Most of us have mobile phones these days with a camera feature. And, most of us don’t know how to use them to take the best possible photos despite their limitations. People either take lots of really bad photos that are often blurry and the subjects indistinct, or, never take the opportunity to use them.
We always have our phones with us but seldom carry a camera all the time. We lose many opportunities for shooting and the camera phone allows us to redeem the situation. That old adage “a Kodak moment” happens all the time but where’s the Kodak camera? Let’s take a look at a few tips that will encourage you to shoot more often with your camera phone.
1. Shoot lots of photos
This should be obvious. A camera phone is with us all the time but we don’t take the opportunities. Shooting lots of photos increases your chances of capturing a great shot. Okay, so there are limitations on how good the shot will be because of the limitations of a phone camera. But, many will be really acceptable and printable. Taking lots of photos helps you practise and practise makes perfect.
2. Get in close
As with any camera be it compact, film or digital SLR the closer you get to your subject the better the image. Fill your frame with the subject and exclude all unnecessary clutter. With camera phones your zooming feature is digital and the more you zoom the more the image degrades. So move those feet and get closer. Not too close though as you’ll find the image starting to distort and find that blurring will start to occur.
3. Shoot at eye level
By getting down to the eye level of your subject you immediately change the whole image and make it far more engaging for the viewer. Eyes are said to be the window to the soul and by focusing on them will draw you into the photo. Just make sure that they are in focus. Out of focus eyes spoil the image even if the rest of the subject is sharp.
4. Change your angle
Doing this will immediately make your images more interesting. Everyone shoots photos with the subject in the middle of the image. Get up higher, lie down on your back and shoot up or change your viewpoint. All of these angles will make for a far more interesting photo. Don’t be afraid to try new angles and even make a fool of yourself doing it. When you see how good the photo looks you’ll be happy you did.
5. Don’t move around
Change your viewpoint, yes. But, don’t move your camera once you have your viewpoint. Keep very still as camera phones don’t have the best shutter speeds and you need to remain very still. Remain still for a second or two after pressing the button to make sure you get a great shot. Hearing the shutter doesn’t mean the camera has finished taking the image.
Learning to take great camera phone photos is just part of your photography journey. What you’ll probably find is that it will encourage you to learn more about photography. Camera phones have their limitations and your successes will be limited. But, by using them to their fullest will probably encourage you to use your digital camera more often or even buy one.
Make sure that above all you keep shooting photos no matter what camera you have. Practise is key to becoming a better photographer and no matter what camera one uses, we all want to take great images. So use your camera phone photo experience to help you become a better photographer.
Do you want to learn more about photography in a digital world? I’ve just completed a brand new e-course delivered by e-mail. Download it here for free: CLICK HERE. You can also learn to take perfect photos in 21 steps by taking a look at my new ebook 21 Steps 2 Perfect Photos Wayne Turner has been teaching photography for 25 years and has written three books on photography.
Used digital camera is a good option for purchase if you have budget limits. Digital cameras are high-tech photographic equipments that are becoming more affordable. Most cameras that are technically superior are expensive equipment and cannot be affordable for average consumers. It is digital photography everywhere today and is in more demand by common people also.
Cheap digital camera is available at large merchandising store at a price of $50. Most of us buy digital cameras because of simplicity in use and to get high quality pictures. With greater technology, even novice photographers can get fantastic shots. Everybody can become good photographers because of its ease of use with greater image quality. With the increase in resulting quality of the images, your interest of the product also gets increased and so initially many buy cheap digital cameras for learning purposes and then upgrade their equipment with latest models.
A restored digital camera, also referred to as rebuilt photographic equipment offers all the services that a new model can do. It allows the photographer for viewing the photograph instantly and also to retake the shot within few seconds. Since you are able to see the pictures before developing, it gives you the option to delete unwanted photographs.
A restored digital camera does not require film purchase and picture development, as all the work can be done when connected with a printer and a computer. It gives you the advantage of digital print pictures of your choice at anytime. Photographs taken with used digital camera can also be edited before digital print. You can experience lot of exciting options when you buy a used digital camera.
Used digital cameras are available in camera shops situated at larger communities. Refurbished cameras and their accessories are offered in these shops at a cheaper price with all recently introduced models. The biggest source for buying used digital camera is the online sources. Auction sites in the Internet have exciting offers with extreme discounted pricing.
The only drawback is the quality control that may be lesser than the refurbished camera. The best method of buying good and cheap digital camera is to buy from the manufacturer. The manufacturer often gets returned products from the buyers due to various reasons. All these digital cameras are checked out for minor adjustments and are again sold to buyers with the manufacturer’s guarantee. This method is safe because the standard and quality of the product will be good and you also get guarantee for the refurbished digital camera.
While buying used digital camera, the most important factor to be considered is the reliability of the product and the seller. Reliability depends on aspects like whether the digital camera is cleaned, tested and upgraded before coming for sales again. Find out from the seller regarding warranties and testing done. Other than the manufacturer’s offer, some retailers go beyond offering extended warranty. If you have decided to purchase a digital camera that is already used through an unknown source online, like an auction site, try to get referrals and feedbacks from past customers before making payment.
The extraordinary creation of God can be enjoyed though photography in a wonderful way which makes you relaxed from your busy lifestyle. So try to learn all the aspects of digital photography and get ready for taking incredible snap shots.
Raise your hand if you’re still using a film camera. Come-on now, don’t be embarrassed. OK, finally, some hands over there from that group of photography enthusiasts. You know the ones; film die-hards who create artistic photos in their own basement darkrooms. They’re in short supply these days, but I can appreciate their passion. I developed my first print when I was thirteen. Later in life I taught photography in a program with an on-site photo lab. It was always so exciting to watch an image begin to appear in the developing tray.
But who else is left, beyond the home darkroom camp? How many people continue to use film? I know my mother still does. She uses my daughter’s old film camera and likes the straightforwardness of it. It’s a basic point-and-shoot camera; she pops-in a roll of film, presses the button, takes the film to the store and, presto, an hour later she has 24 prints. She doesn’t have to fool with fancy settings, never worries about accidentally deleting some precious images from last week’s family event and doesn’t even think about using a computer to manage her photos.
The old way is so simple, but just doesn’t fit into the paradigm of today’s high-tech world. It seems that just about anyone you meet these days, fancies him or herself as a serious photographer. And of course we all love the convenience factor of digital photography. For a change of pace, I recently loaded film into one of my old cameras. The first time I pressed the shutter, I immediately looked at the back of the camera. I was shocked by how much I’ve become accustomed to the convenience of an instant playback.
Film is simply inconvenient. People are no longer satisfied with the idea of film’s inherent risk. For those who have been digitally dedicated for several years, the suggestion that they pay for processing before seeing any of their images seems preposterous. Imagine paying up to ten bucks just to find that up to half of your twenty-four photos are, well, not very good (or worse).
Today’s ‘photographers’ are also reluctant to surrender control of their images to anyone else, let alone the kid who works the photo machine in the back of their local supermarket. In order to be a full-fledged member of the digital set, it’s pretty much a given that the savvy photographer needs to adjust each and every image using photo editing software.
Yes, digital photographers have a lot of control over their images. I’m up to my eyeballs in that. Just like most people these days, I shoot way too many photos than need be shot, whether it’s on vacation, at a family gathering or when I’m feeling visually creative. Consequently, I spend far more time than I should, going through those images to make the often-painful decision to delete the pics that don’t make the grade.
But it doesn’t stop there. Eventually photos need to be moved off the cards and into the computer. You know the drill. Wait until the stack of memory cards gets so tall, it looks like a miniature coffee table. When absolutely no more memory is available and you refuse to buy more, it’s time to begin the mind-numbing process of moving your images from the cards to your hard drive in a way that’s somewhat organized. For me, it’s often complicated by the fact that some of the cards contain images I took two or more years ago.
I rarely stop there. Next, I spend even more time cropping and adjusting them. When the process is finished, so much time has passed that the photos may be mistaken for an historical image collection. The entire process is cumbersome, protracted and often overwhelming.
To make matters worse, unless we want to banish the images to the bowels of our computers till eternity, we routinely spend even more time and effort just so that others can see our precious pictures. Unless you have a free-prints-for-life arrangement as a result of blackmailing your photo-processing guy, you’ll have to decide on a representative sample of your mammoth collection from your recent photo event. If you’d rather make a slide show, or better still – a slideshow with music – that will involve even more time in front of a computer screen.
Fast forward to yesterday. I was visiting my parents, when my mother asked, “Steve, when am I going to get at least a few of the pictures you shot during summer vacation for the past few years? Never mind. I won’t even think of asking for the pictures from last weekend’s anniversary party.”
My answer, sadly and as usual, was that I hadn’t yet gotten around to ‘going through’ my memory cards.
Her response floored me. She said she was tired of waiting for me to get around to it, and she handed me a set of photos. She took the liberty of digital print a second set from film she just had processed. She said, “Here. You can have these. They’re the pictures from this past weekend’s anniversary party.”
My first thought? Wow, she pops-in a roll of film, presses the button, takes the film to the store and, presto, an hour later she has 24 prints. Now, that is convenient.
Stephen Kristof is a writer and a professional instructor in media production. In addition to his articles and opinion pieces, Stephen is also the columnist for his humorous “Go Figure”
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What is eco-friendly digital print? Or better yet, what should the business model be and the mindset of the employees?
After hearing reports and seeing first hand, a business can be certified as being sustainable oriented, but in many cases, sustainability stops at the certificate hanging on the wall. There are business owners that have very sustainable business models that go beyond any fees paid for a meaningless certificate.
It starts with a desire and a mindset for sustainability and is accomplished with a buy-in from all of the employees, and ends with complete follow through. A company comes to mind as a great example among others: Gordon Graphics.
This web page contains information and a PDF regarding eco-friendly digital print.
Choosing the right paper for a digital print job can be a daunting task. It doesn’t have to be though. When selecting the best paper type for a particular job, you’re often faced with an overwhelming number of options. Asking your printer for “white” is like asking your waiter for “food” — you’ll have to be more specific than that.
To the educated consumer, the choices don’t seem nearly as intimidating. Before you order though, you’ve got to know the menu. Paper has ten characteristics that affect its cost and appropriateness for a given job.
Surface
The surface of paper affects its look, feel and printability. When paper is pressed at the mill, it passes through a series of rollers in a process called calendaring. Calendaring affects paper in numerous ways. As the extent of this process increases, paper is made smoother, glossier, more capable of retaining ink, thinner, less opaque and less bright. Why does surface matter? Because people do judge books by their cover.
Color
The color of paper is perhaps the most salient of all characteristics. White is by far the most popular color and is generally optimal for conventional usage. Not all white is the same, however — it runs the gamut from ultra-severe hues to softer, more antique shades. Photo white paper is best for accentuating the contrast between light and dark hues.
Off-white sheets produce less glare, and are best used for publications such as novels or technical manuals that demand long and uninterrupted attention from readers. When comparing color, always examine paper under standard viewing conditions and with minimal atmospheric distractions.
Brightness
The brightness of paper measures the percentage of light that it reflects. Most papers reflect approximately 60 to 90% of incoming light. Remember: brightness and color are not the same thing. Unlike the color characteristic (which is highly subjective and imprecise), brightness is a strictly quantitative, or measurable, attribute. Brightness is important because it affects readability — high brightness can cause eye strain, while low brightness can produce a blurring effect.
Opacity
The opacity of paper is the degree to which other digital print is visible through the page. High opacity, or density, minimizes the visibility of digital print on subsequent pages, thus enhancing readability. Opacity increases with the bulk and weight of paper, and is influenced by numerous other factors, including paper color, ink color, coatings, chemicals and coverage.
Grain
The grain of paper describes the direction, or alignment, of its component fibers. Paper grain is either grain long or grain short. When fibers are patterned parallel to the length of a sheet, the paper is grain long. When fibers run parallel to the width of a sheet, the paper is grain short. Grain direction is a critical factor for print jobs because it directly affects usage — for example, paper strength, flexibility, tack and versatility are all impacted by grain direction.
Weight
The basis weight of paper is calculated as the weight in grams of square meter. Since paper is sold by the kg, understanding paper weight is imperative to successful cost control programs.
Caliper
The caliper of paper is its thickness. Caliper is measured in thousandths of an inch and referred to as point size. In this system, .001 inch equals one point — and eight-point paper would have a thickness of .008 inch. Do not confuse type point with caliper point. Type point describes the height of a particular font; caliper point describes paper thickness.
Bulk
The bulk of paper denotes its thickness relative to its basis weight. For example, uncalendared paper would have a higher bulk than gloss coated paper. Remember though that paper may be bulkier or thicker than another grade, yet still have the same basis weight.
Size
The size of paper describes its physical dimensions. An A4 is 210mm wide and 297mm long. Access to specific information concerning the range of paper sizes available for any given digital print job is essential to containing costs and ensuring efficient usage.
Quantity
The quantity of paper refers to the number of sheets bought, sold or used. A ream is a standard unit of numerical paper quantity. Paper that is “ream-wrapped” is packaged in a bundle of 500 sheets. Cartons of paper are not defined by exact numerical specifications, but approximate weight. Cartons typically weigh around 60 kg’s and are used in practice as a standard unit of sales.
I’m a lifelong magazine junkie and I was fortunate that in my last design job we were given stacks – yes stacks – of reading material to go over at our leisure. In addition to work supplied material I also have a couple of long-standing subscriptions to the design magazines I can’t live without. Here is a list of the best ones (in my humble opinion). Many of these are wonderful sources of inspiration not only for designers but for anyone in a creative field.
Design Ideas at Work
I’ve been reading HOW since 2001 and I consider it one of the best design magazines out there. The articles in HOW mainly cover the business side of design and ways to stay creative without the burnout that so many of us experience. Being creative on demand is a tough job. HOW is chock full of useful tips that will make your life easier, interesting interviews with successful designers, and lots of beautifully designed pages. I keep all of my back issues and when I’m stuck on a design I’ll flip through them for inspiration. HOW also hosts several large events each year such as the Mind Your Own Business Conference.
In their own words… “HOW magazine’s goal is to help designers, whether they work for a design firm, for an in-house design department or for themselves, run successful, creative, profitable studios.”
The How-To Magazine for Everything Adobe
I’ve had a subscription to Layers Magazine off and on for several years and what keeps me coming back is the tutorials and tips. Every issue features multiple step-by-step tutorials, covering a wide range of Adobe software with descriptions that are clear and concise.
Another regular highlight is the Design Makeover section which takes three separate designers/design teams and gives them the same assignment – to redesign a provided promotional piece from a real-life company in need of an upgrade. It’s amazing how each designer comes up with wildly different solutions to the same project. Accompanying photos of the finished designs is information about each designer and what processes they used to come up with their concepts.
Design For Curious Minds
Ever since it was founded in 1940 Print has been the gold standard in graphics publications. The first time I picked up an issue of Print was in my Communication Arts class in high school. I must have spent hours pouring over that issue and many of the pieces I found in its pages became the basis for paintings and design projects.
In their own words… “Print is dedicated to showcasing the extraordinary in design on and off the page. Covering a field as broad as communication itself—publication and book design, animation and motion graphics, corporate branding and rock posters, exhibitions and street art—Print covers commercial, social, and environmental design from every angle. Engagingly written by cultural reporters and critics who look at design in its social, political, and historical contexts, Print explores why our world looks the way it looks, and why the way it looks matters.”
The three above are my top picks but here are links to some additional magazines that I recommend….
Graphic Design USA -
Before and After -
Step Inside Design -
Communication Arts -
There are dozens of magazines that I read but I can’t list them all here, these are simply the ones I turn to first when I’m in need of inspiration. I’m always looking for fresh ideas and new techniques to learn so if there are other magazines that you feel is noteworthy please let me know!
The weather this summer has been a little unpredictable. We’ve had more rain that we’ve known what to do with. The weather has been so extremely hot and humid we have not been able to spend time outside, unless you are inside a pool. And now, at the End of August, you need a sweatshirt in the evening. What I love though, is sleeping with the windows open, putting a custom sweatshirt on in the morning because it’s chilly in the house and then the air warming up in the afternoon.
Today is Friday and school starts on Monday. This is a bitter sweet moment for most parents. Custom t-shirts are the best at Broken Arrow Wear. I am excited for school to start so we can get back on a regular schedule for bed, and activities and waking up in the morning, but it also means the summer is over. Broken-Arrow specializes in custom t-shirtsilk screening, embroidery, sublimation digital print, digital digital print and logo promotional items. Before too long, the leaves will be turning colors and falling off the trees, their will be snow on the ground and the long, long winter will be here. You can also put awesome graphics on cups at broken-arrow also. In a few weeks, I’ll be wishing it was summer again and we could just play for three months, today I’m ready for school to start.
Digital Print | admi | 
September 8, 2010 1:39 am | 
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