Cameras

Very few of us, as photographers, don’t use Photoshop to do even the most minor of corrections. Essentially, we’re all Photoshoppers, correcting color, shadow and highlight detail, removing minor skin blemishes and cropping, but these 22 images were all Photoshopped beyond what most wold deem normal corrections. They aren’t wrong for being ’shopped, better or worse, just different and enjoyable.

In the comments, show up off your Photoshop skills!

Photo by Sue ?

Photo by Stephen Poff

Photo by Jasmic

Photo by pfv.

Photo by Ana Santos

Photo by __ankor

Photo by pfv.

Photo by Kat.B.Photography

Photo by jcoterhals

Photo by Cayusa

Photo by {Giorgio Constantine}

Photo by ViaMoi

Photo by Brian Lane Winfield Moore

Photo by BenSeese

Photo by kevindooley

Photo by Rutger de Moddertukker

Photo by Dbl90

Photo by B Tal

Photo by ChernobylBob (back and catching up)

Photo by daliborlev

Photo by Pragmagraphr

Photo by kippbakr

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As any camera phone photographer will tell you, talent beats equipment almost every time in photography. A talented photographer can produce a stunning image with a pinhole camera given enough time, whereas many amateurs struggle to produce even average photographs using top of the line camera gear. These days, there is a growing movement of camera phone photographers who are out to show that talent combined with a camera phone can produce some incredible photos. Given some of the images they come up with, we are certainly not going to argue.

In fact, the stunning examples of camera phone photography that we have seen led us to investigate how camera phones can be used to produce such incredible images. And so, here is out online guide to camera phone photography!

Camera Phone Photography Guide

There are a lot of things you can do to start getting the most out of your camera phone in terms of the best possible photography. Some of the more obvious things you can do include:

• Maximise the camera resolution many recent camera phones come with the option to increase or decrease the resolution of the camera. If you plan to be taking a lot of artistic shots then it’s obvious that you are going to have to jack the resolution up as high as possible for most scenarios.
• Be Aware of Light Many camera phones deal with low light quite poorly. In general, if you can get a well lit subject then you are going to get better results with your camera phone.
• Alter the white balance likewise, the white balance of shots on many camera phones can also be adjusted. Play around with this setting to achieve the effect that you want. You may even need to adjust this depending on the type of shots you are trying to take so get used to using one of the few controls that you have over the image making process on a camera phone.
• Don’t be shy about taking a lot of shots now, you have to realise that you are simply not going to have the options available to you that many people who shoot on SLRs or DSLRs will. One easy way to make up for that is to start taking as many shots as possible. This simply increases the chances of snagging a good one.
• Get Close The majority of camera phones don’t have great zoom lenses. In almost all cases the zoom is digital rather than optical meaning the image chip simply takes a part of the large and makes that part larger that leads to poorer quality. It is much better to get up close to the subject than to use the zoom on a camera phone.

Recommended Online Guides to Camera Phone Photography

These online tutorials and guides are the pick of the bunch in getting you started towards taking respectable cameraphone photos. Now, you shouldn’t expect to be taking shots like Nachtwey out of the gate, but as the Flickr pool of camera phone photographers shows, you can get some exceptional shots if you learn how.

12 Tips for Improving Camera Phone Photos A brief and easy overview of photography issues that will be faced by a camera phone photographer. It covers issues of lighting, composition and technique that are unique to camera phones and is a good first stop for getting to grips with this type of photography.

Beter Photos from Your Camera Phone A pretty good guide along the same lines as the one above. Still, a lot of these tips bear repreating. Staying really still might seem obvious, but how many of us have had disappointing shots from camera phones due to moving or shaking? Well worth the read.

Taking Great Shots with Your Camera Phone An old guide written by Darren Rowse (who now runs Digital Photography School) is a good basic overview of photography when you don’t have much control over your equipment. It’s a little dated, but still has some awesome information.

Photopreneur’s Guide to Good Mobile Phone Photography A good little guide from a great site. Includes tips on lighting, composition and post production ideas. Again, it was written a while back, but these types of tips remain important for anyone hoping to get the best out of their camera phones.

Take Great Camera Phone Pictures Timeout tackles the issue of camera phone photography by asking professional photographer, Robert Clark about his best tips. By now, you will see a lot of the same themes repeating themselves (get closer, shoot lots, steady the camera) which should tell you that these are key in shooting decent shots with this type of device.

Camera Phone Portrait Photography Our very own guide on the specific problems and challenges associated with taking great portraits while you are using a camera phone.

Closing Thoughts

If you are determined to show what great images can be taken with a camera phone, then you have set yourself quote a challenge, but certainly an achievable one. One key that is repeated in all of these guides is that planning is paramount. If you can control and plan for as much of the photography process as possible, then you offset many of the drawbacks in shooting with less adaptable equipment such as a camera phone. But as many camera phone photographers have shown, the results can be well worth the effort.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed so you don’t miss our upcoming series on camera phone photography where we will cover tips on portraiture, black and white, nature photography and macro photography all from the perspective of a camera phone photographer.

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If you’ve always hungered for a DSLR and more importantly, a Nikon DSLR, but never had ‘the ready’ to fill your ambition The could be your opportunity.

It’s hard to quantify the allure of the breed but undeniable is the bloodline, the technical excellence and innovative achievements of Nikon cameras and lenses. Priced just above point-and-shoot fixed lens digicams and well beneath the semi pro and full pro model DSLRs, the D3000 is an excellent pathway to the higher quality such a camera can deliver.

Nikon D3000 DSLR Features

In the hand, the camera is delightfully compact, light and to the novice’s eye ‘unsplattered’ by intimidating external controls. You view via an optical turret viewfinder or the rear 7.6cm LCD screen.

The review camera was supplied with the f3.5/18-55mm VR lens that handles hand-induced vibration. With this lens attached the gear weighs just under a kilo no penalty in my book.

Of course, there are a few issues when you deal with a Nikon DSLR: image stability is provided by the lens’ internal optics, and some of the attractively-priced kit lenses usually offered with the D3000 do not provide this.

With 10.2 million pixels on its CCD the camera can shoot a maximum 3872 2592 pixel image; when printed this accounts for a 33 22cm output at 300 dpi.

The mode dial has settings for auto, Program AE, aperture and shutter priority as well as manual exposure plus a number of scene modes (landscape, sports, portraits etc).

The built in flash can be useful especially as a ‘fill’ for portraits; the more adventurous can also experiment with light trails thanks to the flash’s ability to sync with the rear shutter curtain.

And note: DSLRs at this level have a macro mode, not available on the upper level reflex cameras. So, if you’re into ECUs (extra close-ups) of bugs and beetles, a camera like the D3000 is ideal.

Fire up the camera and the first thing you see is the LCD display confirming that the CCD is being cleaned pre-shoot; post-shoot, cut the power and the camera cleans the sensor again. With an interchangeable lens camera, this function is important, eradicating dust that may enter when you switch lenses.

Right from the start the beginner can feel at home, thanks to the Guide, selectable from the mode dial and shown on the LCD display. This will hold your hand through the various shooting modes and even help you move through some of the more advanced techniques. As well as this, settings made with Guide mode can even be tweaked before making the shot.

There is a Scene Recognition System that optimises exposure, white balance and autofocus; continuous shooting can be made at up to 3 fps and an 11-point selectable autofocus scheme tracks focus in any of four modes (static or moving subjects, auto area and 3D tracking).

The D3000’s photo editing functions give you in-camera retouching, and here again is a Tilt-Shift mode that I first encountered in the Ricoh CX2 it creates a miniature mode effect from normal shots. Cute.

The ISO range runs from 100 to 3200.

Optimum ISO at 100.

Still very clean at ISO 400.

Minimal noise at ISO 800.

Noise becoming evident at ISO 1600 but still useable.

Hitting its straps at ISO 3200 this is only when you really have to!

A movie house foyer, shot at ISO 3200 with the right subject, quite a useable setting. Detail in the picture covers the noise.

Photography at this level lets you into the exalted arena of RAW capture, where you can manipulate your shots to a degree not achievable with JPEG shooting. However, the D3000 will still shoot JPEGs, if you sometimes need only snapshot quality.

Digging around the manual I found a terrific mode that can shoot stop motion clips from a series of stills. You can make short video sequences from puppets or even hand-drawn animation that will run successfully on an SD TV set at 640 480 pixel res or you can even smaller create clips for use on the Web. Magic!

Comment

A great piece of kit. Beginners star here!

Why you would buy the D3000: attractive price for a DSLR; entree to Nikon system and lenses; RAW capture.

Why you wouldn’t: no Live View; no video capture (but you can make a stop motion movie from still shots!); low resolution LCD.

I figure the D3000 is a perfect entry-level camera, with some modes (like stop motion movies) that will give you a lot of fun, without the need for a lot of techy knowledge. Good one Nikon!

Nikon D3000 Specifications

Image Sensor: 10.2 million effective pixels.
Metering: Matrix and centre-weighted metering, spot.
Effective Sensor Size: 23.6 15.8mm CCD.
35 SLR Lens Factor: 1:5x.
Compatible lenses: Nikkor AF-S and AF-I.
Exposure Modes: Auto, Program AE, shutter and aperture priority, manual.
Shutter Speed: 30 to 1/4000 second, Bulb. Flash sync: 1/200.
Memory: SD/SDHC cards.
Image Sizes (pixels): 3872 2592, 2896 1944, 1936 1296.
Viewfinders: Optical pentamirror, 7.6cm LCD (230,000 pixels).
File Formats: RAW, RAW+JPEG.
Colour Space: Adobe RGB, sRGB.
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 100 to 3200.
Interface: USB 2.0, AV, DC input.
Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, AC adaptor.
Dimensions: 126 97×64 WHDmm.
Weight: Approx. 485 g (body only).
Price: At Amazon the Nikon D3000 is or .

Body only: $799. With Nikkor f3.5/18-55mm VR lens: $949.

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