To avoid this, zoom with your feet, approach the photo object and photographer up close. If your child gets a trophy because of a speech champion at school and you are desperate to take a picture with a smartphone camera, there must be a tendency to zoom-in. If you can get out of the bench and approach the stage, take this important moment from as close as you can, not to be embarrassed.
Better yet and if you can afford it, buy a smartphone that has a double camera a la iPhone 8 Plus with a wide lens and semi-tele lens, so there's no need to zoom digitally.