Today, with the help of some very awesome volunteers, I executed my first experiment. We walked from school to the lower east and took pictures. I decided to put no restrictions on the methods in which the pictures were taken (there are no real restrictions in the real world). The only requirement was that everyone use their regular camera AND their camera phone. Here are all the results.
I then asked everyone to write me a short email addressing the following questions:
*Was there an observable difference in how you felt shooting with your camera and your phone and if so what was it?
Did you find that there was a difference in what you chose to shoot with each device? (ie was finding things to shoot with your phone more difficult/easier?)
Which device do you most use to take pictures when you are out with friends? walking around the city? onuuuijghj vacation?
Which set of pictures overall do you like more, the ones from your phone or the ones from your camera (or do you feel the same about both))?
If you didn't like the ones from your phone, do you think you would like them better if the phone had a better camera?
*How is photographing in an urban environment, specifically on the street, different then photographing in other situations?
Read on for the responses.
Lisa:
"My phone does a pretty poor job of taking pictures. It's only got a
1.3 megapixel lens, and I, and my subject, have to hold absolutely
still in order to get a picture that isn't blurry. Also, after about a
half hour of continuous use, the battery dies. That being said, I tend
to take a lot of pictures with it, because it is so small, and I
always have it on me. I also like it, because I can e-mail the photo
to someone immediately. I actually use my camera phone in stores a
lot, to get immediate feedback on something I'm thinking of buying.
I'll take a picture, e-mail it or send a mms to a friend, and then
call and ask them what they think. I also liked playing snagu a lot,
when it was first being beta tested.
My regular digital camera is pretty old. I am attached to it, because
it is one of the first "expensive" purchases I made with my own money,
and because it has a swivel lens for vanity shots, which is fun.
However, if the scene isn't flooded with light, the pictures tend to
come out very dark, making some of today's shots look like night time,
since it was so cloudy out. I tend never to bother packing my digital
camera when it is cloudy, at night, or if I'm going to primarily be
indoors. The camera also has an unfortunately loud and bright
stuttering flash, which is very intrusive, so I try not to use it when
there are strangers in my shot, because I don't want them to think I
am sneaking pictures of them.
I took approximately twice as many pictures with my regular camera
than with my camera phone. I also like the pictures I took with my
regular camera more, because they are clearer, and I was able to zoom
in and get closer details of things. It was also less time consuming
to get a clear shot with the regular camera because I didn't have to
keep so steady.
My main problem with my camera phone is that I can't zoom in, the
resolution is really low, so I could never make prints from them, and
they tend to always be blurry. When I borrowed Yonatan's phone for a
little while, I was pretty happy with the shots I got. I also borrowed
his digital camera for a while, and was amazed by the clarity and
sharpness of the shots. I may have to get myself a new camera pretty
soon. I have camera envy now.
I'm always shy when I'm taking pictures on the street. I don't want to
be intrusive, so I am very conscious of when there are people in my
shot. I'm also overly worried about whether someone will yell at me
for taking a picture of them or of their work. I get worried about
taking pictures of vendors on the street, or store windows. When I set
out to take photos, I tend to look for interesting objects. And since
my cameras aren't very good, I tend to try to get unusual shots rather
than pretty ones. I like taking pictures of the bicycles chained up to
things, especially the more decrepit ones. I also like finding
abandoned shoes. Although, the last time I saw abandoned shoes, I had
neither digital or camera phone on me."
Jadie:
" *Was there an observable difference in how you felt shooting with your camera and your phone and if so what was it?
Well, the main difference for me was that ( it has been a year and a half that I stopped using camera phone so i have to retrace my memory. anyways..) i feel more focused on taking pictures for myself when I use camera. On the contrary, i feel like i'm documenting things around me to show other people or show online because camera phone has relatively low resolution, not enough for a photograph, so i feel that a picture taken by camera phone is a way to talk, prove, show people that i did this.
Did you find that there was a difference in what you chose to shoot with each device? (ie was finding things to shoot with your phone more difficult/easier?)
camera phone's much easier to take pictures. first of all, it's small/easy to carry/always ready.
on the contrary, camera(especially when it's not a small camera), it's harder to get it ready, and since it looks like a bigger deal, (make shutter sound and look serious), it's hard to take picture of people on the street.
Which device do you most use to take pictures when you are out with friends? walking around the city? on vacation?
camera
Which set of pictures overall do you like more, the ones from your phone or the ones from your camera (or do you feel the same about both))?
camera : much more satisfying when i keep the pictures as my memory.
If you didn't like the ones from your phone, do you think you would like them better if the phone had a better camera?
*How is photographing in an urban environment, specifically on the street, different then photographing in other situations?
well, it's very abstract concept photographing in urban environment. but i guess to summarize it's characteristics in a few words, it is and becomes more and more
instant
fast
easy
cheap
popularized/cellularized
uptrend
mobile"
Megan:
" *Was there an observable difference in how you felt shooting with your camera and your phone and if so what was it?
I definatley took less time setting up the shot on my camera phone. and would only take it once, if it didnt look the way I wanted I would move on.
Did you find that there was a difference in what you chose to shoot with each device? (ie was finding things to shoot with your phone more difficult/easier?) Not really a dif in what I shot, but since i knew I had ny dig camera on me, I shot less on my camera phone, because of less quality
Which device do you most use to take pictures when you are out with friends? dig camera walking around the city? camera phone on vacation? dig camera
Which set of pictures overall do you like more, the ones from your phone or the ones from your camera (or do you feel the same about both))? Dig camera, although most times if I am taking a pic with my personal and something personal that I really think someone I know needs to see, not for personal pleasure (as in the dig camera) The camera phone seems to share specific experience with someone, the quality is not as important and the point getting across.
If you didn't like the ones from your phone, do you think you would like them better if the phone had a better camera? I think that it is just a dif use. I use the phone if I wee something really funny or unique that i want a freind to experience. Quality of the camera in the phone doesnt change that (just as long as the image can be made out)
*How is photographing in an urban environment, specifically on the street, different then photographing in other situations? I get more self conscious (especially on a busy street). Stopping standing to take a pic is so much more noticable on a busy street"
Yonatan:
"The difference for me between shooting with my camera instead of my
cell phone was quite interesting. At first I felt that my shooting
style was more natural with my camera because its sole purpose is to
take pictures and it has all the features that I use but as time when
by and my Pro 1 started to get heavy, I gave it to Lisa and was
happily snapping away pictures with my cell. True the screen size was
very small but there is something really enjoyable about taking
pictures with such a small and non-obstructive device.
I have found myself taking more and more pictures with my cell phone
because it's convenient form factor size and the fact that it's
basically a multifunctional product. I truly believe that
mult-function products will one day replace digital cameras and we are
already seeing them in the marketplace with the launch of the Iphone.
I actually like the pictures that I took with my camera phone for so
many reasons.
Well in an urban environment you are aware of the privacy concerns
that you may encounter in taking pictures in a public setting. This
will limit or influence what images you capture but in a more
different environment such as a national park or outside the close
confines of s city, you feel free to take any pictures you may like
without feeling like you are invading someones private space"
Nanna:
"*Was there an observable difference in how you felt shooting with your camera and your phone and if so what was it?
I spent more time trying to figure out how to align my shots with the camera. With the mobile I felt like I didn't have to necessarily care how I was aligning stuff. As a result I would get interesting outcomes. With the mobile phone I felt more like I was invading someones privacy then when shooting then with a regular camera for some reason. I think because with a cell you can forward things, store things on your phone, share photos much quicker and easier... You can't really hide behind a lens like with a regular camera, and everyone knows that your phone has the capabilities mentioned before so you kind of feel like an asshole invading their privacy. With a regular camera a person might think I'm a tourist or some kind of art student. There are different associations with both I guess.
Did you find that there was a difference in what you chose to shoot with each device? (ie was finding things to shoot with your phone more difficult/easier?)
Finding things to shoot with the phone was much easier. This was mainly because I had an easier time using the mobile then the actual camera. It was lighter to carry and quicker to take a picture with. Also not having to look into a viewfinder didn't make me stop for three hours...I'd just point, look at the screen, and shoot around.
Which device do you most use to take pictures when you are out with friends? walking around the city? on vacation?
When I'm out with my friends I always take my digital camera. If I am walking around the city and sightseeing I take my digital camera (this is because of the better quality photos). However, if I'm simply walking from one spot to another and notice something along the way I might take a photo of it with my mobile phone. I have taken pictures with my cell when I've been traveling, but this was because of the fact that I didn't have a digi camera on me... So I just used it as a replacement. I consider quality to judge when I'm taking photos - when I want better quality photos I use a digi camera (this is usually in the cases I really want to rmemeber something that happened, or a place) - when I dont care about quality (I either forget my digi camera or I notice something I feel a need to record) I use the mobile. Regardless, I've noticed myself trying to take more photos with the mobile.
Which set of pictures overall do you like more, the ones from your phone or the ones from your camera (or do you feel the same about both))?
I dont have a preference on which set I like most. I think that there are good photos and bad photos in both set. One might be better quality photos (the digital) but it doesn't make me like those photos any better. I think I would feel different though if I was trying to take photos of a place I haven't shot yet, or a spot I intend to remnisce about through my photos. Seeing that this was an experiment to record our surroundings, I am looking at all the photos individually to judge them.
If you didn't like the ones from your phone, do you think you would like them better if the phone had a better camera?
I might have liked some of the pics from my phone better if the phone had a better camera, but not necessarily all of them.
*How is photographing in an urban environment, specifically on the street, different then photographing in other situations?
If I'm out with my friends I'm taking photos to remember an event, and my photos comprise of pictures that were taken with the intent to make people look good. The subject matter of these pictures is the people, not the place. If I am out on the street, it depends what my motive is. If I am taking pictures of a foreign place, I tend to take standard photos of monuments that are as inclusive as possible (that is to say, I don't want to compensate missing a part of a monument in order to make it look artistic or take a good photo - i want to have the whole thing in my photo so that i remember it). If I am taking pictures in order to record an urban environment through photographs, my motives are different, and I guess I shoot and try and think about myself in that specific urban environment and how I fit in...In this case I don't care so much about content any more necessarily...Things can be chopped off, I don't have to be sure of where I took this shot, a building doesn't have to be whole. In these cases only, does the photography become more about the picture itself. In comparing how I take photos in public spaces vs. intimate settings, I would say that it also takes me a while to get used to shooting in public. In general it can take half an hour to an hour before I start taking photos in a bold sort of manner, especially in NYC. For some reason, it is extremely difficult to take a long time to absorb the specific thing you want to take photos of and examine what you want to do with it...I think this is because everyone in NYC is so used to walking around in a hurried manner without stopping for a second. "
