How To Take Good Pictures With a Camera Phone

If you have been interested in photographing like I have you are propably one of those that are disappointed with the quality of your camera phone pictures? Many recent studies also show that consumers accustomed to digital still cameras (DSCs) are very often dissatisfied with camera phone image quality. The image quality on camera phones is getting better, but it will never be as good as on digital still cameras. The main reason for this is that components used in camera phones have about 20 times less space to work with, and they need to cost 20 times less! More about that in the article picture quality on camera phones.

There is still much you can do to get better pictures with your camera phone. My first advice is know your camera phone. As an example camera phones are all quite different when it comes to taking pictures in different light conditions. Some cameras work better in "normal light" and others need more light and so on. A general rule is of course that bad lighting (bright light or dark) often results in poor color quality and that good lighting provides accurate skin tones. Pictures taken in low light conditions are also often blurry. Here´s 10 easy rules to follow and taking better camera phone pics!

Taking Good Pictures With a Camera Phone ABC

1. First of all make sure that your camera phone is set to the highest resolution possible.

2. With many camera phones not having a lens cover make sure the lens is clean. A dirty lens will prevent the camera from accurately focusing or getting the correct exposure.

3. Remember the simple rule that "good light = good pictures; bad light = bad pictures."

4. Camera settings. If you have camera settings learn them and use them. Sometimes it´s better that you choose the settings that best suits the lighting situation yourself. This depends on the camera and you have to test your way through. Some cameras are better than others in determining the existing light for you. Avoid using automatic settings if your camera isn´t good in determining lightning conditions. Typical settings are shooting mode (automatic, portrait, sports etc.) contrast, brightness and white balance (sunny, cloudy etc.).

5. Avoid using zoom and get close instead. Picture quality of zoomed pictures are generally bad.

6. Avoid using flash. The flash on most camera phones is quite useless and picture quality is often better without flash.

7. Keep it Still - natural hand jitter cause blurring. Remember to keep your hand still a second or two after shooting the image too, because the camera might still be processing the image. There is a delay between the moment you press the shutter button and when the camera has captured the image. The clicking sound doesn't mean that the phone has captured the photo, it just indicates that you pressed the shutter.

8. Follow bassic composition rules, like the rule of thirds - ie don't place your subject squarely in the middle of your frame but a third of the way in. Also get close as one of the most common mistakes is that the subject ends up being a tiny, unrecognizable object in the distance.

9. Take extra photos. If the situation allows it, take some extra photos and then choose the best one and delete the rest.

10. Edit images. Editing pictures later is the best way to correct small "mistakes" and get better quality images. You do not need advanced software or skills to make pictures lighter, darker or to adjust color balance.