Exercise 4 13 Read the article about the differences between using cameras and using phones to take photographs. Write a summary giving advice on using a phone to take photographs. Your summary should be about 100 words long (and no more than 120 words long). You should use your own words as far as possible. You will receive up to 8 marks for the content of your summary and up to 8 marks for the style and accuracy of your language. Is it better to take photos with a camera or a phone? There are several advantages to using a phone rather than a camera to take photos, and the most obvious is convenience. Unless you're a professional photographer, it's unlikely you'll carry a camera with you every day, whereas your phone is always with you. Remember to wipe the lens on it frequently though - a dirty lens will affect your photos. Phones connect easily to the internet, meaning you can share photographs with other people within seconds. Sharing photos from a camera is trickier, though not impossible. However, cameras have their advantages too. The main one is picture quality, particularly in terms of well-focused pictures. There are things you can do to improve the images you take with your phone, though. For example, you can tap the screen to indicate where you want to focus. You can also use apps to alter the appearance of the photos you take with your phone. Phones are fine for photographing subjects in good light, but if you use the flash, you'll often get a picture which looks too white or unclear. It's best to just use natural light, or take a camera if you know you're going to be taking pictures in poor light. Cameras contain a device called a stabiliser, which reduces the chance of a blurred or shaky image when shooting fast-moving action or using the zoom lens. The stabilisers on phones reduce picture quality, however. Using both hands to keep the phone steady will help if you have no choice but to photograph fast action with one. Even the way you take a picture with a camera helps to give a better image. On a phone, you touch a circle on the screen, which often causes you to move the phone just as you shoot. Luckily, you can also take a picture by using the volume button on the side of the phone - similar to what you do with a camera - which helps you keep the phone still. Professional photographers often use the settings on their camera to deliberately blur the background, making it look out of focus so the main subject stands out. If you're using your phone, the best you can do is to keep the background as simple as possible, as blurring it might not be possible. A key advantage of a good camera is having a zoom lens to capture a distant subject. Although some phones have a zoom feature, using one can result in a poor image. With a phone, it's preferable to simply get closer to whatever you want to photograph. Modern cameras can take hundreds of photos on only one battery charge, whereas phones tend to run out of power quickly. On days when you want to use your phone to take pictures, avoid shooting too many videos. So is a camera better than a phone? If you're a more serious photographer who wants to experiment and develop your photography skills, then probably yes. If, on the other hand, you simply want to take pictures and share them, then stick with your phone.
