HowTo take decent photos on a camera phone

Overview

Virtually all new mobile phones now have a camera within them of some description, from the basic VGA 0.3 megapixel variety, through the current generation of 2 megapixellers, to the top-of-the-line, only-in-Japan 7 megapixel behemoths. Despite a recent survey by StrategyAnalytics Inc. showing that only 28.5% of people actually use their phone’s camera features (and an even more alarming 2.9% use picture messaging to send the photo), the manufacturers are insistent on the mobile phone being the gadget of choice for the masses; as such, it simply must have a camera!

But does this mean that you can throw away your camera and rely solely on your phone? Well, no – just try taking a photo on your phone in poor light and you’ll see why! However, by making use of some of the features within a mobile phone’s camera, you can overcome these limitations, and get the most out of your phone’s camera.

Table of Contents

This HowTo comprises the following sections:

• 1). Things you can do
• 2). Things your camera can do
• 3). Quick summary of tips
• 4). Links to other sources of info

1). Things you can do

How well a camera phone takes pictures depends as much on you as it does on the technology within the phone itself. There are three things to be aware of in order to take good photos from your camera phone:

• Your camera phone’s specification and limitations
  To ensure your camera phone can take the photos you want, check out our guide on what to look for in a camera phone
• How to take good photographs
  It’s an art in itself – before you can take good photos on a camera phone, learn how to take good photos!
• How to take good photographs on a camera phone
  See that ’settings’ button – ever used it?!

The first two of these relates to you: only the last one relates to your phone.

Your camera phone’s specifications and limitations

Your phone’s specification is clearly defined – whether it does what you want depends on what you want it to do, and whether you chose wisely when you bought it. Not all phone cameras are actually up to the job of taking a decent picture. By decent, I mean one that looks OK on a PC or on a standard 4×6″ print. How your picture looks on the display of your phone is not representative of how it will look once printed (i.e. either printed out physically, or displayed on a proper-sized display – you do actually want to see your picture, don’t you?). Read our guide on what to look for in a camera phone and check the specifications of your phone to ensure it is actually capable of taking the photos you want to take. As a rule of thumb, a pixel resolution of 1 Megapixel and above is required for a reasonably decent picture. If your resolution is only ‘VGA’ then I’d stick to viewing it only your phone if I were you (or maybe squint when looking at your picture – that’ll help!). But remember, resolution isn’t the only thing to be aware of: a high resolution camera phone will be sorely let down by a poor lens or weak low-light performance.

How to take good photographs

As I don’t make a living taking beautiful photographs, nor in any sense can be said to have a good eye for a photo, I can’t really offer any advice on this. I can, however, point you to several sites where you can be lavished with great advice on taking the perfect pic.

Next: How to take good photographs on a camera phone

Have any tips of your own, or comments on how well your phone’s camera performs? Feel free to add them here.