So while there have been strong opinions about the Galaxy Nexus camera, one thing I think we can all agree on is that we'd all like to get the most out of it.
In that spirit, I'm starting a tips thread to put together some basic photography tips as well as tips for the Galaxy Nexus camera in particular.
There will also be a showcase post to show some of what is possible.
Please chime in with any tips or suggestions -- I am no expert on photography! (at best I'm a very bad amateur!)
Also, if a tip is a quote from another user, please click the little arrow next to their name and thank the post where they said it! They deserve the thanks, not I
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Lifehacker articles on Photography
17 articles in total, while many deal with DSLRs, a lot are general in nature and they have some good Photoshop ones too.
>> Most Popular Photography Tips, Tricks, and Hacks of 2011
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tuts+ photography
A pretty good resource for beginners with most tutorials by the community, and some pro stuff. Most are free but they ask you to sign up for access to extra learning materials (like the PSD of the image). Some hilarious tutorials like "A complete guide on how to photograph the Queen"
>> Photography and post-processing tutorials from beginner to advanced | Phototuts+
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dpreview
A popular site for Pro and high-end photo gear reviews, but they have a pretty great selection of articles and tutorials also.
>> http://www.dpreview.com/articles
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Life.com
10 Holiday Photo taking tips
http://www.life.com/gallery/67531/image/ugc1387861/holiday-photo-tips-connect-to-your-world
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Trick to stabilize images
This video is for DSLRs but the principle applies to all cameras
>> youtube.com
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Instant pic taking & quality
Digital Zoom
Stabilization, lighting, and focus
Stabilization, lighting, and focus
Auto-focus
Auto-focus via long-press
Auto-focus via screen tap
Alternative camera apps
--------------------------------------
Balance and composition
(more to come)
Some threads already discussing the camera on AF:
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus/467590-camera-takes-terrible-pics.html
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus/472938-camera-update.html
http://androidforums.com/samsung-ga...sfrom-today-galaxy-nexus-rezound-cameras.html
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus/459421-official-camera-pictures-thread.html
.
In that spirit, I'm starting a tips thread to put together some basic photography tips as well as tips for the Galaxy Nexus camera in particular.
There will also be a showcase post to show some of what is possible.
Please chime in with any tips or suggestions -- I am no expert on photography! (at best I'm a very bad amateur!)
Also, if a tip is a quote from another user, please click the little arrow next to their name and thank the post where they said it! They deserve the thanks, not I
--------------------------------------
Lifehacker articles on Photography
17 articles in total, while many deal with DSLRs, a lot are general in nature and they have some good Photoshop ones too.
>> Most Popular Photography Tips, Tricks, and Hacks of 2011
--------------------------------------
tuts+ photography
A pretty good resource for beginners with most tutorials by the community, and some pro stuff. Most are free but they ask you to sign up for access to extra learning materials (like the PSD of the image). Some hilarious tutorials like "A complete guide on how to photograph the Queen"
>> Photography and post-processing tutorials from beginner to advanced | Phototuts+
--------------------------------------
dpreview
A popular site for Pro and high-end photo gear reviews, but they have a pretty great selection of articles and tutorials also.
>> http://www.dpreview.com/articles
--------------------------------------
Life.com
10 Holiday Photo taking tips
http://www.life.com/gallery/67531/image/ugc1387861/holiday-photo-tips-connect-to-your-world
--------------------------------------
Trick to stabilize images
This video is for DSLRs but the principle applies to all cameras
>> youtube.com
--------------------------------------
Instant pic taking & quality
--------------------------------------
Digital Zoom
--------------------------------------
Stabilization, lighting, and focus
--------------------------------------If you're not using flash, then stabilizing your shot is key, brace it against something that doesn't move. Sometimes I tap to focus multiple times (after waiting for it to focus, tap it again) to see if it gets sharper, take a couple shots not just one...uhhm...you'll also get better shots if you send me money to my paypal...;-) There's good lighting and bad lighting you have to know the difference...
Stabilization, lighting, and focus
--------------------------------------Don't turn on camera mode and rush to take pictures, you gotta wait until it focuses. (I advise to aim it on object for at least 10 sec, GNex has zero shutter lag not zero focus time).
Also image stabilization of smartphones is very limited, so one of key to take good picture is try to do best not to shake it. Those pictures with lotta noise is due to shake also, not only light.
Most of cellphones use digital image stabilization by sub optimal image exposure time, it will end up pictures with less motion blur but more noise.
Auto-focus
--------------------------------------One thing you should avoid is quickly tapping the shutter. this causes camera shake and your photos will come out blurry/soft. also quickly tapping the shutter doesn't give the camera enough time to focus.
Instead, you should "hold down" the shutter till the image is in focus then slowly release it to take the picture just like on a real camera.
Also, the only time you really need to touch the screen to focus is if you want to focus on somewhere in the image other than dead center. there's no need to touch the image to focus since touching the shutter also trigger auto-focus, but you need to hold down the shutter long enough to let the camera focus. this is especially important in low light situations since it takes longer for the camera to focus.
Auto-focus via long-press
--------------------------------------...Of course, you could just hold the shutter button down for a bit until it focuses and then release.
Auto-focus via screen tap
--------------------------------------(when taking pics you should) tap the screen where you want the focus, waiting for it to turn green and beep and THEN pressing the shutter button
Alternative camera apps
I can't take credit for this...but several people have recommended using third-party apps like Vignette. I personally was playing with Camera Zoom Fx (one of the 10 cent apps recently) and it has an image stabilization feature it shows you on the screen using the acelerometer (sorry for the spelling). Anyway FWIW, both Vignette and Camera Zoom seemed to do a little better than the stock camera app in lower lighting settings.
--------------------------------------
Balance and composition
--------------------------------------Never put the subject in the center. "the rule of thirds".
(more to come)
Some threads already discussing the camera on AF:
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus/467590-camera-takes-terrible-pics.html
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus/472938-camera-update.html
http://androidforums.com/samsung-ga...sfrom-today-galaxy-nexus-rezound-cameras.html
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus/459421-official-camera-pictures-thread.html
.