camera phone

I love my iPhone, but sometimes I wonder if I should blame my phone or my photography skills for the blurry pics that sometimes end up in my photo library. Cell phone picture quality can depend on a variety of factors including the number of megapixels and flash capabilities. If you happen to have a decent camera phone, here are some tips to help you take great pics.

• Keep your camera still — The more still your subject, the clearer your image will be. This is especially true in low-light environments where shutter speed is much longer.
• Make sure your subject is well-lit — If your camera doesn't have a built-in flash, try to take a pic in an environment with decent lighting. If you are indoors, simply turn on some lights!
• Get close — Because camera phones usually have low resolution, it's best to take images as close as you can, but be sure to stay within proper focus range.
• Keep your camera lens clean — We all know how dirty cell phones can get. Just wiping off your lens with the proper cleaner and a soft cloth can make a world of difference.

May is National Photography Month, and in honor of the occasion I'm serving up a different photography tip, trick, hack, or app every weekday in May, so please share your successful shots! Our Cool Capture group is not only a place to post your favorite pics, but you could also win a CanvasPop Print in our Cool Capture contest. Snap on!

It comes as no surprise that I like books. There's just something about having a shelf full of good reads to comb through when I need it. And although I like having the option of reading a book on my iPhone, I prefer the real deal. So when I'm perusing the bookstore and see an interesting cover I like, but know nothing about the content, I can check out reviews and details about the book with just a click of my camera phone.

Called Snaptell, this little (free!) app comes in handy in these situations. To find out how it works, just read more

If you are the business type, you've probably been in this situation before: You're in a brainstorming meeting, and your boss is scribbling all over the whiteboard. After everyone's tossed out their ideas, you have a ton of info on said whiteboard to transfer into your notebook. It's not only a boring task, but you're liable to forget something, or worse, run out of room. I know how you feel; I've been there too.

Thankfully for us, there's ScanR, which allows you to use your digital camera or camera phone to snap a picture of your brainstorm masterpiece, then send it on to ScanR to digitize and store online. You can then print, email, or fax your docs to anywhere in the world. Plus, you can even scan documents and business cards. At $3 bucks a month for unlimited scanning, it's a small price to pay to save yourself from aching hands — copying all those whiteboard scribbles can be tiring.

As a photography nut, I'd never give up my camera for the one on my phone, but that doesn't mean that I don't constantly snap candids with my iPhone. Of course, it could be a better camera, but I wouldn't have dreamed it was so easy to improve it and protect it at the same time!

Griffin's Clarifi Case ($35) does much more than keep your phone safe from scratches; its built-in close-up lens covers the iPhone's lens, while enhancing the details and colors in your pictures.

Check out Griffin's side-by-side examples of photos taken with just the iPhone, and then one taken with the case. Pretty big difference, I'd say.


It's great for apps that read your pictures, scanning documents to email, and even just for taking the odd photo — who doesn't want a better camera phone?