Tips for Using a Cell Phone Camera
I recently filled an investigation
kit order for a customer in Nunavut and they requested that cameras
not be included in the kits as they had no place to process film.
The majority of their employees will be using cell phones to photograph
accident scenes.
Unfortunately many of the pictures being taken with camera phones
are poor in quality. This might partially be a result of lower
quality cameras - but it is also often a result of poor photographic
technique. Here are a few tips on getting better photos using
a cell phone camera, the most important of which is practice using
the equipment.
Caution: In situations where charges might be laid under
the OHS Act., you must save original copies of your digital photographs
BEFORE you do any editing on them. Be sure you can identify both
the original and edited sets of photos.
Light your subject well
The better lit your subject is the clearer your image is likely
to be. If possible shoot outside or turn on lights when shooting
inside. If you’re turning on lights in a room to add extra
light to your shot be aware that artificial light impacts the
color cast in your shots and you might want to experiment with
white balance to fix it (see below).
Some cameras come with a built in flash or light - this can
really lift a shot and add clarity to it, even if you’re
shooting outside. If your camera doesn’t have a flash or
light you should avoid shooting into bright lights as you’ll
end up with subjects that are silhouetted.
Get close to your subject
One of the most common mistakes with camera phone images is that
their subject ends up being a tiny, unrecognizable object in the
distance. Camera phone images tend to be small due to low resolution
(although this is changing) - so fill up your view finder with
your subject to save having to zoom in on the subject when editing
it later (which decreases quality even more).
Having said this, getting too close on some model camera phones
creates distortion and focusing issues (particularly if the camera
phone doesn’t have a macro or close focusing mode).
Keep still
As with all digital photography, the steadier 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’ (i.e. 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.
Edit images later
While it can be fun to use your camera phone’s built in
editing and effects; editing pictures later on your computer produces
much better quality images. Take your shots in color at high resolution
to keep your options open on how to treat it later.
You can always make it black and white on your computer, but
you can’t make it color if you take it in Black and White
mode.
Don’t throw away ‘mistakes’
Remember that on many phones the quality of the screen will not
be as good as that of your computer. 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 may have to
be used if that’s all you have.
Avoid using the digital zoom
As tempting as it might be to zoom in on your subject when taking
your picture (if you have a zoom feature on your camera phone),
if the zoom is a ‘digital zoom’ it will decrease the
quality of your shot to use it (you’ll end up with a more
pixilated shot).
Plus you can always edit your shot later using photo editing
software on your computer. Of course some camera phones are beginning
to hit the market with ‘optical zooms’ - these are
fine to use as they don’t enlarge your subject by enlarging
pixels.
Experiment with white balance
An increasing number of camera phones come with adjustable white
balance which allows you to modify color balance in your images
based on shooting conditions. Experiment with this feature to
get a good feel for the impact that it has on your shots. Read
your manual to find out how it works on your phone.
Take lots 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.
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).
Use the highest resolution possible on your camera phone
Some phones allow you to choose what resolution you want to take
photos at. It almost goes without saying that the higher your
resolution the clearer your shot will be. This is especially true
for camera phones which often have sensors of less than 1 megapixel
in them. Keep in mind however that the higher the resolution the
larger the file size of the images you take - this means if you
want to send images they can end up taking a long time to send.
Source: digital-photography-school.com
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