Introduction to your Phone/Tablet Camera Technology for Tomorrow 1

A Brief History of Camera Phones First camera phone was produced by Sharp in 2000 Boasted 350,000 pixels (0.35 megapixel resolution) and could not send photo electronically First camera-phone to send photo electronically from phone: Samsung SCH-V200 110,000 pixels (0.11 megapixel resolution) Camera phones today The Nokia Lumina has a 41 megapixel resolution (41,000,000 pixels) iPhone has an 8 megapixel camera Data are from: digitaltrends.com and apple.com Camera phones really came on to the market in 2000. The first camera phone was the Sharp JSH-04. The phone could take photographs, but needed to be connected to a computer in order to use the photos. The first phone that was able to both take and send photos digitally was the Samsung SCH-V200.

Old and New The difference between all those megapixels can be seen here: *Here is the first picture taken on a camera phone. And here is a photo taken on the iPhone 6s. I find it almost shocking to look back only 15 years and see how much the quality of photographs have increased. We are so used to seeing clear, crisp, beautiful photos taken by our friends and family, but it is nice to be reminded how far technology has come in only 15 years. All of your phones and tablets will have at least a 2 megapixel camera—that’s 18 times higher resolution than the first cell phone camera. So here’s come comfort: No matter WHAT you take away from this workshop today, your photos are still going to look better than they would have 15 years ago  Photo taken on iPhone 5s, 2015 First cell phone photo ever taken, 2001

Accessing the Camera Mobile devices are almost all using a universal language of symbols. Camera Icon Mobile devices are almost all using a universal language of symbols. What that means is that the icon for a camera is going to be very similar on all of your devices. Same with the buttons to take the picture, edit and send the photograph. * Here is one version of the camera icon. Icons will vary slightly across devices, but will have a similar shape to this. By tapping or touching this icon you will open your camera, your screen will show you whatever you are pointing the phone at. Digital cameras are unique in that you don’t have a viewfinder (what you looked through in an analogue camera) instead the image you are pointing your camera at projects on to a scree that you look at. Once you see a scene on your screen that you like, take the photo. On most mobile cameras you take the photo by touching or tapping a white button near the bottom of the screen. On iPhone users, this is found directly above the home button* Touch screen “button” to take the picture on iPhone

Taking a Photo 4. Switch camera icon 1. “shutter” button 3. Front facing camera Most phones these days try to make it as easy as possible to take a great picture. There are a variety of advanced options, but the Automatic/Default settings of most phone cameras will get you bright, colorful, and crisp photographs. This is the iPhone 5 camera screen and it is indicative of the types of icons you will see on many camera phones. We are going to go through the essentials. * This is called the shutter button. I put it in quotes because cell phone cameras do not have shutters the way traditional cameras did. This is the button that takes the photo * Flash. That lightening bolt is the universal icon for flash. Right now you see the word Auto under it. That means that the flash is only going to go off when then phone determines there’s not enough light to take a good photograph. If you touch the flash icon you see two other options appear: a lightening bolt and a lightening bolt with an x by it. Touching the lightening bolt will turn the flash on all the time. Touching the lightening bolt with the x will keep the flash off all the time. You’ll figure out whether you prefer flash or not after using your camera of a couple weeks. * This is your front facing camera. If you were to press this icon * the camera would switch to your face. If you press it again, it will face about out again to whatever you’re pointing the phone at (rear facing camera). Camera switch icon (see above) * Camera function selector—this is how you change the type of image/video you want to capture. This “wheel” operated by dragging your finger to the left or right, “spinning” the wheel. On the iPhone 5 there are 6 options: time lapse, slo-mo, video, photo, square or panoramic. Time lapse, slo-mo, and video are all video-recording options. Photo, square and pano are photograph options. The function selector is what will vary the most depending on the type of phone. Some phones have a drop-down menu, and some have a different app for photos and video. You will have to experiment with your particular device to figure out how to switch between functions, our volunteers can help you with that as well! * Face finder. These yellow boxes are becoming a norm. They are a function built into the camera’s software, they recognize when there is a face or “object of interest” and focus on that particular spot. If you want to change where the camera focuses, touch the screen in the area where you want the focus. * iPhones call this your Camera Roll, this is where you can see pictures you just took and access your full picture album. By touching this thumbnail of the last picture you took, you will see all your full library if your phone is unlocked or you will see the photos you just recently took if your phone is locked. This, again, varies phone by phone 6. Facial recognition/object of interest 5. Camera function selector 2. Flash options 7. Camera roll

So, what’s all this stuff about SELFIES? A selfie is a photo you take of your self Selfies became popular around 2010…and isn’t showing any sign of slowing down Now that you understand the process for taking and editing photos, lets take a moment to discuss a current trend in photography. Selfies. A selfie is a photo you take of yourself. Selfies became highly popular with the advent of Instagram and twitter—perfect platforms for posting pictures of yourself. Even though it’s rather an odd concept (who REALLY wants to see that many pictures of ME?) Many people have joined the trend. What’s the upside of selfies? They’re a fun way to participate in social media and quickly capture a photo of your family and friends. Instead of having to ask someone to hold the camera while you all pose, just extend your arm and take the picture of yourself, by yourself!

So How DO You Take a Selfie? You hold the phone out in front of you like this, smile, and take the picture! * You can even purchase a selfie stick to make your selfie taking even easier…* But be careful: the selfie trend can be dangerous Always make sure to check your surrounding area of flying objects * And make sure that you're taking your photo in a safe area *

Your Turn! Try taking some photos Try taking a photo of yourself with a volunteer Save the photo Email to info@tech4tomorrow.org to be featured on our Instagram! (TOTALLY OPTIONAL) Try texting or emailing a photo to a family member or friend Take a group selfie!

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