How to Take Camera Phone Pictures

<< Storm Cloud, Canada

Photo Tip: Wait for the “magic hour.” During the times of sunrise and sunset, the sky is colorful enough for even a camera phone to capture land and sky with fairly good exposure.

Tree Backlit by Sunlight >>

Photo Tip: Choose the highest quality setting available so you lose less detail and don’t get a muddy photo. If you have to choose between resolution and a quality setting to save space—and it’s unlikely you’ll make prints—reduce the resolution.

<< Fountain Portrait, England 

Photo Tip: Avoid direct sunlight. Your subjects will be cooler, happier, and more attractively lit if they don’t have a sunbeam hitting them in the face. If it’s an overcast day, you’re in luck. This is one of the best outdoor lighting situations for photographing people. If it’s a sunny day, have your subjects stand in the brightest patch of shade you can find.

Restaurant Table >>

Photo Tip: Stabilize your camera phone. In low light, camera phones slow the shutter speed to let in more light and have a longer opportunity to capture movement. Hold the camera phone with both hands and brace your upper arms against your body when you shoot.

 ^ Surf Self-Portrait, North Carolina  

Photo Tip: Use the rule of thirds. When composing a picture, imagine two horizontal lines and two vertical lines crossing like a tic-tac-toe grid on top of it. Place strong lines and divisions like the horizon on the gridlines and let elements of interest fall on the intersections.

<< Bicycle Taxi Driver, Indonesia

Photo Tip: By mastering the technique of panning, you can create some very cool images. To do this, hold the camera phone with both hands—for steadiness—and frame the approaching subject on the LCD. Move the camera at the same speed as the subject, thus freezing the subject while the background is blurred through motion.

Mother and Child, Mumbai >>

Photo Tip: When the background of your picture is cluttered and the lighting is questionable, fill the frame of your camera phone by moving in closer to your subject.

Panoramic View of Venice ^

Photo Tip: Shoot a panorama. If your camera phone doesn’t include a dedicated panorama mode, you can use third-party stitching software on your computer to create panoramas from several frames. A cell phone tripod will help you line up the shots.

Criminal Court Tour >>

Photo Tip: Anticipate shutter lag. Get used to your camera phone’s timing so when something interesting happens, you’ll have a good feel for the point when you need to press the shutter release to capture the most interesting moment.

Hiker >>

Photo Tip: Get the right color tone. Shooting in black-and-white in any light can help develop your photographer’s eye by letting you concentrate on the relationship between light and shadow without the distraction of color.

<< Rain Clouds and Sun

Photo Tip: Put horizons in the right place. Sometimes, putting the horizon down low to emphasize a dramatic sky is preferable.

Man Smoking >>

Photo Tip: When photographing adults, experiment with both the angle of your composition and the angle of light to see what’s most flattering.

White Flower >>

Photo Tip: Try using a black background to make a subject stand out. Black velvet material works great because it absorbs any light hitting it. As a result, no shadows or reflections appear in the picture.