Snapping great pictures this summer with Windows Mobile |
| | “Sometimes a phone is just a phone,” (or something like that), as Sigmund Freud allegedly quipped.
These days phones really are more than just phones. They’re computers, cameras, game consoles, and more. The phone part? Useful to be sure, but the real thrills arise from the add-ons.
What excites me most about my new Samsung Omnia from Verizon? Its whopping 5-megapixel camera,
thank you. (And, since I’m telling the truth, the music and video features are pretty nifty, too.)
Finally, cameras built into phones have matured enough in quality and resolution to replace point-and-shoot
cameras for many people. Never again must I hunt for my digital camera when I’m scrambling to get out of
the house. My phone’s always in my pocket—and now my camera is, too (along with my music player and
GPS navigator).
Like any new tool, getting the best out of your phone’s camera requires a bit of experimentation and practice.
Glancing at the manual wouldn’t hurt either. Add a few helpful hints from an avowed photo-junkie (that would
be me), and you’ll be shooting great pictures this summer… with your phone.
These procedures were written using the Samsung Omnia from Verizon (touch screen phone) and the HTC S621 from T-Mobile (non-touch screen phone). While most mobile phones have similar options, those on your phone may vary. Refer to your manual for details specific to your camera. |
| Exploring your camera’s settings | Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with your camera’s settings. On most phones, the settings are just
a few clicks away and can improve your pictures dramatically. For example, if you’re headed to the beach, set
your camera to a Landscape or Daylight setting to get the best pics.
To access your camera’s settings:
| Click or tap Start > Programs > Camera. When the camera’s view finder appears, click the Settings icon (typically a wrench or a wrench over a gear). The viewfinder displays the current settings. Scroll through the settings, and set them as desired: Resolution specifies the pixel dimensions. Smaller sizes (up to 640 x 480) are preferable for e-mailing and posting on web sites. If you’ll be using the images for print or display on large screens, higher resolutions are better. Remember, higher resolutions require more storage space than lower resolutions do. White balance specifies the lighting conditions. Typical choices include daylight, night, incandescent, fluorescent, and cloudy. In the following image, the picture on the left was taken with the Auto setting, and the picture on the right used Cloudy (which it was) on the Samsung Omnia. The image on the right is closest to what my eye saw. Exposure (or Brightness, on some cameras) lets you set the camera’s sensitivity to light. For dim conditions, set the exposure higher; for bright conditions, lower the exposure. In the following image, the picture on the left used the Auto exposure setting, the center image relied on the flash to brighten the image (and overexpose it), and the picture on the right used an exposure setting of +1. Effect lets you specify an effect, like Grayscale, Sepia, Negative, or Watercolor. The available effects depend on your device. Mode or Scene lets you choose pre-defined settings suited to particular situations, such as Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Indoor, Beach & Snow, Dusk & Dawn, Fireworks, or Back Light, among others. Some cameras also include options for taking pictures to use for Multimedia Message Service (MMS) and Contacts. Mode can also include things like Panorama (which takes multiple shots and stitches them together) and Mosaic (which combines multiple shots into a mosaic pattern). AF or Focus lets you specify special focus settings, like Face (used for portraits) or Macro (used for up-close images, like the flowers and watch, above).
After you specify the settings, click OK (on a touch screen phone) or click Done (on a non-touch screen phone) to return to the camera mode.
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| Tip One of the fastest ways to improve the quality of the pictures you shoot is to hold your phone steady. Brace your arm or body against a wall to help stabilize the camera. If your phone has an image stabilization option (likely in the settings), use it! |
| Composing better pictures | Once you’ve optimized the settings, give a bit of consideration to composing the elements in your frame. Whether you physically move the subject or just the viewfinder, more thoughtful composition is a sure way to improve your pics.
| Shoot off-center. Most folks center the object and click. For more interesting images, place your subject to one side of the frame and include some of the environment in the background. Or maybe tilt the camera for a unique angle. Get up-close. Especially for faces. Most beginning photographers stand too far back and loose the expression on peoples’ faces. They’re left with anonymous figures standing awkwardly against a backdrop. When shooting portraits, snap a few where the head fills the entire frame. Try both zooming with the camera and actually taking a few steps closer to the subject. I mean really close. Use your camera’s Macro setting to get within a few inches of your subject. Macro shots, like those in the Settings section, above, make great background images for the Today screen on your phone. Capture the essence. Figure out an important or emotive aspect of the scene, and try to capture it. I retreat to this position when the conditions make a “regular” picture impossible. For example, shooting on West Coast beaches after noon means that the blinding sun shines directly in your lens when you face the ocean. Rather than try (and fail) to capture a detailed portrait, go for silhouettes against surf. Think “shapes-and-movement” more than “stand-and-pose.”
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Editing pictures on your phone | These days, why settle for the shot you took? There’s always room for improvement. Most Windows Mobile phones let you edit images. Depending on your device, you can make the following edits:
| Cropping lets you trim the image. Use it to isolate a person’s face from a larger shot or to remove unnecessary parts of the image. Rotating lets you rotate the image clockwise or counterclockwise. Correcting helps automatically fix color balance, brightness, and contrast. Resizing lets you save the image at a different resolution. It’s a good idea to resize images before sending them in messages or posting them to the web. Applying Effects, such as Grayscale, Negative, and Sepia, transforms the original image.
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| To edit an image on your phone:
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| Sharing summer adventures | When you capture amazing pictures, you’ll want to share them with friends and family. Windows Mobile makes sharing photos as easy as snapping them. Share them in e-mail, MMS messages, or by posting them to a blog.
To e-mail or send an MMS: | |
| And now, one final tip to help you release your inner photo pro: Go take some pictures—lots and lots of
pictures. (After all, unlike traditional photography, snapping digital pics is essentially free, and you can delete
the cringe-worthy ones instantly.) There’s no better way to improve your eye and to master your camera... er, I
mean phone. |
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