Travel Photographers Network

1. Get in Close

The most common way to improve a camera phone image is to get in closer to the subject.  People become very small, very quickly if they are a distance away, and can drop to just a few pixels, especially when displayed on a small screen. So move in close to your subject and let them dominate the frame.  
There is, of course, a limit to this … we’ve all seen images of ourselves that were too close: all nose and a tiny body.  Maybe you want that effect, and that’s ok too!  But the subject is rarely flattered by that kind of image.

2. Keep Your Lens Clean

Serious cameras have lens caps to keep the glass clean, and point-and-shoot cameras typically have covers that close to automatically cover the lens when it is turned off.  But camera phones are usually uncovered, and are frequently in the palm of your hand while you talk to your friends.  Take a close look at your camera lens now, and it’s likely you will find a fingerprint (or worse) on the glass.
The lens if your camera phone’s eye.  The cleaner the glass, the clearer the image will be.  It’s as simple as that.  

3. Hold Still (for an extra second or two)

In many phone cameras, there is a lag between the time when you press the button and the moment when the photo is taken.  This is called shutter lag.  The amount of lag can vary in timing, depending on the situation.  In low light, it may take a bit of extra time for the camera to capture the image.  If there is a red eye flash first, you can see how long it takes before the main flash happens.  
When taking a photo, hold the camera for an extra second or two just to be sure you got the photo you wanted.  And in low light, brace your camera against a wall/street lamp/building or whatever to give it the best chance of taking a well focused photo.

4. Watch the Light

Make sure the best light is on your subject.  The star of your photo needs to be well lit.  A face lit by a setting sun is far more interesting than a face hiding in the shadows.  Take a minute to wait for a cloud to pass, or turn around to get the best light.  If your subject must be backlit, see if your camera phone has a setting to handle back lighting.  Or perhaps you can force a flash to help light them from the front.  But ultimately lighting your subject is the best way to  

5. Watch the Background

Everything in a photo competes for attention.  If you have a photo of a person standing in Times Square, the viewer will be attracted to look at the lights and signs as well as the subject.  That’s fine if you’re taking a ‘Look where I am’ photo.  But if you want to show the details and character of a person’s face, it’s best to have a plain background that doesn’t attract much attention.  Things that are known and easily dismissed (like a wall or green grass) will be overlooked in favour of your subject.

6. Camera Level

To be engaging with a subject, it can be best to hold the camera at eye level and make good contact with the person being; photographed.  But you can also produce a very dynamic and fun photo by standing over your subject and shooting down on them, or by shooting up from below.  Play with the different perspectives and see what you like best.   Not every photo should be taken from eye-level!

7. Set the Resolution to High

Okay.  Maybe this is obvious.  But it’s worth mentioning.  The higher the resolution and quality setting you choose on your camera phone, the better the resulting photo will be, especially if you ever decide to print it large!

8. Shoot Now, Edit Later

These days, camera phones can hold a lot of images.  Taking lots of photos really isn’t a problem.  But the screen on the phone is pretty small, and probably isn’t your best place to review, edit, or cull the photos you take.  The best place to do that type of editing is on your computer later.  So use the camera to capture images, but use the larger screen and better software on your pc to edit them.  Otherwise you stand a good change of wincing when you realize that great image you uploaded to Flickr or Facebook from your phone was really horribly blurred!

9. Avoid Digital Zoom

It is tempting to use the digital zoom on your camera phone to get in closer to a subject, but there are problems with that approach.  The digital zoom exaggerates any potential blur from the camera shaking when the photo is captured.  It’s hard enough to hold the camera still without this effect.  Also the software that performs the digital zoom won’t create as good a result as the photo editing software on your computer will do when you edit it later.  If you must zoom, do it sparingly, but where possible, zoom in by moving closer to your subject.

10. Follow (and Break) the Rules

There are many articles written about the ‘Rule of Thirds’ and ‘Leading lines’ and other compositional guidelines for taking better photos.  The details are too much to cover here.  But suffice it to say that there are good reasons why these rules exist.  Know them.  And then, break them.  After all, what good is a rule if you can’t break it once in a while?  
Experiment.  Listen to the experts.   Develop your own sense of what works best for you.  And most of all … have fun doing it!