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Taking the perfect phone pic (with or without a wig)

Sometimes you just wish you had a camera ... you just wish you could capture that remarkable moment and share it with the world. You can. Don't have a camera? You can. 'Cause, chances are, your mobile phone has a camera.

No, you don't need the latest smartphone or high-end cellular for great mobile-phone pics. You just need to follow a few simple principles to get that shot that everyone will be talking about tomorrow.

First rule, LIGHT. Really, you need to get your subject in the light. Natural sunlight is best, but artificial light may be all you have. The flash on your phone has very limited power and range, so it should never be your first choice when it comes to lighting.

digital zoom

Get in close. Make sure your subject fills up the screen and isn't just a little dot in the distance. Physically move in closer, 'cause the digital zoom just doesn't cut it. The detail that is going to make your picture truly stand out will be lost if there is too much background in the shot. When you look back at the picture later, you'll be glad you made the effort to move in for the photo.

Be steady. Blurry shots look terrible, and the only way to avoid them is to hold the camera still before, during and after you take the picture. I know this can be hard, considering the shutter speed on a cellphone camera is upwards of two seconds. But just got to hold it.

And double up. Hey, it ain't film, you are not wasting anything by taking extra shots ... just to be sure.

All right, let's go back a bit. Even before you take your first picture, there are some things you need to do to make sure that you are paparazzo ready. Most important is space and power. Can you imagine how disappointed you would be ... you position yourself and your subject, you point the phone and - the battery is dead or there is no space! Curses! Worse, the shot is ruined 'cause the lens is dirty. Curses squared! Worst of all, you try to take the picture and the flash doesn't go off because you don't know of the change the settings. Agh!

Master your camera/phone by knowing all the settings, flash, resolution, size and effects all have a profound impact on the final product. Then, make sure you are camera ready at all times by keeping your phone well powered, clean and full of room for gigabytes of images.

With these principles, you never need to miss that perfect shot of your kid eating ice cream, your co-worker dancing like an idiot or car/outfit your friends will envy. Happy shooting!

Contact:

techiteasy@carlettedeleon.com

First rule, LIGHT. Really, you need to get your subject in the light. Natural sunlight is best, but artificial light may be all you have. The flash on your phone has very limited power and range, so it should never be your first choice when it comes to lighting.