Cell Phone Camera - Photography Contest

Photo contests have become increasingly popular with the advent of cameras on cell phones. Smartphone cameras on newer phones are of a high quality but there are benefits of using the camera properly to ensure that the images of are the best quality.

Crop - Don't Zoom In
When you zoom with a phone the zoom is actually done with software. There isn't any hardware to assist the zoom so the camera in the phone is simulating the zoom. Your image will degrade when you zoom - so the image degrades quickly. Instead what you can do is simply not zoom. This will prevent the phone camera from simulating the image. After the shot is made you can crop the image to how you want it and use software on your computer to work the image to the way you want it.

High Quality
Ensure that your phone is saving your camera images as high quality images. The settings for most phones is not high quality but making this change will help greatly with the quality of the final image.

Filters
Avoid using the same filters that everyone is using. When you create images for photo contests it is important that your submit unique images. If everyone us using Instagram filters - you shouldn't. There is low cost software available that you can purchase that can do amazing things with your images. The software is easy to use and fun too. Use your creativity to create unique entries for the photo contests that you enter.

Camera App
You may not be aware that the camera app that comes with your phone is only the default. You can install a new camera app that can replace your existing one. Find one with more features and that gives you more options when shooting the contest photos. You can get many of the features available on more expensive digital cameras for your phone with existing camera apps.

Get A Light
The flashes on phones are -- well cheap. And for a small investment you can get a high quality light for a photographer. These lights will properly light up your subjects and provide you with a much higher quality image. Camera lights are fine for family photos but for photo contests it is important to shoot under proper lighting to ensure that your images are of the best quality.

Clean Your Screen
Get a lens cleaning solution to properly clean your lenses. Phones are carried everywhere with us and will get dirty - there is no avoiding it. So prior to shooting your contest photos take the time to clean the lens properly.

At the end of the day these tips will help. But the most important factor that will help you win photo contests is putting the time and practice into shooting your photos. Shoot photos as often as possible. Always have your phone handy so you can take advantage of the next photo opportunity. The more you take photos the better you will get at it and the better your chances at winning photo contests.