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First off, you are never going to be able to take breathtaking landscape photos or detailed macro shots with your cellphone camera, but it is possible to capture worthwhile snapshots of your surrounds. Here are a few tips for improving the pictures you take with your phone.
Light your subject well and keep still
As with any camera, it is important to ensure that your subject is well lit. Many phones do not have flashes, so this is even more important.
· The light should always shine on your subject, rather than into the camera.
· If you are outside, position yourself so that the sun is behind you with your subject in its rays. This will give you the clearest possible image.
· If you are inside, especially at night, make sure there are enough lights on for your subject to be photographed clearly.
Keep still while taking the image. You don’t want to go to great lengths to ensure that the lighting makes for the clearest image, and then mess it all up with shaky hands. If you need to, rest the phone or your elbows on the edge of a chair or some other suitable object. The steadier your hands, the better your image.
Get up close
Camera phones tend to have a lower resolution than independent digital cameras, which means that the subject is shrunken. Make sure you set your phone to the highest resolution it offers, but also make sure to get up close to your subject, and fill up the picture plane with it.
Avoid using zoom. Most cameras have a digital zoom, which means that when you use it, you in fact decrease the quality of the picture and often end up with a pixelated image. Rather just move closer to your subject.
Edit images later
Many cellphone cameras offer editing options that you can set before you have taken the image. While these can be quite fun, if you want better quality images, it makes more sense to wait until later and edit the images on your computer screen.
This way, you will be able to see the images better and apply more advanced technology to them. The images will often look much better on the computer than on the cellphone screen, so be careful not to discard images before checking them out on your computer.
Keep the lens clean
Camera phones have tiny little lenses that aren’t handled as carefully as a regular camera’s, given the other functions of a phone, and the time it will spend in your bag or pocket.
Be sure you know where yours is so that you can compose your pictures well, and ensure that it is always kept clean, as the smallest specks of dirt, or an errant fingerprint, or bit of pocket lint, could obscure your image.
Don’t be too trigger happy
Lastly, please try to practise good camera etiquette with your phone.
Cellphones are far less conspicuous than traditional cameras, but try not to exploit this by taking voyeuristic shots of people, or sneaking your phone into a concert or museum that bans cameras. It’s not very good form and could get you into a lot of trouble. Just because you know how to take good pictures with your phone, doesn’t mean you should use this skill whenever the urge takes you.
Given time, cellphone cameras may be able to rival independent cameras, with the advances being made in the technology. Until then, follow a few simple rules to improve the pictures you take with your camera.
To learn more about digital photography, consider the part-time University of Cape Town Digital Photography short course, presented online throughout South Africa. Contact Amy-Jane on 021 447 7565 or visit www.getsmarter.co.za for more information.
Light your subject well and keep still
As with any camera, it is important to ensure that your subject is well lit. Many phones do not have flashes, so this is even more important.
· The light should always shine on your subject, rather than into the camera.
· If you are outside, position yourself so that the sun is behind you with your subject in its rays. This will give you the clearest possible image.
· If you are inside, especially at night, make sure there are enough lights on for your subject to be photographed clearly.
Keep still while taking the image. You don’t want to go to great lengths to ensure that the lighting makes for the clearest image, and then mess it all up with shaky hands. If you need to, rest the phone or your elbows on the edge of a chair or some other suitable object. The steadier your hands, the better your image.
Get up close
Camera phones tend to have a lower resolution than independent digital cameras, which means that the subject is shrunken. Make sure you set your phone to the highest resolution it offers, but also make sure to get up close to your subject, and fill up the picture plane with it.
Avoid using zoom. Most cameras have a digital zoom, which means that when you use it, you in fact decrease the quality of the picture and often end up with a pixelated image. Rather just move closer to your subject.
Edit images later
Many cellphone cameras offer editing options that you can set before you have taken the image. While these can be quite fun, if you want better quality images, it makes more sense to wait until later and edit the images on your computer screen.
This way, you will be able to see the images better and apply more advanced technology to them. The images will often look much better on the computer than on the cellphone screen, so be careful not to discard images before checking them out on your computer.
Keep the lens clean
Camera phones have tiny little lenses that aren’t handled as carefully as a regular camera’s, given the other functions of a phone, and the time it will spend in your bag or pocket.
Be sure you know where yours is so that you can compose your pictures well, and ensure that it is always kept clean, as the smallest specks of dirt, or an errant fingerprint, or bit of pocket lint, could obscure your image.
Don’t be too trigger happy
Lastly, please try to practise good camera etiquette with your phone.
Cellphones are far less conspicuous than traditional cameras, but try not to exploit this by taking voyeuristic shots of people, or sneaking your phone into a concert or museum that bans cameras. It’s not very good form and could get you into a lot of trouble. Just because you know how to take good pictures with your phone, doesn’t mean you should use this skill whenever the urge takes you.
Given time, cellphone cameras may be able to rival independent cameras, with the advances being made in the technology. Until then, follow a few simple rules to improve the pictures you take with your camera.
To learn more about digital photography, consider the part-time University of Cape Town Digital Photography short course, presented online throughout South Africa. Contact Amy-Jane on 021 447 7565 or visit www.getsmarter.co.za for more information.
