Mobile phone photography

Pretty much every mobile phone has a camera on it now and they are of decent enough quality that many people just use them for holiday snaps when they are away, rather than taking an extra digital camera along. But as good as they can be, there are some limitations with mobile phone cameras, mainly because of the lens size, so we've put together a few tips for getting most out of your mobile phone pictures this summer.

Remember the basics. It may be a phone you're holding but you should remember to treat it as much like a camera as possible - consider the composition of the shot you're taking, try to imagine the image in thirds, make sure the lens is clean and keep it as still as possible, to avoid blurring the image.

Light. A photographer's best friend, and sometimes worst enemy, is light (or lack of it) and that's no different when taking shots with a phone - in fact, it's even more of a factor. It's unlikely you will get any good shots in low light with a phone so try and get as much light on your subject as possible. If you do really want a photo of a dark scene, switch your phone's camera to night mode, which will help produce something other than a completely black screen.

Don't zoom. Digital zoom is ineffective even on dedicated digital cameras so it's best to just completely forget about it on a phone. If you're taking a photo of someone or something specific, just get as close to them as possible - this will highlight the detail better and help frame the shot too.

Play with the settings. The camera function on smartphones has come a long way and many of them will have a number of settings you can use - including white balance, night mode, colour levels and even exposure. There's no harm in having a play around with them to see how they can change and improve your pictures.

Take advantage. One of the good things about having a camera in your phone is that you will most likely have it with you at all times, meaning you can take some really opportune shots. So keep snapping away and you'll get a great mix of quirky, funny and memorable photos.

Date: 12/06/2012