Artificial intelligence is everywhere you look right now, making its way into music streaming, social media, video games, web search, and just about every other technological field. Every time a new phone or laptop is launched these days, what’s invariably mentioned first is just how much AI it has on board.

AI’s reach also extends deeply into mobile photography. It started with the smart, algorithm-led tweaks to color and brightness in your mobile photos. Now we’re all the way up to dropping people into photos who weren’t actually there at the time—or, alternatively, erasing people and objects out of a shot. Both Android and iOS also apply machine algorithms to make colors in photos “pop” and to add more dynamics to images.

It doesn’t have to be this way. You can still find mobile camera apps that shun AI and give the control back to you, so taking pictures is more about framing moments and scenes rather than any kind of AI fakery. These are two of the best.

Zerocam

The Zerocam interface couldn’t be much plainer.

David Nield

Zerocam proudly promotes its anti-AI ethos, describing itself as “the simplest way to take photos,” with the idea being that it’s as close to an actual point-and-shoot camera as possible. Natural, authentic looks are in—the app actually shoots in the RAW format—and artificial overprocessing is out.

There really isn’t much to say in terms of how to use the app: You frame the shot, and hit the yellow shutter button (which has a rotating carousel of labels on it, including “zap” and “piu piu”). The only other button on the interface lets you control the zoom options, which will vary depending on the phone you’re using.

To begin with, it’s a bit unnerving to have such a simple and minimal interface to work with, but I found I quickly got used to it. It feels liberating to just point and shoot without worrying about anything else—and the Zerocam social media feed is full of examples of the great photos you can snap with this app.

The app developers get involved with their community, and are currently running a “365 Challenge” to encourage users to take a snap a day. You can see the prompts if you set up the Zerocam widget on your home screen. It’s also possible to launch the app straight from the lock screen if you want.

Zerocam is available for free for Android and iOS, though you are limited to five photos a day unless you subscribe: That costs $2 a month or $13 a year. There’s also a monochrome version available, but that’s only for iOS for the time being.

Halide

Halide offers plenty of options from its capture screen.

David Nield

Halide is a much more comprehensive phone photography app for professionals and enthusiasts, which means it’s stacked with options and settings. It does also offer a Process Zero mode, which gives you “zero-AI, minimally processed shots.” You can choose this when you first install Halide, or switch to it at any time within the app.

Even in the Process Zero mode, the photo-taking interface on Halide is much busier than it is with Zerocam. You’ve got options for viewing a luminance histogram on screen, adjusting focus, putting a grid on screen, and adjusting the zoom level. Another tap brings up features such as white balance and the shutter timer.

As far as image processing goes, though, this is kept down to a minimum—you can use it like a point-and-shoot camera in the same way as Zerocam. The photographs you take eschew the digital manipulations that iPhones apply by default, which means there’s less of a safety net when it comes to post-processing bad photos.

Of course, if you need more advanced control, then Halide provides it. The manual mode includes adjustments for shutter speed and ISO, for example. You’re able to make use of these settings whether or not you’re in Process Zero mode, so the app gives you plenty of flexibility in terms of how you capture your images.

Halide is available only on iOS, and you do need to pay to use it: $3 a month, $20 a year, or $60 for life. There is a seven-day free trial available on the annual plan, so you can see if you like the app before you buy it.