10 Cameraphone Photographs that Rock
Photographer : Marco Welt // Kamera : Sony Ericsson K610i
This guest post was submitted by Martin Gommel (Flickr) from the blog KWERFELDEIN
“Photographing with the phone? No chance!”
Those of us who have had the enjoyment of a DSLR with 8 or 10 megapixels have a hard time seriously thinking of shooting with a cameraphone. Many disturbing factors get in the way of doing it: Noise, low dynamic range, poor white balance, low megapixels, no zoom and so on.
But today I hope to change our perspective, just a little bit. I searched on flickr to find if there would be a few decent pictures that where photographed with a mobile phone. My expectations were not exceeded, BUT here and there I found some photographs which were quite good and perhaps even close to the quality of a DSRL. Let’s take a look !
PS: check out our 12 tips for taking great Cameraphone Photos
Photographer : Barbora // Kamera : Sony Ericsson K510i
Photographer: Jennie Anderson // Kamera : Sony Ericsson D750i
Photographer: // raygun // Kamera : Apple iPhone
Photographer : Marco Welt // Kamera : Sony Ericsson K610i
Photographer : dariohead83 // Kamera : Nokia N73
Photographer : maz hewitt // Kamera : Nokia 6680
Photographer : Shaian // Kamera : Nokia E50
Photographer : MrSco // Kamera : Nokia E61i
Photographer : h.andras_xms // Kamera : Apple iPhone
84 Responses to “10 Cameraphone Photographs that Rock” - Add Yours
April 18th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Great photos, and making a very important point. I tried to make the same point in January with my photo project It Ain’t What You Got, which challenged photographers to take great photos with crappy cameras. It was a fun and illuminating experience. The skill of the photographer is a far more powerful tool than the camera used.
Thanks for a great post!
April 18th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Very nice photos. Love the bicycle photo! In case anyone is interested, I’ve got a few that I took with my Sony Ericsson W800i up on Flickr. I’ve dubbed cameraphone pictures as “phonetegraphs”.
http://flickr.com/photos/rounin/sets/72057594124323225/
April 18th, 2008 at 12:41 am
some of my shot taken with k800i
April 18th, 2008 at 12:50 am
The first one rocks! Thanks for this great article and the proof that the photographer takes the picture, not the camera
but currently there’s too much noise and chromtic aberration to use these pictures in professional terms.
April 18th, 2008 at 12:54 am
I have a Sony w810i that I use , what I like about it, is that the colours aren’t amazing and it allows me to be creative sometimes
April 18th, 2008 at 12:55 am
ah here’s an example of what I meant (i’m a am allowed to post a link)
http://www.ianthology.com/2007/09/16/apple-season-is-here/
April 18th, 2008 at 12:56 am
This is in fact great. Right now I am using a Kodak Z740 camera and looking longingly at a Canon XTi but seeing what a lowly cameraphone can do of course makes me realize that it is the guy behind the camera that is the problem not the CCD and lens
April 18th, 2008 at 1:29 am
“Ever Camera has its advantages and disadvantages. Its up to the Photographer to exploit the advantages and work around the disadvantages.” -Robert Clark
April 18th, 2008 at 1:32 am
Agreed! These are some superb photographs.
April 18th, 2008 at 1:46 am
amazing photos! just proves that it doesn’t matter what type of camera you have, it’s the person behind the camera that matters.
April 18th, 2008 at 1:47 am
ian — i love the photo you took of the tree.
April 18th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Not having a zoom isn’t a drawback.
April 18th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Great pics!
I took this one with an iPhone:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramon_burgos_ruiz/2400303772/
April 18th, 2008 at 2:12 am
Thats pretty coool, now idont ahve a high tech phone so my shots look really bad i dont even have MP on my camera phone but i seen some pretty good shots with some camera phones out there and its a great idea to have one for those moments when you dont have any other sort of camera around!!
April 18th, 2008 at 2:56 am
Nokia rocks. Haha. =p In terms of camera phones, that is.
April 18th, 2008 at 3:01 am
What about this pic? took it with my Nokia N93:
April 18th, 2008 at 3:48 am
And remember that that despite the shutter lag that appears to be common on camera phones, you do not need to limit yourself to static images (have a look at this for an example).
April 18th, 2008 at 4:18 am
I got a new BlackBerry last month when my 95 year-old great-aunt was ill. My kids hadn’t been able to visit her in the ICU, but when she was moved into a hospice facility we took them to visit. As they talked to her, I was struck by the image of their held hands. I didn’t have my camera with me, but my son mentioned that the one on my new phone was pretty good. I captured an image of my 4- and 11-year old daughters holding my aunt’s hand; she passed away about 5 hours later. I posted the photo here: http://myhomesweethomeonline.net/?p=868
April 18th, 2008 at 6:05 am
Wonderful images. Just goes to show, it’s not the camera but the person who’s behind the camera who determines the outcome of the photo.
April 18th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Well..so now it’s in d open
..camera phones do offer u a handy tool for some great photography. Ever since the advent of these kinda devices..it’s been happy shooting for me and my friends..having them around when you want to take a quick snap has proved it’s worth..what with all those wonderful pics of our numerous outings and impromptu street photography 
The camera phones have helped us overcome the financial constrains of purchasing a good DSLR(but then again nothing compares to a good pic frm DSLR’s).To conclude all i can say is that..not having a decent point n shoot cam/DSLR sholud be no barrier to the creative skills of any person.Cheers!!! -r.p.t
April 18th, 2008 at 11:02 am
These are some fabulous cell phone pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/archangel_raphael/sets/1322389/
April 18th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I never thought that I would care about having a camera phone, but I have recently upgraded to a razor V3. I love the quality of its pictures, especially when taken in the right light.
April 18th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
If anyone still thinks camera phones are irrelevant ask any kid how many photos they have stored on their phone. It’s really introducing probably millions more to photography worldwide.
April 18th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I’m happy to see a whole bunch of K610i’s up there.
I use that phone and given the right light, it takes quite good pictures. 
Of course, I would prefer my 350D but since I can’t carry that around with me all the time, the phone works well enough for quick pictures.
April 18th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
amazing photos, i would never guess they are taken with a cameraphone
i made this one last year with a nokia 6233
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arkiss/1114672776
April 18th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Love those photos! I love my camera on my Sony Ericsson K800i. I even set up a group on Flickr for people with the same phone to join and share their photos. http://www.flickr.com/groups/k800icompetition/
There’s some nice photos in there. Ok, they come out a bit grainy every now and then but think sometimes that’s add character to the photo.
April 18th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Good article!
In fact, even in difficult light conditions you can give the phone a try, like here with sunset reflections in Rotterdam:
http://aarslog.persijn.net/alog_p/uploads/2007/_dsc00618_960.jpg
April 18th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Hi,
I’ve also have same phone photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiagoflip/sets/72157604585909818/
I’m very please with two of them:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiagoflip/2420457655/in/set-72157604585909818/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiagoflip/2420461441/in/set-72157604585909818/
Hope you enjoy it!
April 18th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
here’s an entire set that i have with my LG KG-200 1.3 MP camera.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/between-ellipsis/collections/72157604578705118/
April 18th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Suprised the K850i didn’t get a look in…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/visper/2038062016/
or, more recently, my blackberry..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/visper/2418227589/
I shoot with what ever is on my… My phone is always on me… that said, so’s my camera.. or, my mac, it has a camera… it’s all about capturing that moment.
April 19th, 2008 at 1:45 am
my little group taken with my n95
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheds/tags/beeroftheweek/
not great but internal with lots of harsh lights around
but so handy as the phone just sends them directly to flickr via the free wifi hotspot in the pub…
April 19th, 2008 at 2:23 am
Here is a pic I took about a year ago after a late Spring hail shower on what had been a shirt sleeve day. The only camera we had as we passed this church was in the cell phone. A cool haze seemed to emanate from the church.
I’m still very, very new to digital photography so any comments are welcome.
April 19th, 2008 at 2:31 am
That first shot (of the train passengers) is so striking. Like a dream. A Magritte painting. Kudos!
April 19th, 2008 at 6:44 am
These are stunning photos! I have always dissed photos from camphones, but I stand corrected. Can’t help but think, that perhaps these cameras are the digital equivalents of Lomos or something.
April 19th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I like the effect of the red face popping out… quite creepy
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:22 am
The one on the trolley is my favorite. Composition is very interesting.
April 22nd, 2008 at 5:43 am
I found that forcing myself to shoot with the camera phone makes me think harder about composition and technique. The camera phone is a finicky creature, but if given a bit of respect, it can produce great shots like those above.
If anyone is interested, I’ve made an entire site around my camera phone photography – mygpscameraphone.com.
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:10 am
Awesome photos
))
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Incredible, and very satisfying at the same time.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:47 pm
That’s a clear evidence that what really matters while taking a photo is your “eye” – how do you see and feel things and views… Surely a good camera is something very important but it will only help you and will not shoot a great picture instead yourlsef
April 25th, 2008 at 12:45 am
I agree, you’ve made a very powerful point. This is the first time I’ve been “exposed” to cameraphone art!
__thanks
April 26th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Hi!
I’m a graphic designer, from Spain. Lately i have trying to make some panoramic series with my mobile, Sony Eriksson K610i. They’re all done with the mobile, no external software to joint them. Just photoshop to adjust the contrast. Here are the results:
Madrid (panoramic)
http://www.unpezvivo.com/proyectos/madpan/
Amsterdam (panoramic)
http://www.unpezvivo.com/proyectos/amspan/
Feed back to jesus@unpezvivo.com will be welcome…
April 26th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Wonderful!!
April 26th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Camera phones/point and shoots are cutting into the business for my studio. I’ll put that up front.
Yes, you can produce amazing images with a camera phone. You can produce amazing images with a point and shoot. You can produce amazing images with a high end DSLR on green mode. I’ll put Holga photos in another category, because (for some reason) people find black and white images with grain and vignetting instantly artistic. Even if it’s a picture of a cat.
Understanding ISO/aperture/shutter speed will improve your photography. It will reduce the luck, and force you to actually understand how to create a shot (rather than just how to frame it). At work we deal with a string of applicants who grew up with digital, and have no clue about balancing a camera on manual with a non-TTL flash, because they had a camera that did everything.
Real men (and women) shoot manual, with a light meter.
April 27th, 2008 at 3:10 am
All I can say is WOW!
April 28th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
the camera phone photos are superb – all of them are stunning and quite unique .I say also in that they are proof as others have said that a photographer takes a great photo not just a camera
April 30th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
these are some of the best camera phone pictures i’ve ever seen. They are certainly far better than what I have seen come from a lot of higher end digital slr.
May 4th, 2008 at 4:09 am
I’m impressed!
I especially like the scooter picture.
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:43 am
which camera phone works best (most megapixs) for Sprint and/or TMobile?
July 18th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Those photos were took with the megapixels camera phones.
How about the cell phone with VGA resolution camera?
Any tips?
July 19th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Really nice shots!
I’ve been experimenting on my Nokia N91 8GB lately. I’m always surprised with my results after.
Here are some of my camphone shots: http://anmlstcbhvr.multiply.com/photos
Every kind of camphone is interesting. There are some VGA camphones that shoots interesting shots too! The VGA’s are the LOMOGRAPHY in the category of camphone photography.
October 10th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
I think that the capabilities of modern camera phone’s is amazing – my Nokia N95 has a 5 megapixel camera, the same as my standalone camers!
For that reason, I started a new blog, n95photography.blogspot.com, to show that you can take decent pictures with a cameraphone. It’s just in it’s early stages at the minute, but I’m pleased with it so far…
March 9th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Some very impressive examples here. I am a big fan of cameraphones myself. I use a mere 2megapixel 3skypephone (model no AMOI WP-S1) but have had some great results with it. Once you get used to the much more limited dynamic range of a cameraphone you quickly get an ‘instinct’ of how to best leverage the available light (changing position with respect to the light source etc) in order to get good saturation and minimal ‘blow outs’. Where they really come into their own is for opportunity shots where more sophisticated cameras would take perhaps too long to set up or because of their size etc you may not even have another camera with you anyway!
I also have a holga (35mm format) which is also good for quick candid shots but a cameraphone has the advantage of showing you what result you are going to get right away on it’s display screen.
It is good that the limits of these cameras are now being more openly explored and appreciated and when I see shots like those you posted above I am inspired to experiment even more.
June 14th, 2009 at 1:45 am
Cool. I have a few photos of my own taken with my mobile on Flickr. Check ‘em out:
http://www.flickr.com/photo.gne?id=3621660053&
http://www.flickr.com/photo.gne?id=3621630939&
August 26th, 2009 at 12:35 am
great shots. I really enjoy phoneotography
August 26th, 2009 at 2:04 am
I love my iPhone for the moments when I feel creative and want to take a picture but don’t (or can’t) use my dslr. I took this picture on my way to work a few weeks ago. I put my sunglasses over the camera lens of the phone and took the picture which produced a really cool effect with the sun!
http://www.kellykruschel.com/sun.jpg
August 26th, 2009 at 8:45 am
I like this picture, i took using a nokia N95, it’s from a rock festival in Mexico called “Vive Latino”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/renelc/3674419168/
August 28th, 2009 at 6:34 am
People have always have their camera with them now… Some truly amazing photos are captured on camera phones. Turn your camera phone photos> into physical canvas prints.
October 16th, 2009 at 2:58 am
The last one seems edited. Others are good too but the Apple ones looks like 2 megs.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Great photos only limited by photographers imagination and not any other things. Good job!
January 11th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Please check on http://www.mobipictures.blogspot.com pictures taken ONLY with mobile phones camera. Could be useful to compare different phones but also you can find real art there. Is this art ? However, pictures on recommended site are really amazing !
January 12th, 2010 at 1:32 am
@Marius. I had a chance to take a look at the photos posted on your site. Great Collection!
January 28th, 2010 at 2:12 am
While warming my hands one chilly morning, I took this with my iPhone. Mabal’s watching over the Canon 30d on the tripod while we both take in the sunrise. Believe it or not his was the best photo of the shoot that morning. Turns out the sensor on the 30d needed cleaning, so all the pics had dust in them. There are advantages to a cameraphone.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
great shot.
im a fan of notDSLR picture too.. you can check my phone camera picture here..
http://pergh.com/forum/index.php/topic,14277.msg357747.html#msg357747
February 17th, 2010 at 4:53 am
Great post!! My fav pic is the heart!! I take photos with the iPhone, so I’m glad pole are becoming more aware of this!! On my website, all the photos (‘cept the very first 3) were taken and edited with the iPhone!! It’s so much fun!!
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:32 am
Interesting stuff….just goes to show that equipment cant necessarily buy you a better quality photograph. I saw a guy on http://www.lostateminor.com called Jeremy Edwards. He also uses an iphone camera and apps to create his photography and some of it is pretty good stuff…..at least in my opinion anyway. Its pretty vintage looking. http://jeremyedwards.tumblr.com/
April 15th, 2010 at 11:39 pm
I would very much like to start a pool on flickr with photographs taken from camera phones. I cannot even afford a point and shoot at this time, but I won’t allow that to kill my photographer spirit, I have a great eye for unusual patterns found in nature, and will sometimes leave them as is, or if need be, go way out with editing programs just to make them interesting to look at. It’s been called cheating, I call it working with what you have and expressing your creative side regardless of your “tool”. I have shots that people rave over, and that I am proud of. I would love feedback/interest in having such a collection. Thank you. I would post one, but I have not uploaded them to Flickr yet, my free space is running out.
May 22nd, 2010 at 11:30 am
I took this one with my Samsung U700 a few years ago, I still love it.
May 22nd, 2010 at 11:49 am
These are all great, but I Love the first one. It is a great picture. It could be sold as art. It reminds me of that painting of the cafe with Elvis and Marilyn Monroe in it.
September 23rd, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Lovely pics… YEEYEE…I got moral boost here..:) I click mostly with my Phone camera. I love clicking around my environment. Its fun having a phone camera around evrytime. Mine is C510 Sony ericsson. Take a look at my clicks [http://sneharathod.megashot.net/photostream]
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Wow! There photos are simply awesome. I have to agree that the quality of the photo depends more on the photographer than the equipment at hand.
November 5th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Amazing pics.. most of pics on my blog are taken using an iphone.. lately started posting some DSLR ones…
May 27th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Exquisite flower on a rainy day in southern California — shot with my T-Mobile Galaxy S cell phone.
June 30th, 2011 at 4:15 am
Winter’s late departure (taken with an 1MP LG VX8300)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whalemap/2353931770/in/set-72157623934286641
Each line adds strength (taken with an 1MP LG VX8300)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whalemap/497931382/in/set-72157623934286641/
A strange cottage in the middle of a glade (taken with an 1MP LG VX8300)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whalemap/429208562/in/set-72157623934286641/
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:50 am
Nice shots. I have some pics in my flickr site taken with BlackBerry.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oviarenas/5652000386/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oviarenas/5649601321/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oviarenas/5649600717/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oviarenas/5615918485/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oviarenas/5650165368/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oviarenas/5647502993/in/photostream
September 29th, 2011 at 4:30 am
Always happy to find these camera phone ‘exhibits’. I have both a DSLR and interchangeable lens camera, but I have a fondness of camera phones like an experienced NASCAR driver loves a go-kart. The technology, lenses, processors, etc are improving almost daily. It’ll never match up in DLSR quality, but it’s amazing what you CAN capture. And let’s be honest, I don’t care how diehard the photographer, you just aren’t going to have that cumbersome thing with you ALL the time. Some of my best candid shots are certainly from a phone. Thanks for finding the photos
October 5th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
Try mine.
http://yonjiru.tumblr.com
November 17th, 2011 at 8:59 am
These images are really good, i always have my mobile phone on me as a spare camera, i also have a dslr, but know and again, my phone comes out, and i’ve got some amazing images from it. Allthough it does have 12megapixels on it, it takes some cracking photos. So i do think that sometimes, and image done by a mobile phone, can be better than one done by dslr.
December 30th, 2011 at 7:57 am
It is the skill in the composition, and seeing the shot, that makes a great photo regardless of what camera you have in your hand.
January 7th, 2012 at 12:44 am
wow this is indeed interesting
i have taken pictures from my mobile
showcased in a blog
http://raghavendra-mobilephotography.blogspot.com/
January 10th, 2012 at 3:32 pm
I started a group for quality cell phone pics on flickr (I have so much love for cellhpones
) http://www.flickr.com/groups/1659623@N23/
I can’t believe that I don’t think anyone has said they use LG phones! My fave phone to take pics with was my LG DARE. my first phone that cost more than $100. and well worth it! Other than not being able to blow the pics up bigger than a 4×6 as the quality isnt there the pics still come out AMAZING.
so if any one is on flickr join my group and add your cell phone pics! lets show the love!
February 24th, 2012 at 11:37 pm
please, Visit my Photography Camera Phone
http://www.flickr.com/people/markenpay/
thank you
May 21st, 2012 at 2:42 am
wow, photos are breathtaking!
recently i took a picture of lily flower from mobile
http://raghavendra-mobilephotography.blogspot.com/2012/04/beautiful-lily-flower-in-pond.html
November 30th, 2012 at 10:15 am
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gripingsailor/8231269078/in/photostream
Shot with a Samsung Charge and edited with Lightroom 4
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