Campground dock at sunset, New Bern, NC, taken with Sony Xperia Z3 Android phone
Story and Photos by Tim Barnwell
Pocket-sized cameras were once only a dream of the future. But the form they have taken—being part of someone’s phone—was not what camera manufacturers envisioned. Today, however, more and more people are using the camera in their phone to create the majority of their images due to the convenience and steadily improving quality of the built-in cameras.
Most people now carry either an iPhone or Android phone, both of which include excellent quality cameras in their designs. The installed software allows folks to leave the settings on automatic and get high-quality images. Many phones even allow you to add storage media, such as a microSD card, to hold more images.
While most companies store your images and data in ‘the cloud,’ (which means your data is stored on their computer servers) it’s always a good idea to back up your images on your own computer. Just use the USB cord—usually part of your phone charger—to hook your camera to your computer, download all the images, and erase the ones on your phone you don’t need to carry with you.
To get the sharpest photos, you need to hold the camera as steady as possible. Most people hold the phone between the fingers of both hands, elbows out, and all too often a fingertip gets in the photo. A better way is to lay the phone in the palm of your left hand with the screen facing up. Wrap your fingers around the middle of the phone to grip it. Raise your arm so that it is vertical with the screen in front of your face. Tuck your elbow into your chest, which adds stability, and tap the shutter release with your free hand. You can manipulate the zoom feature on the screen by touching it and expanding your fingers outward.
Ocracoke Lighthouse, Outer Banks of North Carolina, taken with Sony Xperia Z3 Android phone
In composing landscape photographs, avoid having the horizon line centered in the image. Instead, place it either in the top or bottom third of the frame, depending on where there is more texture and interest. If it’s a beautiful sunset, place the horizon near the bottom of the frame to emphasize the drama in the sky. If it’s a blank-white overcast sky, or even a solid blue one, you only need show a little bit for viewers to know what’s there. Place the horizon line near the top of the frame to emphasize the foreground elements of the scene. It’s best not to point the camera toward the unobstructed sun, as you will get flare in your image (although the flare can be used for creative effect).
On portraits, try vertical images more often than horizontal, as most are of folks standing. Be sure the eyes are in focus as that’s the first thing we look at when we view another person’s portrait. Some cameras allow you to tap the screen where you want the focus to be.
Avoid distracting objects in the background, especially behind the head, as they will be confusing in a two-dimensional photo. Take more than one image so you have a variety of expressions, especially with a group, as someone will always have a weird expression or closed eyes. And you can always flip the direction of the camera’s lens and take a ‘selfie;’ one of the most popular uses of the phone camera!
So while the camera phone won’t replace the full-fledged digital SLR camera you may own, it does offer a convenient and lightweight way to capture great images.
Tim Barnwell is a photographer and author of five books, including his newest, Great Smoky Mountains Vistas, available at area shops and at barnwellphoto.com.
