Wednesday, June 6, 2007

10 Ways to Use Your Cameraphone

Image from AOL Pictures

#2 on this list of tips is to use your cellphone camera to take quick and dirty screen shots

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Here's a list that suggests 10 ways to use your cameraphone [link via del.icio.us]; #2 on the list ("Screen-Capture Utility") is a bit silly if you're on your own computer, though it would also apply to stuff like taking pictures of whiteboards, chalkboards, or bulletin boards.

#3, "Photographic Memory," is pretty expansive and probably the most useful. To help remember where you parked in an unfamiliar neighborhood or a parking garage, take a picture of your car. Make sure you include signage or landmarks -- if you can't remember what your car looks like (and it's not a rental), you've got bigger problems.

Or, if you see a yard sale or open house sign, you can take a picture of it. Posters for an upcoming show; something you want to buy from a sales circular -- basically, anything you previously would have torn out, or jotted down on a piece of paper (or the back of your hand), you can take a picture (or record a voice memo, or even just leave yourself a voicemail).

A lot of these tips are "camera" tips, not just "cameraphone" tips. However, the reason why cameraphones are so darn useful is that they're there when you need them. Most of us aren't going to be snapping photos of big breaking news events and sending them to citizen news sites, but having a photo of your fender bender for the insurance company may be more likely (and more useful).

Combined with the fact that digital storage is cheap enough that taking additional photos is practically free, and add in the fact that you've got a built-in picture viewer (so you can show off the pictures of your pets, kids, ultrasound, prize possession, etc.), people are coming up with new and different ways to incorporate digital photos and cellphone photos into their lives.

Do you have a digital photo or cameraphone photo tip you want to share? (Here's mine -- when I'm in a museum, if I take a picture of an exhibit, I'll often take a picture of the placard so I can refer to it later) -- leave a comment with your tip and share it with the rest of us.

Thanks -- Joe

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

My best tip is to have fun with your camera. Take photos, document your life and what you see. Today I took a photo of my cat and that lolcats article in my local paper. It's a keeper:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/steven2005/533973895/

Trying to place value into every photo is possible but don't sweat it. Have fun.

Anonymous said...

Joe, not getting any alerts for entries posted or for comments. Just heard from Sugar in America.  She is not getting any either.  Please get it fixed quickly.  Thank you

Anonymous said...

Have now been told by quite a few that they are not getting any alerts!  Help.

Anonymous said...

  JOE,
          YOU ARE A BIG HELP TO WE THAT CAN USE SOME HELP.      sam