Getting The Most Out Of Your Camera Phone

Many of us who have camera phones tend to neglect their potential, especially us older folks. Youngsters, with their natural affinity for technology and a desire to play with all the bells and whistles on their favorite appliance, probably do more shooting (and thus learn more about their phone cameras) than those of us who still tend to think of a phone as a voice communication device.

This was particularly true in my own case, since I have a pretty extensive background in photography with professional grade equipment, and tend to think of my VGA camera phone in sort of the same category as those cardboard and plastic disposable cameras. This can be a self-fulfilling prophecy: if you don’t expect good results, you may not make the effort to get them. One needs to remember that the photographer is far more important than the camera. I’ve seen serious art produced by disposable cameras and, while I haven’t rushed out and bought a case of them, I won’t be selling them short again.

The same is true - perhaps even more so - of camera phones, which are, after all, part of a computer system that is generations more sophisticated than the ones on the Space Shuttle. They are capable of a good deal more than casual inspection might indicate. It isn’t my intention to get into a lot of detail here, as they’re all different. Read the instructions and play with them. Most camera phones have certain characteristics in common, however, and paying some attention to those and the details of their use can pay off in memorable pictures, and fewer uninspired (and uninspiring) snapshots. Your phone’s camera is the one that’s always with you, and it pays to learn its secrets well.