Can You Really Take Wonderful Photos With Your Phone?

The interviewer asked him how he got started in photography. His reply encouraged me greatly because it’s how I frequently encourage people that they can improve their photography. McCurry explained that he’d owned a camera for a few years, but had never bothered to learn how to use it.

Once he started to learn he took up the 365-day photography challenge. To take at least one photo a day for a year. Doing this you will inevitably see a huge growth in your skill and creativity.

With frequent study and camera use, you will master the controls and settings. Each time you pick up your camera you will learn new things and reinforce your newly acquired knowledge. This frequent exercise is essential to your development as a photographer.

Using your camera only occasionally can be frustrating. With infrequent use, you will have to step backward and figure out what dials and buttons to use before you can progress. The longer the gap between times you use your camera, the more you are likely to forget what you have already learned.

Making a habit of using your camera every day, even if for only ten minutes or so, you will build your capacity. Choosing the best settings for the photos you want to take will become intuitive. Your mind will be freer to concentrate on the creative aspects more than the technicalities of photography. Picture taking with a phone is easier because most of the function is automatic. Using your camera frequently you will become proficient in making far more creative images than you can with your phone.

My 365 Days of Photography Course takes you though the essentials of learning photography in a practical series of lessons and challenges. Certainly as you work through this course your photography will improve.

McCurry ended the interview saying he’s practiced daily camera use for the past forty or more years. It certainly shows in his pictures.

What Your Phone’s Capable of That Your Camera Is Not

Phone cameras will always have limitations when compared with real cameras. Even reasonable quality compact cameras take higher quality pictures than cameras in smartphones.

As technology in phones continues to advance, we are seeing the cameras in them improve. I think one advantage phones currently have in this aspect is their innate ability for computational image making.

Operating systems in phones are designed to pick up the slack of their physical limitations. Portrait mode enabling a look-a-like shallow depth of field is one such thing. The effect is caused by the phone’s software manipulating the image(s) the camera makes after you make an exposure.

Size is the major factor. To keep phones to a reasonable size sensors and lenses must be very much smaller than they are on mirrorless or DSLR cameras.

Even so, one phone company has been recently exposed using a photo made with DSLR to promote its camera. The photographer who made the photo with her DSLR recognized her picture used in a phone company advertisement.

What You Can With a Camera That You Can’t Do With Your Phone

• Record high-resolution images worth enlarging as prints
• Zoom (and retain full quality.)
• Quality shallow DOF
• Continuous Mode
• Quality Light from Flash
• Off Camera Flash
• Full Manual Exposure Control
• Better Macro capability
• Superior Video

Social Media and Photography

Publication of photographs happens most commonly on social media these days. Most images posted are made with phone cameras. Because it’s convenient.

Standing out from the crowd is onerous. We all like it when our photos receive more love than a quick thumbs up or like. With the massive oversaturation of mediocre images, getting attention for your photos is less and less likely.

Breaking the habit of issuing forth selfies in cool locations or pretty sunsets made with your phone will lead to more recognition.  Do you want your friends to stop and take real notice of the photos you post? Once you start to post photos from a DSLR or mirrorless camera they will. Especially if they are well exposed, composed and of an interesting variety of subjects.

I’m far more likely to post an encouraging comment and share a photo that’s been creatively produced and posted. Snapshots from phones, (or any camera,) are easy to ignore and scroll past.

Building a habit of taking more interesting and technically adept photos will transform your social media presence. It will also endear a greater sense of your creative voice, not only to your friends but to yourself as well.

Find Your Balance

Pros and cons exist for any kind of camera. It’s not my intention to tell you one is better than another. I want to encourage you to make the most of the tools you have. In some instances, your phone will be more practical to use and create impressive images. Other times your DSLR or mirrorless camera will be more appropriate and produce better results.

Learn to use them both at the right times. Pulling out a large camera to make a portrait of a stranger can be intimidating. Using your phone will probably result in the person having a more relaxed expression.

But, when your subjects are willing and relaxed, using a DSLR or mirrorless is a better option. I would hate to have taken this photo of the two long-neck Kayan women, (and many others,) on my phone. Had it been made with my phone camera the ways I could use it would be limited. The amount of post processing I could do would also be severely limited.

Your Photography Challenge

Use the camera you have with you. It’s the best one. But make sure to carry your real camera with you more often. It will produce more pleasing results with greater ease the more you use it.