10 Cameraphone Photographs that Rock
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 : Marco Welt // Kamera : Sony Ericsson K610i
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
54 Responses to “10 Cameraphone Photographs that Rock”
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&
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