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Take Better Cell Phone Pictures

By Tamara Contreras, photographer August 23, 2014
We see them everywhere.
At the playground, school plays,  concerts, birthday parties, graduations and weddings.  They come in all shapes, sizes and colors and we can't live without them.  Cell phones are changing the way we view - and even save our views - of the world.

So if these tiny gadgets are capturing some of the most important and precious moments, how can we do all we can to produce a quality photo?

If your smartphone is less than three years old, your camera is well equipped to take a great photo. Whether you carry an iPhone or Android, these simple concepts can be used to guide you in your quest to take unique and quality pictures for all the world (or at least all of Facebook or Instagram) to see.

Don't be afraid to fiddle with your phone
Did you know that your phone may have a panoramic mode which will allow you to take a beautiful landscape shot of your beachfront view? Or that most cameras now have a front facing view so you no longer have to turn your camera around to take that "selfie" and hope half your face wasn't cut off?  One setting I appreciate on my camera phone is being able to take a video and snap a picture while its recording.  Feel free to open up the camera, explore, and get familiar with it.

Use a high resolution
Resolution and mega-pixels are important. You should be able to change the resolution of your images in the camera settings.  My phone takes 8 mega-pixel pictures, but I do have the option to lower it to .3 mega-pixels.  The higher the resolution, the clearer the image and the larger the file. Low resolution pictures are good for uploading online, but if you plan to print out pictures, keep the resolution high.

Clean your lens
Our phones spend more time in dark tight places like our pockets or purses than they do out in the open.  They fall victim to thumbprints and dust.  If you're not big on editing or don't know how to, it's going to be a bummer when you post your photo online or have it printed out only to see smudges or dust particles in the photo.  So keep the camera lens on your phone clean either by using a special solution or a quick rub from your t-shirt.

Get close to your subject
One drawback to cell phone photography is the digital zoom.  When you zoom into a subject, you lose image quality, meaning it loses its sharpness and looks blurry or distorted. This means you have to get closer to what it is you are trying to take a picture of if your want a clear photo.  Of course, there will be a circumstance where that isn't feasible but when it's possible, go for the close up.

Let there be light!
Lighting and photography go hand in hand. You have two basic options:  flash or no flash.  In my opinion, natural lighting is the best lighting.  Good ole fashion sunlight. Key rule:  Light in the back, not in the front. This is something you'll need to experiment with and the rule will apply with natural light or incandescent lighting (flash). You'll see the difference in the way shadows are cast.

Edit Later
Once upon a time, it took either an attachment to your lens or hours of work on the computer to get the look of a vintage photo or a black and white print. Thanks to the creation of photo-editing apps that you can download to your phone, it's a matter of seconds and you've got nearly any type of photo finish you'd like.  I like to take a photo without a filter, then do some edits afterwards.  Why?  I have more option and control over my finished photo. Through photo editing apps, you'll not only be able to crop out that man in the background or help touch up a photo that could use a little brightness, but also add some text or create a collage.

Back up your photos
If I could put this on a banner and hang it everywhere, I would.  SO many times, I hear the worst news possible.  Your phone took a plunge in a puddle of water and it's fried.  No more contacts, no more saved messages, and most disheartening...your photos are gone.  If your phone has a mini sd card slot, get a card and figure out how to use it with your phone.  If you don't have this option, back up your photos to an online cloud, or websites like Flickr or Picasa.  Backing up the photos takes time to figure out, but trust me, the peace of mind is worth it.

Even if you start by only implementing one of these tips into your picture taking, you'll see a great change in your photos. In no time, you'll have people telling you how great your photos are. These are your precious moments so make them ones to remember.  Go out there and start snapping!