Taking Pictures With Cameraphones
Yes yes, cameraphones take sucky low quality pictures, lack zoom capabilities and show nothing of a good photographer. But we can never deny that they are great fun! We use them everywhere - snapping our food on plates, candid portrait shots with friends, and even cute shots of your new baby! Here's some pointers to make the best of your cameraphone shots:
1. Take lots of photos (at the highest resolution) - Because you never know how it will look like on your computer screen or when it's printed out. It's hard to determine whether the photo is of good quality usually by just looking at your cameraphone's coloured screen. By default, set your camera to take shots at the highest resolution, unless you are sure that you will not catch those once-in-a-lifetime moments - and live to regret it. If you haven't already got a cameraphone, try to get one with at least 1 megapixel, and at least 256 MB memory card.
2. Take close shots - Because usually your subject may end up as a tiny little item in your view finder due to the low resolution, and inability to optically zoom in. Therefore, fill your viewfinder with the subject, showing just enough details to create an impact. As a general rule, have the subject about one or two feet apart from the camera. However be careful when going too close to take macro shots as there may be distortion due to poor macro ability of the cameraphones.
3. Keep your hand still - Cameraphones usually lack image stabilisation technology, and therefore will more often make or break a good shot. Try to lean your cameraphone against a stable surface (for example the top headrest of a chair.) If you have to use freehand, try this: Take a deep breath, let out 1/3 of the air, and hold your breath while attempting to take your shot. Depress on slowly.
4. NO Digital Zoom - Digital zooms are in effect software enlargements on the pixels, which does no justice to the clarity and sharpness to the photo, and in fact adds distortion to it. In fact, digital zoom effects can be achieved by use of most computer photo editing software. What we should be using here is Optical Zoom, where the image enlargement is achieved by adjusting the position of the camera zoom lenses. Sad to say, you have to achieve optical zooms by moving closer to the subject. See point 2.
5. Take subjects that are well lit - Cameraphones perform very badly under low light conditions. Take care to place your subjects under adequate lighting, or not to place them in the foreground against a brightly lit background, which may cause the 'silhouette' effect. Try moving your subject so that the light shines directly at them, and not behind or on top of them. At low light conditions, take more shots, and decide which one to keep after viewing on the computer.
6. Use a plain background - More often then not, the colours on a shot taken with a cameraphone will appear less vibrant and bright as compared to a normal digital camera. A shot with a plentiful of dull colours looks messy. Therefore to draw the attention to your intended subject, try to use a plain background to eliminate other distracting elements in the background.
7. Vary your shot angles - Because your cameraphone is usually smaller than a normal camera, you can twist and snug your camera in small corners and take shots at different angles. Put your creativity to work by taking shots diagonally or straight up from down. Besides, portrait shots taken from above usually makes a person thinner, and cuter.
8. Place your subjects off-center - Most photographers will tell you that photos with centered subjects are boring. Instead, try to place your subjects about a third from either side of the frame. This gives an interesting perspective of space on the background of the subject too. For starters, you can try using the "Rule of Thirds" to help you compose the picture. Mentally divide the viewfinder to 9 equal squares, and place your subject at the intersection of the horizontal 1/3 and the vertical 1/3.
Hope these tips will work for you. Have fun!
1. Take lots of photos (at the highest resolution) - Because you never know how it will look like on your computer screen or when it's printed out. It's hard to determine whether the photo is of good quality usually by just looking at your cameraphone's coloured screen. By default, set your camera to take shots at the highest resolution, unless you are sure that you will not catch those once-in-a-lifetime moments - and live to regret it. If you haven't already got a cameraphone, try to get one with at least 1 megapixel, and at least 256 MB memory card.
2. Take close shots - Because usually your subject may end up as a tiny little item in your view finder due to the low resolution, and inability to optically zoom in. Therefore, fill your viewfinder with the subject, showing just enough details to create an impact. As a general rule, have the subject about one or two feet apart from the camera. However be careful when going too close to take macro shots as there may be distortion due to poor macro ability of the cameraphones.
3. Keep your hand still - Cameraphones usually lack image stabilisation technology, and therefore will more often make or break a good shot. Try to lean your cameraphone against a stable surface (for example the top headrest of a chair.) If you have to use freehand, try this: Take a deep breath, let out 1/3 of the air, and hold your breath while attempting to take your shot. Depress on slowly.
4. NO Digital Zoom - Digital zooms are in effect software enlargements on the pixels, which does no justice to the clarity and sharpness to the photo, and in fact adds distortion to it. In fact, digital zoom effects can be achieved by use of most computer photo editing software. What we should be using here is Optical Zoom, where the image enlargement is achieved by adjusting the position of the camera zoom lenses. Sad to say, you have to achieve optical zooms by moving closer to the subject. See point 2.
5. Take subjects that are well lit - Cameraphones perform very badly under low light conditions. Take care to place your subjects under adequate lighting, or not to place them in the foreground against a brightly lit background, which may cause the 'silhouette' effect. Try moving your subject so that the light shines directly at them, and not behind or on top of them. At low light conditions, take more shots, and decide which one to keep after viewing on the computer.
6. Use a plain background - More often then not, the colours on a shot taken with a cameraphone will appear less vibrant and bright as compared to a normal digital camera. A shot with a plentiful of dull colours looks messy. Therefore to draw the attention to your intended subject, try to use a plain background to eliminate other distracting elements in the background.
7. Vary your shot angles - Because your cameraphone is usually smaller than a normal camera, you can twist and snug your camera in small corners and take shots at different angles. Put your creativity to work by taking shots diagonally or straight up from down. Besides, portrait shots taken from above usually makes a person thinner, and cuter.
8. Place your subjects off-center - Most photographers will tell you that photos with centered subjects are boring. Instead, try to place your subjects about a third from either side of the frame. This gives an interesting perspective of space on the background of the subject too. For starters, you can try using the "Rule of Thirds" to help you compose the picture. Mentally divide the viewfinder to 9 equal squares, and place your subject at the intersection of the horizontal 1/3 and the vertical 1/3.
Hope these tips will work for you. Have fun!
