There is an old saying in photography: the best camera is the one you have with you. I believe it’s only partly true and I think ‘always have the best camera you have with you’ is a much better refrain. But for most it’s not always possible and the camera phone is a good enough substitute. Despite leaps and bounds in hardware and software it still isn’t built to do the job as well as a full frame camera and never will. But not only can it do an adequate job some of the time there are actually times and circumstances where it is a better choice than your real camera.
No Space
Occasionally you are going to want to take a photo of your loved ones from a cool angle or a tight space. But you either cannot get your real camera into that space, or if you could you can’t see what you are shooting and it becomes a hit and miss scenario. Or you need a lens so wide that everything is distorted and unnatural. The phone is so slim it is tailor made to fit tight spaces. And if you can’t see the screen reversing the phone into selfie mode (but excluding yourself for the frame) will work a treat.
My daughters have a bunk bed so there isn’t a lot of space above them to take this shot, so a real camera wasn’t an option.
No Cameras!
There are many places from official buildings to shopping malls that will not let you take photos with your camera but the phone is so ubiquitous that they won’t even blink. Many institutions may even approve as they believe it will end up on social media and is good free advertising for them. Even playgrounds in some cultures are suspicious of photographers but again would think nothing of you using your phone. And I’d rather come away with a snapshots of my kids than nothing at all.
In some establishments they won’t let you take photos with a real camera but are fine with you using your phone or ‘non professional’ camera.
They wouldn’t let me take my camera out at the Apple Store in Shanghai but made no fuss when I shot the staircase with my iPhone… obviously.
I wouldn’t dare take my real camera out in a toilet but I couldn’t resist a shot of this seemingly unnecessary sign. I mean seriously, even if you had never seen a urinal before how could you even…
Street Photography
I used to shoot a lot of street photography. It’s a wonderful genre of photography to explore human nature and let life supply you with inspiration and source material. However it has become fraught with complications and misunderstandings and politically charged situations that can make people suspicious or unfriendly towards the street photographer. But again people don’t pay any attention to just another person with their phone in their hands. And being invisible is a great advantage for street photographers. It helps capture natural shots of everyday life and real people or just quirky little details.
I loved the patterns this woman’s shoe created on the escalator and had to grab a this.
Sometimes I’m uncomfortable taking photos of people in the street when I don’t know the local culture or exactly what I am taking a photo of. I feel the phone is far more unobtrusive than a full size camera and therefore more respectful.
Speed
I use my iPhone (and occasionally my Huawei phone) often even when I have my real camera with me. “Hey! Didn’t you just say always use the best camera you have with you?” Yes, but the camera phone has one huge advantage over even the fastest DSLR. Speed. The phone camera, for better or worse, basically has only one setting and it’s always set up and ready to go in an instant. There have been many circumstances where I know I would miss a better shot with my camera if I tried to take it out, take off the lens cap, switch it on, change the settings and click... yes, you just missed that shot. Your camera app is up and running in a second and ‘fake click sound effect’ you got it. I frequently do this with video more than still photography but it’s great for both.
Despite the ubiquity of the airplane window shot it’s not actually that easy to find a nice sky and a clean window at the same time.
I was out for my morning run and snapped this with my phone.