Move in close

Many camera phones lack a zoom lens, so make sure you move in close to capture your subject. Often, you'll be taking pictures with your camera phone that you wouldn't necessarily take with your regular camera, like your latest find at a yard sale. Fill your phone's display screen with your subject to create pictures with greater impact. Up close you can reveal telling details – a wrinkled nose or an arched eyebrow. But don't get too close or your pictures will be blurry and distorted. As a general rule, stand about one to two feet from your subject.

Better Too far

Try turning your camera phone sideways to take horizontal pictures. Many things look better in a horizontal picture, like group shots. While you're at it, experiment by taking pictures at different angles from your subject – above, below, diagonally – you might like what you find.

			Horizontal Shot from above

Holidays and events, like weddings and reunions, provide wonderful picture-taking opportunities. Here's how to make the most of them.

Whether it's baby's first, junior's sixth, or great-grandmother's ninetieth, these tips will make your birthday photos special.


The happy couple radiates true love, the parents beam with pride, and the flower girl's 100-watt smile lights up the room. Be ready to capture these moments, and get pictures that everyone will treasure. Follow these tips to get the best pictures possible with your digital camera.

Take candid pictures
Catch the unexpected. The ring-bearer squirming in his unfamiliar suit. Aunt Bea straightening the bride's bow. The bride greeting new family members. Old friends joking with each other. Don't worry about taking a lot of formally posed portraits—the professional photographer will take plenty of those.