dust on the backdrop or other blemishes (say, on a bottle) use Object eraser in Gallery, or Snapseed's free Healing tool. Food follows the same rules, and our food photography guide covers it.