Why Smartphone Photography Stinks
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First – to be clear – I’m talking about the process of using a smartphone camera for photography – not the pics, pix, snaps, shots or whatever it is smartphone togs, shooters or iphoneograperhers call photographs captured with a mobile phone camera.
(Does anyone else really really hate the term “tog” or is it just me?)
Anyway, also for disclosure – yes, I am almost middle aged and I clearly don’t understand modern photography and will be left behind by the new wave of mobile phone photographers because I refuse to adapt.
Right, now that that’s out of the way – here’s why smartphone photography stinks…
Why Smartphone Photography Stinks
I have never really though of my smartphone camera (currently a Samsung Galaxy Note 3) as a real camera.
(For the purpose of this article, I am going to define a real camera as a SLR, DSLR, mirrorless or pretty much any camera that has aperture and full manual mode.)
Its not that mobile phones take poor quality images (more on that in a moment), its just that I find it so frustratingly clumsy and restrictive to use a mobile phone camera compared to a real camera.
I do have some smartphone images in my portfolio, and through the process of putting together photography classes on Skillshare I have been trying to use my mobile phone for lessons where suited – but the more I try to use a mobile camera in a professional capacity, the more I realize how much I dislike using a mobile phone as a camera.
Or to be more specific – here are five things I HATE about smartphone photography.
1. I Hate Touch Screens
Right off the bat, I hate the act of opening an app just to take a photo.
I hate searching for the app with all the other apps, I hate the amount of time it takes for the camera app to open and I really hate how often I accidentally close the app or open the wrong app or some other app by accidentally tapping the wrong place on the screen.
Which brings me to a more general observation – I hate touch screens. I hate having to navigate, tap and swipe menus on a touch screen – it is so clumsy and inefficient compared to physical buttons and dials (thank you for simplifying my world Apple).
I especially hate having to dig into layered menu structures to change a simple setting – like photo size.
Not to mention all the situations where a touch screen simply doesn’t work. Like if its raining. Or sunny. Or, in the case of the photo below – where my fingers were so cold, the touch screen didn’t sense my frozen fingertips.
2. The Ergonomics Stink
Your mobile phone was designed to be – guess what – a phone (or maybe a image and text viewing screen) – but definitely not a camera.
I really hate that delicate two handed finger dance you have to do to hold onto only the edges of your phone (lest you accidentally touch the damn touchscreen).
The process of simply holding onto a mobile phone to take a picture is so annoying that there is a whole industry designed around nothing more than making crap that you can attach to your phone to make it feel and act more like a real camera…which begs the question – why not just get an effing real camera!?
3. Inconsistent Focus and Shutter Lag That Lasts FOREVER
Tap………..take picture. Holding down the period key and hitting the shutter release at the same time ……….. is exactly how long it took for my phone to focus and take a picture.
Or in other words, the length of time it takes for a dog to run 50 feet, or a baby to fall down after their first steps, or a mid-air cannon ball to turn into a splash…you get the point.
Add to that the frustration of focus randomly just not working at all – its maddening.
At least the Eiffel Tower wasn’t going anywhere.
4. Quality Limitations
Ya, I know – your iPhone 6 takes amazing pictures. True – until you compare them to a real camera.
There is just something about mobile phone images at the fine detail level that isn’t right.
I can’t put my finger on it exactly – its not a resolution thing – its more that there is some sort of weird angular edges, micro contrast and jagged look to details at the pixel level. Whatever it is, it looks like crap compared to the smooth details captured by a real camera.
Oh, and the low light performance stinks too.
5. Technical Limitations
When you’re used to driving a stick shift, it is really really frustrating to drive an automatic. Its even worse when you’re going from a high performance paddle shifter to your grandmothers grocery getter.
No aperture. No off camera flash (or legitimate on camera flash either for that matter). No long exposure capabilities.
Do you ever wonder why a lot of smartphone photography kind of looks very very similar?
Well, when you take away a photographers ability to control depth of field, motion blur and make natural light the only light source – all of a sudden you are left with a pile of images that were taken with very similar settings in very similar conditions – so regardless of the subject, they start to look the same.
For the record – this is the best you can do for a long exposure on most smartphones. To me it looks like some sort of horrible overlay of shorter exposure images stacked together. Why would a feature this bad even be possible?
Why Smartphone Photography Rocks
Now, obviously there has to be something good about using a smartphone for a camera (besides the fact that you always have it with you – but don’t get me started on this “best camera” nonsense…).
As far as I can tell, there are only two good reasons to ever choose to use a smart phone as a camera.
1. On Camera Mobile Editing
Let me be clear, touching up a photo on Snapseed, VSCO or Instagram is not post-processing.
No photographer would ever deliver an image to a client that was touched up on a mobile app.
However, on camera mobile editing is a fun, quick and dirty way of making your images look immediately more interesting.
I really enjoy touching up my photos on all three apps – and all three have some very powerful tools – especially with the stylus on the Note 3.
2. Sharing To Social Media
Processing and sharing images from a real camera is a pain in the ass.
Take photo, download, select, process, export, upload to social media – nuts to that.
Sharing from a smartphone directly to your various social media networks is infinitely more streamlined.
Why Can’t Real Cameras Be Like Smartphones?
Given the above – it seems pretty obvious to me what the manufactures of real cameras need to do to compete with the smartphone market.
Just add wifi and mobile data along with support for mobile editing apps like Snapseed, VSCO and Instagram and all the popular social media apps: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram et al.
Done.
Oh and while they’re at it – if they just add text messaging and a browser….
What Do You Think?
I realize that this article probably sounds a lot like a rant a film photographer would have written about digital cameras circa 2002. But I remember digital cameras in 2002 – they stunk too.
The point being: if you cut through the marketing hype from smartphone manufacturers, current mobile phone cameras are OK – and getting better everyday – but they are still a clumsy, restrictive, poor quality substitute for a real camera.
Now before you hit the comments – once again, I’m not saying that photos captured with mobile phones are bad – or that photographers who choose to use nothing but a mobile phone are wrong in their choice of gear – but if a smartphone is your tool of choice, you should at least be aware of its limitations.
What has your experience been using a smartphone for serious photography?
Will your smartphone ever replace your real camera? Has it already?
What do you hate about your mobile camera? What do you love about it?
JP Danko
JP Danko is a commercial photographer based in Toronto, Canada. JP can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
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40 responses to “Why Smartphone Photography Stinks”
Pretty much agreed, point which makes me so infuriated when smartphone brands keeps trying at all times to compare their cameras with dSLRs, or going at “professional-like” blah blah nonsense.
Smartphones have the wrong form factor, wrong ergonomics, and some of it’s features goes right against what is needed for cameras (size, shape, weight, etc).
While we can expect some improvements regarding image quality, controls, and better/faster focus plus better quality in low light conditions, the moment a smartphone starts adding stuff like replaceable lenses, physical knobs and dials, hotshoe thread and a bunch of other stuff, it’s effectively going against it’s purpose.
You can tell from smartphones who tried going that way and didn’t sell well.
Doesn’t mean it’s wrong to use a smartphone as a camera in some situations, but this marketing route of comparing a smartphone with a professional camera always sound awkward and kinda stupid to me.
To the point: yes, I definitely use my smartphone camera for several situations, and it’s great for what it does (Xperia Z3). But I’d feel kinda ridiculous using it with a bunch of custom holder, accessories, hacks and whatnot for professional usage. It’s not meant for that. And for the record, yes, I also hate touchscreen controls. It’s simply no replacement for the feel and ease of use physical dials, knobs and whatnot gives us.
They are adequate replacements given stringent requirements, but something I’d rather not deal with specially in professional situations.
But hey, also agreed that some smartphone functions should come to cameras – which is already slowly happening I guess.
I have to disagree: “No photographer would ever deliver an image to a client that was touched up on a mobile app.” I was given a crazy deadline, and mobile editing with snapseed was the solution I found to meet my deadlines. Costumer is happy, loved the photos, quality is high (great prints at 60x60cm) and job is done!
I agree 100% with everything said but I enjoy the challenge of using my iPhone to take a good shot. I was bought an Ollo Clip lens set for my iPhone and I have to say it is excellent, it makes the camera much more usable. I enjoy the restrictions of using a smartphone as a camera because it makes you think about how else you might get the shot you want. I have recently discovered a focus stacking app in the app store along with a long exposure app, neither are terribly good but you can make them work if you persevere. I wouldn’t say I have taken any stunning images with my iPhone but I have taken some I am happy with.
This year I started taking a photo a day and some days you just don’t want to take your full DSLR kit out with you and that is where my iPhone comes in and gets the job done. I wouldn’t use it on a big shoot from the top of a mountain in the Lake District but it does a good enough job of macro shots in my garden or fun fisheye shots with the kids.
My phone however will never ever ever replace my DSLR.
Your DSLR will be replaced anyway and much sooner than you think. It’s the entire concept of “reflex” that is a nonsense in a digital world.
Instagram for the filters but I only use it when I don’t have my camera on me.
Comparing (the best) smartphone photos to “proper” (larger sensor) cameras is a bit like comparing 35mm film to medium format.
I have a Nokia Lumia 1020 (the 40Mp monstrosity) and aside from aperture control (apparently not possible in a smartphone?) and a really annoying shutter lag it delivers in spades. The results are as good or better than the ones I used to get from good 35mm film scans.
But if I compare them to the results I get from the A7r (same Mp, more or less) or even from the Nex 7 (half of them, but on a way bigger sensor) I see the same “step” in quality I’m used to when comparing, like I said, 35mm film to 120 film.
That being said, even if the 1020 has been discontinued if I were you I’d look into it: it has also a dedicated cover that doesn’t make it that much bigger but it offers an additional battery, a bit of a grip, and a dedicated shutter button. More, like I said you can control Iso, shutter times (1/16000 to 4s), white balance, exposure compensation, and even focus! I love it.
i have the grip and its a ironic title, its slippy texture :(
but you do get a proper flash with the phone, and use it to trigger off camera flash. but yes it needs more buttons and dials
A few dials more would be nice indeed, but actually I’d kill to have an adjustable aperture and less lag :I
BTW, instead of the grip I’m now using one of these fake-leather wallet covers. It gives you quite a bit of real estate for keeping the phone steady, and as a bonus you can keep it closed and still shoot pictures. It is a killer combination for shooting a scene that appears out of nowhere, without wasting time, or from the hip if you’re that kind of shooter.
Hi, nice article. I suppose the answers given to “why it rocks/stinks?” is mainly about what kind of photography you want to do with it and how to use it.
Surely a smartphone as discutable ergonomics and IQ is still far from top of the line cameras, but it’s a camera that fits in your pocket and the ratio quality/size is amazing. Of course shooting a smartphone is not an experience like shooting a DSLR but compared to compact cameras the difference is not that big.
Today I use an iPhone and a D800 and do not feel the need of something between. The D800 do what the iPhone can’t, and vice versa.
One last thing about smartphone photography: unlike most of people think, taking great picture with a phone requires solid photography skills because phone sensors are way less forgivable than larger one’s.
Higher end Nokia/Microsoft Lumia devices have a dedicated camera button to avoid having to use the touch screen and so you can take pictures just like a camera. The Lumia range are now well known for their superior cameras vs other smartphone devices, especially at the high end, Lumia 930, Lumia 1020 etc.
Why it rocks: I can photoshop my own pics. I use GoSexy app to retouch my photos and post to Instagram. I think these apps make retouching accessible for everyone.
+ It is not convenient to carry a camera always.
Most, if not all, phones allow at least one volume button to act as shutter release. Better holding, and much more stable as well. Also, some allow your headphones to act as shutter release as well. My €0.02
I use a manual camera app so I can get the results I want (including long exposure), not what the phone wants. Edit in VSCO or Snapseed for the most control and ready to post. It could never replace my DSLR but I can usually get out of it what I want.
Garbage article
Agreed. Mobile phones have a place in the world of instant gratification. Will never replace a good sturdy body with quality glass.
What little “good” image quality I have in my iPhone6 completely falls apart the instant I zoom in on distant subjects. I agree, if the traditional camera companies made cameras with wifi and full software features they’d recapture some of the ground they’ve lost to smartphones.
first smartphone mistake…. NEVER use the Zoom feature or crop feature of your smartphone BEFORE taking a shot.
The best camera, is the one you have on you. I have a high end camera and a iPhone. Photography is all about subject matter, and how you present it. iPhone photograph of downtown Dallas.
What’s truly disappointing in all of this is that it shows how little effort and imagination the major camera manufacturers put into their products. Based on the quality of the images that smartphone manufacturers are able to squeeze out of an apertureless camera with a tiny toy sensor and mass produced glass, imagine what the real camera manufacturers would be able to achieve with an aperture, a decent mid to full size sensor, and quality optics if they were really trying.
when was the last time you walked into a camera shop… not a box retailer a camera shop… believe me they are not trying they are burning the place. the thing is that you have to pay for that …
Exactly!!
The best camera is the one on you have on you, but it’s also the one you decided to leave at home.
Sounds like an awful lot of hater-aide drinking going on
AGREE. Cell cams are incredibly clumsy, as are the cells themselves to even make calls, and the ergonomics DO stink, and everything/adjustments much much too slow to catch the “decisive moment.” We need innovation here.
True, but i love my nokia 5800. Two examples:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=164235516928492&set=a.164235406928503.36173.100000261330798
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=873238789361491&set=a.622072237811482.1073741858.100000261330798
Thanks for this article, I feel like an old curmudgeon every time I take my phone out for a picture, something about it just isn’t right (ergonomics, micro contrast) and it bugs me. I applaud those that enjoy it and are good at it, but for me it sucks. I’m old, I guess, at 36
“No photographer would ever deliver an image to a client that was touched up on a mobile app.”
Can’t disagree more. I did it a few times and the results were great. VSCO or Snapseed are fantastic to edit even non iPhone photos. Some galleries on my site are edited on my iPhone and I bet any amount that you won’t be able to spot them.
Furthermore, the iPhone is just another camera. Has its used and its limitations, as every other camera and results can be stunning if you know what it’s good for.
Ha.
Well to avoid the touchscreen, you could turn on voice activation on your phone. Then just say “shoot” or “cheese” (or a couple other trigger words I dont remember) to take the photo.
1. You’re taking it too seriously. RT @blurMEDIAStudio : Why Smartphone Photography Stinks – http://t.co/jfOqBiZ2XW
Dear JP Danko, i don’t think that your problem is a middle age crise, I think that your problem is lack of information and vision.
I’m a mobile Photographer, with work recognised around the world, I do create photography events, open to all means of image capture.
As we all know the cameras are means to obtain images, and as good as technician with your camera you could be, the eye is the important link, the way we capture images, not the means. Photography its not the camera is the person behind it. That’s why I real think that your article its out of purpose.
This discussion its no news, its around for ages, in all Art Tory’s vs Liberals in this case innovation, it as been present as you so well recognised “probably sounds a lot like a rant a film photographer would have written about digital cameras circa 2002”.
The only technical limitation in Mobile Photography are the lens, even so theres a lot of options in market, obviously not comparing with DSLR or Mirrorless Lenses.
About the functions you consider as limitations, is because you don’t real know the amount of good shooting App’s available, slow shutter, focus and exposure to be selected in separated.(camera+, 645PRO, Slowshutter)
Theres room for Mobile photography, as there was for so many other photo expressions.
I real think that in the end you are really jealous since you’re asking the camera makers to implement functions in cameras, available to mobile.
Just to finish I will recommend that you consider to adapt since that is our condition as human beens since the beginning of human race.
I hate smartphone cameras because of the characteristics of the images. They all are of the same DOF, the same perspective, the same AOV, the same light distribution, the same boring flat structure, and moreover, they are typical used by picture shooters rather than photographers. The argument “best camera is the one you have on you” I disagree with, because I disagree with “a bad shoot is better than no shoot”. I’d rather make no photograph than produce a heap of crap. It is just a matter of self respect. A real photographer is like a samurai, including the codes of honor and conduct. I say this because I go for quality. So either that or nothing at all. Yes, I reason in black & white. Regardless, for me, smartphone cameras suck. And then I haven’t yet mentioned anything about the clumsy UI.
I absolutely agree with this guys article. It’s now August 2018; with my recent purchase of a Motorola Moto G5s; these cameras are still utter shit. Brightness that jumps around like an untamed dog, and photos that have no contrast / depth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m7lRJiqSYY I can’t believe that none of these cameras (I’ve used three phones) do not have any manual brightness, exposure, and shutter controls. If not in the hardware of the camera, at least someone should try to make a functional app with such manual controls; one I can directly download from a vendors/developers website, rather then having to navigate through the sloppy mess of the google play and it’s associated spammy sites.
Any photographer should love mobile photography for the simple fact that he can nowadays take pictures whenever he has his smartphone with him. With my mobile phone I can take a photo (a bad one, very bad one obviously) in a fraction of a second by pressing twice the volume button: with my DSLR I would not even be able to remove the cap in the same delay and my compact camera takes around 2secs just to realize I pressed the switch-on button. “Ergonomics stinks”? Shooting with my smartphone is much more comfortable than shooting with my 1-inch compact camera. Obviously, mobile photography does not produce technically excellent pictures, but a lot of (normal) people don’t care about excellent sharpness and huge dynamic range: they just want to keep a memory of a moment. I also think these same people would not pay their wedding photographer if he showed up with a good smartphone.
This is still a very valid article! The iPhone 11 Pro still takes garbage pictures compared to a real camera!
It is now 2020 and I still agree with everything here. The ergonomics of using a thin piece of touch responsive glass to compose and take a photo with is absolutely awful. Why are there no cameras with Instagram/Facebook upload buttons built into them yet!?