As
time goes by, mobile phone cameras are getting better and better. Gone
are the days when your phone was only capable of taking a blurry snap at
a tiny resolution. Many camera-phone makers are starting to pay more
attention to sensor quality, speed, and optics, rather than just
one-upping each other on megapixel specs. But as with any type of
photography, the equipment is only a small part of taking a memorable image.
Follow Rules of Composition (and then Break them)
Learn some basic composition ‘rules’. (for example – the rule of
thirds – ie don’t place your subject squarely in the middle of your
frame but a third of the way in). Simple tips like this can bring life
toyour photos.
But then also remember that the beauty of a camera phone is its
ability to break all conventions – some of the best shots around break
all the rules. So shoot from the hip, the floor, up high, up close –
anything goes.
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| Picture taken with iPhone4S and edited with Photo-editing Apps. Picture Copyright Shahnaz M. |
Forget the Zoom
There’s an inherent issue with trying to make phones increasingly
thinner, yet also increase the quality of a camera. Trying to include a
usable zoom in a very thin piece of equipment is incredibly difficult,
and leads to this function being generally atrocious on most phones.
You’ll find that the camera uses a digital zoom, which is best left
alone at all costs — otherwise you’ll end up with a pixellated,
unattractive image.
A better thing to do is to wait until you get back to your computer,
and crop the image down to focus in on the important elements. This is
becoming increasingly possible with regular bumps to the resolution of
images taken by camera phones. The best option in most cases is to just
get closer to your subject.
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| Picture taken with iPhone4S and edited with Photo-editing Apps. Picture Copyright Shahnaz M. |
Shoot Now, Edit Later
One way that phone manufacturers try to differentiate their model is
by offering an array of editing functionality in your phone. This might
be useful in a few limited cases, but it’s best left alone. Resist the
urge to add that sepia effect to every image, and leave the
post-processing to Lightroom, Photoshop or Aperture rather than your
phone’s limited processor.
The important thing to do is to
keep shooting. You’ll kick
yourself if you miss a beautiful composition because you’re desperately
trying to figure out how to add a fake tilt-shift effect to your
previous photo…
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| Picture taken with iPhone4S and edited with Photo-editing Apps. Picture Copyright Shahnaz M. |
Lighting is Still Key
Although camera phone sensors are coming on in leaps and bounds, they
still have some way to go before they’re able to rival your SLR. One of
the key areas that many phones struggle is in capturing enough light.
You can help with this, by ensuring that your subject is well lit before
pressing the shutter. Turn on the light, open the curtains, or wait
until the sun is a little higher in the sky!
If your camera has a flash function, give it a try. Although it
probably won’t be powerful enough to make a huge improvement, it can be
very useful when you just need a slight boost in the light conditions.
Try using it outside as a fill-flash — it might just give that extra
“punch” you were looking for.
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| Picture taken with iPhone4S and edited with Photo-editing Apps. Picture Copyright Shahnaz M. |
Free Up Some Space, and Backup!
Two tips in one here… Just in the same way that packing a couple of
memory cards is advisable, it’s also good sense to regularly check your
phone’s memory to ensure you have plenty of space for snapping ad-hoc
photos. Don’t be caught with a phone that’s so full of games, apps, and
music that you don’t have any space to capture the photo of your son’s
first few steps.
Equally important is to ensure that you regularly download the photos
from your phone, and back them up to your computer. The nature of a
phone means that it’s far easier to lose, or have stolen. It’s bad
enough to lose the phone, but it would be more devastating to realise
that you’d never copied any of your photos back to your computer.
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| Picture taken with iPhone4S and edited with Photo-editing Apps. Picture Copyright Shahnaz M. |
Avoid Direct Sunlight
Another tip that applies to mobile phone photography, just as it does
everywhere else, is to avoid direct sunlight. Don’t encourage your
subject to stand directly facing the sun, as you’ll have harsh shadows
and a poor image. Head into the brightest area of the shade to set up
your composition, and you’ll be far more pleased with the result.
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| Picture taken with iPhone4S and edited with Photo-editing Apps. Picture Copyright Shahnaz M. |
Take It Everywhere!
As the old adage goes, the best camera is the one you have with you.
The beauty of your mobile phone is that it’s almost always in your
pocket — there’s no need to carry around an extra point-and-shoot, or
remember to charge a second device.
Although it will never be a replacement for a powerful digital SLR,
the humble camera-phone has come a long, long way over the past few
years. I now take more photos using my iPhone than I do any other
camera, and it’s an incredibly capable piece of kit (just check out the
examples at the bottom of this page if you don’t believe me).
Take it with you everywhere, follow these simple tips, and enjoy the
freedom of being able to snap a beautiful image regardless of whether or
not you remember to pack your photography kit!
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| Picture taken with iPhone4S and edited with Photo-editing Apps. Picture Copyright Shahnaz M. |
Don’t Throw Away ‘mistakes’
Remember that on many phones the quality of the screen will not be as
good as your computer’s. So if possible hang onto your shots until you
can get them on your PC. You might just find that they come alive on a
quality monitor. You’ll also find that even ‘mistakes’ and blurred shots
can actually be quite usable (in an abstract kind of way)
Take loads of Shots and Experiment
The beauty of all forms of digital photography (including that of
camera phones) is the ability to shoot off many shots quickly and
without cost. This means you can experiment with different modes and
composition and discard those that you don’t want to keep.
Camera phones are particularly good for experimenting with new angles
and perspectives – shoot from down low, up high, close up etc and
you’ll end up with interesting and fun shots.
Keep Your Lens Clean
One of the challenges with many camera phones is keeping them
maintained and clean. Phones spend a lot of time in pockets, in bags and
being used in all manner of weather and conditions. As a result they
get dirty and can easily become damaged – fingerprints are a common
problem on camera lenses – especially if your phone doesn’t have a lens
cover. From time to time clean the lens of your camera using a soft
cloth (sunglasses cleaning cloths are great).
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| Picture taken with iPhone4S and edited with Photo-editing Apps. Picture Copyright Shahnaz M. |
Observe Camera Phone Etiquette
While there is no formal set of rules for using camera phones – it is
worth considering how you use it and what impact it might have upon
others. There are many cases of camera phones being abused to take
sneaky or voyeuristic photos. Ask permission to photograph strangers,
consider restrictions on the use of cameras in places like theaters and
concerts etc.
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| Picture taken with iPhone4S and edited with Photo-editing Apps. Picture Copyright Shahnaz M. |
Keep Still
As with all digital photography, the more steady your camera phone is when taking your shot the clearer your image will be.
This is especially important in low light situations where the camera
will select longer shutter speeds to compensate for the lack of light.
One trick is to lean your camera phone (or the hand holding it) against a
solid object (like a tree, wall, ledge) when taking shots.
Keep in mind that many camera phones also suffer from ‘shutter lag’
(ie the time between when you press the shutter and when the camera
takes the shot can be a second or so). This means you need to hold the
camera still a little longer to ensure it doesn’t take a shot as you’re
lowering it away from the subject.
Panorama, Macro and other Awesome Lingo
If your phone has a Panorama shooting mode (any decent phone should
have it), use it for shooting landscapes and those scenic views.
Panoramas are when you take a series of photos and your phone stitches
them together to create a wide photo (okay, that’s too simple an
explanation, but I guess it’ll do). :-)
If you have a Galaxy S2 or iPhone 4S, you can try your hand at macro
photography too. Macro photography is one in which you blur a background
and shoot a really neat close-up of the subject. Saw those spider webs’
photos with the background all blurry and you can even see the water
droplets on the web? Yes, that’s macro for you!
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| Picture taken with iPhone4S and edited with Photo-editing Apps. Picture Copyright Shahnaz M. |
Editing your Photos and Applications Galore!
If you have a smartphone, you can find several apps that can help you edit your images easily.
Plus, your phone may also give you some editing abilities over your
photos. Word of caution: unless absolutely necessary, don’t play with
the image compression. Always opt for the highest quality of images —
saving a few KBs is just not worth losing the charm of your photos. You
can always rely on proper compression and editing tools from the app
market or on your computer.
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| Picture taken with iPhone4S and edited with Photo-editing Apps. Picture Copyright Shahnaz M. |
Stay Fabulous,
ShahnazM
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