National Geographic published a little book packed with lots of information on how to take great photos with a camera phone. Photos by Robert Clark provide the evidence.
The Camera Phone Book: How to Shoot Like a Pro
By Aimee Baldridge
Photography by Robert Clark
Washington, DC: National Geographic, 2007
US $10.95/Canada $13.95
The Camera Phone Book tells the operator everything she needs to know about using her phone as a camera. It starts with the Table of Contents shaped like a phone, with arrows pointing to the dial pad numbers indicating what each chapter contains.
Chapter 1 – Features of Camera Phones
Chapter 1 tells about the different types of phones, memory cards, lenses, sensors, and a chart (The Camera Phone Rosetta Stone) comparing all the features available including the icon or symbol found on the phone to indicate that feature. Also, Chapter 1 describes accessories for $.99 or more that the reader can purchase such as tripods, lenses, filters, cases, and GPS attachments so the photographer can record the precise location where the photo was taken.
Chapter 2 – Taking the Best Pictures
Chapter 2 offers ten rules to follow in order to take the best pictures such as how to frame the subject(s), how to adjust the lighting for different skin tones, and being aware of what is showing in the background. All these rules help to make the picture more professional. Next, Chapter 2 tells how to take photos for news reports, sporting events, landscapes, and outdoors in various types of weather. Two pictures show how putting the horizon near the bottom of the photo or using foreground objects to create depth can enhance an outdoor scene. This chapter ends with a photo essay by Robert Clark of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a place where ordinary people and scenes provide the subject matter for impressive camera-phone photos.
Chapter 3 – Processing and Sharing Pictures
Chapter 3 explains what the photographer can do with the photos after they end up on the microchip in the phone. Stressing keeping the photos organized, Baldridge explains how to send images to other phones, upload them to the internet, a computer, or PDA, printing, and managing all the photos through the help of internet sites.
Chapter 4 – Blogs, Photoblogs, and Moblogs
This chapter explains how to create a Moblog or Mobile Blog. On a mobile blog, images, video, and sound can be uploaded from a phone using an internet connection. It includes addresses of sites that host moblogs, offer webgalleries, or present cinema, media outlets, and art galleries. It also identifies some of the Camera Phone Film Festivals and using camera phone images in sales and commerce. The camera phone user can purchase tickets or get more information or a coupon on a product just by scanning the bar code on the product or ad. This chapter also gives internet sources where someone can investigate different types of camera phones.
Chapter 5 – Troubleshooting Camera Phones
Chapter 5 offers help for many situations where a camera phone might become damaged or need maintenance. It covers basic principles such as when a camera phone gets wet or dirty. It even gives information on ways to recycle the phone when it is no longer needed. A comprehensive index follows Chapter 5 to help locate specific information.
Summary
This little 159-page book is packed with information for the camera phone user to help make digital photography easier and more professional. The only drawback is the small print, which makes the book smaller in size and therefore more packable, but together with the light gray type, makes it difficult to read.
About the author
Aimee Baldridge is a freelance writer and photographer who specializes in technology. For six years she was a senior editor at CNET Networks, an online news and magazine website dedicated to photography and technology. She lives in Woodside, New York.
