I'm a pro photographer, and the best photo I took this month was shot on my Google Pixel 8 Pro, using a feature iPhone owners would give their right arm for

As TechRadar's Cameras Editor and a professional photographer, I regularly have my hands on top-rated camera gear.

However, my absolute favorite photo that I took this month was casually snapped with my Google Pixel 8 Pro smartphone.

I used my Pixel's dedicated Long Exposure photography mode, which, unlike the latest iPhones, has its own space in the camera app and makes what is otherwise a fairly complicated technique with my pro mirrorless camera really quite simple.

Is my photo technically perfect? No.

I took it and several similar shots handheld while taking a walk on a beach with a friend.

If you look closely at the fine detail, it's a little blurry in parts.

To really get the best out of this mode, a tripod support or firm surface would have yielded technically better results, but it really wasn't the moment for serious gear.

And considering these images were made with my phone, handheld, the results really are something.

I'm not surprised, mind you — the Long Exposure mode was made available to Pixel phones a few years ago , and I have regularly been using it ever since.

If you use a Pixel phone, it's a mode well worth playing around with — you might just bag a frame-worthy shot.

And if you shoot with an iPhone, I'll quickly explain how to get this effect in the camera app.

Tim Coleman Tim Coleman Tim Coleman Tim Coleman Long exposure, explained There's very little to run through with the Google Pixel's Long Exposure mode.

It has its own place in the camera app, and you simply try to keep the camera as steady as possible during capture, much like you would with the Night Sight mode.

Long Exposure blurs movement, while keeping stationary subjects in sharp focus.