Eventually that moment will come when you wish you had your camera. Or maybe it's happened too often already. Fortunately, you have a camera phone to capture those memories. But how do you make the most of your pictures? Here are some tips:
10. Treat it like a camera
Learn the ins and outs of how to maximize the camera’s performance. Just like any other device, you want to know what it can and can’t do. It might even mean (dread the thought) looking at the instruction book.
9. Hold it still
For your best chance at getting a clear picture, hold the camera still through clicking the photo and the snapshot-like sound the phone makes when you take a picture. Often times the sound doesn’t line up with when you are actually capturing the image. So by letting go at the wrong time you might end up with a blurry photo. Hold it through until you see the image appear on your screen.
8. Light your subject
Even if your phone has a flash, it’s likely not powerful enough to overcome a dark environment. Lighting your subject is an essential way to ensure your picture comes out well. When taking a picture, pay attention to the lighting situation and experiment before you finish shooting.
7. Get a real camera
If your camera is a lowly 2.0 megapixel with no zoom or no flash (like my iPhone, grrr) then you might just be better off with pretending the camera function doesn’t work.
6. Don’t zoom
Avoid using too much zoom, especially since most camera phones use digital zoom. All this does is cut out the sides of the image area and expand the center of your line of sight.
5. Settings
Some cameras have some pretty advanced features – ways to manipulate the white balance, night modes, sunlight, incandescent light, etc. so make sure you dig through the menus. Making the picture look better may only be a few dials away.
4. Keep the lens clean
Many people don’t often clean their phones. But if your phone has a camera, it’s a good idea so you can get the lens clean. A finger smudge doesn’t look great covering up your aunt who is visiting from across the country.
3. Experiment with it
Play around with and try as many of the features as you can. You won’t really know how the zoom works and how the camera handles different light situations unless you mess around with it. So get to playing!
2. White balance
A feature that you should pay attention to. See if your camera has the ability to recognize white balance. This will give your pictures a more realistic look given a variety of lighting situations.
1. Edit away!
Don’t stop after you’ve uploaded it to your computer. Whether you are using a free service like Google Picasa or go all-out with Adobe Photoshop, edit your pictures until you are satisfied. And the good editing programs can enhance your pictures so no one will know they were taken with…a camera phone.