Blog by @natevegas.
As a professional photographer for a decade, I have stacks, boxes and bags of photo equipment lining the shelves of my home studio. But if you ask any pro who’s left their memory cards at the computer in the media reader, they will tell you this: all that gear – even the latest & greatest gadget – is worthless if they’re not there when you need it.
I say this a lot: The best camera is the one that’s with you, and that’s usually the camera inside your smartphone. But what situations call for the iPhone and which are best suited for a traditional camera? And where does the smartphone camera fall short? That’s why I created this short list of do’s and don’t’s for using your smartphone camera.
6 great situations for smartphone photography:
- Kids & Pets
- Arena events such as concerts
- Food (you know you’ve done it)
- Hiking & Snowsports (Safety first, folks. No chairlift accidents, please)
- Social events such as birthdays
- Common subjects that could benefit from a creative touch (Hello, Instagram!)
6 situations to leave the camera phone in your pocket and use a camera instead:
- Low-light situations like sunsets
- When you want large prints over 8 or 10 inches
- Publication photos
- High-speed action
- Restricted areas where you need to zoom for safety (think: Formula One racing)
- Commercial situations that require editing (architectural or profile headshots)
Want more tips? Watch this Royal Short with tech cowboy TJ Hucka that you might find helpful for your next photo op.
Want even more tips? I want to share two of my favorite recent articles by photographer & educator Richard Koci Hernandez (@Koci). He’s on CNN.com asking Photographers to embrace Instagram, and he offers some fantastic tips to being a better smartphone photographer.
Do you have any other tips to add? Let us know. Also, let me see your shots! I’m @natevegas on Twitter and Instagram.
