How to Take Great Pictures with Your Cell Phone Camera

When I got my new cell phone from Verizon last Spring, I only required two minor features. Ideally, the cell would a) send calls, and b) receive calls. I purchased the most basic model the store carried, a Motorola e815, and got way more features than I knew existed. In fact, I couldn't have gotten a less "tripped out" phone if I wanted.

My new "basic" cell phone is 50% bigger than my old (and of course by "old" I mean the one I got two years ago), yet trusty and reliable cell that fit nicely in my smaller purses.

One of the features that accounts for the increase in phone size is the now ubiquitous cell phone camera. I already have a digital camera, do I really need one built into my cell phone? Well, if you've gotten a cell phone in the past year, you'll be hard pressed to find a model without one. So...eventually I tried out the camera features.

The verdict:

a) Some of the best pictures I've taken were from my cell phone camera.

b) Some of the worst pictures I've taken were from my cell phone camera.

With that resoundingly decisive pronouncement, here are a couple of things you can do to get more good pictures than bad pictures. Hey, if it's going to take up more room in your purse/pocket, you might as well be snap-happy.

1) Don't worry too much about MegaPixels. At this point, it's not going to make a huge difference in the quality of your pictures if your cell phone camera is 1.0 MegaPixels or 1.8, or anything in between, less, or more. If you were buying a regular digital camera, it would be a consideration, and perhaps as technology gets better it will make more of an impact, but you're not exactly ever going to be shooting an Ansel Adams-quality picture with any cell camera right now. You're better off trying to control other factors. Along that line, a digital zoom feature can be nice, but it also increases the possibility that your picture will be grainy.

2) A good shot can be ruined by a bad background. When you're taking a shot, make sure to eyeball what is in back of your subject. Sure, this is a photography basic, but it just looks all the worse in a camera phone pic for some reason. Be sure to frame your subject well. Remember, without the ability to focus your shot like on a film or full-fledged digital camera, every element will hold the same weight. Your subject can easily get lost in a background of clutter, a busy street, a moving car, etc.

3) If you're taking a self-portrait, play around with distances. Nothing is more digitally horrifying than taking a self-portrait with your cell phone camera and then seeing a fun-house mirror version of yourself. Noses will appear bigger and shiner, undereye bags and shadows suddenly appear, cheekbones recede, and when did you develop a double chin? The problem is probably that you are too close. If your arms aren't long enough to mitigate the problem, learn how to use the self-timer feature on the camera (you'll probably have to read the manual on this one) and find a steady surface on which to prop your phone.

4) Use your camera phone freely, especially if your child or pet is doing something that makes you smile. If you don't have a better camera in hand, you'll be glad you have a sub-standard shot as opposed to none at all.

Ultimately, even a blind squirrel catches a nut sometimes. The beauty of a cell phone camera is that you don't waste money on film or batteries. So, follow these guidelines, and even if a lot of your digital pictures are sub-par, you're likely to get some ones that you really like as well. For the major events in life, bring along a quality digital camera or a film camera. But for everyday, a cell phone camera is more useful than you might think.