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To celebrate the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S20, we caught up with professional photographer and influencer Ron Timehin about all things photography using the new phone and his experience shooting the stars in Morocco. Here’s what he had to say. Don't forget you can shop the Samsung Galaxy S20 with 10% off.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into photography

My name is Ron Timehin and I’m a professional photographer from London. I actually found my passion in photography through music. From an early age I used to play the trumpet for several different bands and orchestras, both classical and jazz. I worked tirelessly to improve my craft and I was able to achieve my grade 8 by the time I was a teenager. This ultimately let to being able to travel and perform internationally. It feels like a different life now! It was during this period where I felt the need to document was I was experiencing and photography was what I chose to do so. At the time I used the equipment I had, which was a smartphone camera. This also coincided which the launch of Instagram, which meant I would upload images to the platform and connect with other lots of photographers. I learnt a lot about composition, lighting and focus and slowly built up a following. The moment that things really changed was when I was contacted by Instagram directly, who revealed that they were going to feature my page on the suggested users list, which was a list whereby everyone new who signed up to the app would see my profile. My following grew by around 20k in just two weeks and from this moment I decided I would really push and learn more about shooting professional work. I invested in a DSLR and the grafted for years! I have now worked with some of the biggest brands in the world and I have published my first photography book internationally. It all seems so surreal haha!

Why are you so passionate about photography?

Photography is unique to me in the fact that it has the ability to not only be a fun form of self expression, but also document history at the same time. It initially started as a visual diary which has grown to mean more to me as time has progressed. It has the ability to break down barriers between people and has allowed me to connect with people from all over the world, from many different walks of life. It has given me a deep hunger to see and experience as much as I can for the short time that we are on this planet. Something I also love about photography is that I can be in full control of the entire process. From the inception of the ideas, to the creation process and to how I decide to publish the content. #What makes a good photo?


A good photo in my opinion, tells a story that gives an honest representation of the subject in the picture, whilst also saying something about who the photographer is. Nice light and a strong composition are tools to create a good photo. Once these fundamentals of photography are learnt, you can apply them to shoot most things!

What is the biggest challenge when photographing stars?

Photographing stars can be extremely challenging and it is a necessity to prepare well in advance. Firstly, you need the perfect weather conditions, as the sky needs to be completely clear to see the stars. You also need somewhere with no light pollution from towns or cities as these also stifle the visibility of the stars, hence why the Sahara desert was the perfect place! You should also try and avoid nights where the moon is bright. On this trip the moon was unfortunately at its brightest, so we planned to shoot around 5.30am, just after the moon had set and just before the sun rose to make sure the sky was as dark as possible. The Samsung S20 Ultra 5G handled the low light like a pro! I used the Pro mode in the native camera app and applied the settings that would best capture the stars. I used a shutter speed of 10 seconds (tripod necessary), f/1.8 and an ISO of 1600. I also manually focused the lens to infinity. The outcome blew my mind!

What was your favourite thing about going to the desert?

One of my favourite things about going into the desert was being surrounded by nothing but nature and dead silence. Being from a major city means that it’s near impossible to do this! This coupled with the incredible views of the Milky Way really makes you realise how small you are and how beautiful our planet is.

What was the best thing about traveling with the S20?

The best thing about travelling with the Samsung S20 Ultra had to be the portability factor. Although it was super lightweight, it had everything I needed plus more. The camera was more than capable of handling most of the situations I encountered. The battery always lasted the full day with extra to spare. And the 5G connectivity meant that I had all the entertainment I needed, pretty much instantly.

What are your tips for capturing images on the S20?

Always try to shoot with good light, around the mornings and sunset. If you do shoot at night then take full advantage of Night Mode, it works a treat! Lastly, if you want to experiment with different types of content then definitely test out the single take mode. It can really get your creative mind going!