Taking quality pictures with a cell phone camera.
As technology has improved vastly over the past few years, the ability to take high quality pictures with a cell phone camera has become more available. Cell phone cameras are still behind fully functional cameras in terms of megapixels, options, and zoom abilities but that isn't to say you can't take some decent pictures with one of the latest cell phone cameras.
There are a few things to consider when using a cell phone camera to take quality pictures, some of these things apply to any type of photography but are even more crucial to taking cell phone pictures that actually turn out.
Lighting - Because most current cell phone cameras do not have a flash feature, taking pictures with a cell phone camera in proper lighting is critical. Most people have experienced the frustration of taking a picture in a low lit area with a camera phone only to see shadows or nothing at all but black on the screen. Even the most basic disposable cameras come with flashes, but that is still a limited feature on all but a few of the best cell phone cameras. Therefore if you plan on using your cell phone to take pictures, make sure you do so in an area with a good amount of light. The light shouldn't be just behind or in front of the person, but if overhead lighting is available then you'll have a decent lighting atmosphere for cell phone cameras to work in.
Movement - Many of today's full feature cameras come with advanced lenses that can capture objects in motion and reduce blur to make a decent photo. They also often come with stability systems that allow the camera to adjust for a shaky hand or bumped camera. Cell phone cameras don't come with these features and to make matters worse, it can be very difficult to hold a cell phone steady enough to take a photo. Often times as soon as you hit the button to take the photo, that slight movement is enough to shake the camera phone and give you a blurry or off center photo.
One creative fix for this is to hold the camera phone in one hand while holding the wrist of that arm with your other hand to stabilize your hand holding the camera. If you have a camera phone that allows the phone to be turned sideways to take a photo, take full advantage of that option and hold the camera phone with both hands like a traditional camera. Overall the sideways photo taking cameras will produce less blurry and off center photos then their standard phone counterparts.
Zoom - Recently many camera phones have been including zoom options in their features. It isn't hard to find a camera phone with zoom upwards of 8x these days, but since most camera phones still are mostly less than 4 megapixels the photo quality suffers when zoom is used. Most zoom enabled cameras built into a cell phone can do alright in 2x or even 4x, but anything beyond that usually results in blurred pictures. Also when zoom is used, the chance of blurred or off center photos due to movement when taking the picture is amplified. This makes it more difficult to focus, hold the phone steady, and still come out with a decent picture. If at all possible, don't use the zoom feature on your cell phone camera unless you have already tested it out and know you can take good zoomed in shots with it.
Keep it clean - Most standard cameras have covers to protect the lenses of the cameras. Cell phones with cameras often have the lens somewhere on the outside of the phone and most aftermarket cases leave that area of the phone uncovered so the shot isn't blocked. Even those many cell phone cameras have a layer of plastic over the camera opening; phones are shoved in pockets, thrown in bags, dropped, and generally just get dirty and scratched up. Gently wiping the area and plastic over the lens' opening can help ensure you get clearer shots while keeping your phone looking new.
It is possible to take quality pictures on a cell phone camera, but keep in mind cameras are just another accessory on a cell phone. If you want truly high quality photos then purchase a camera. One day cell phone cameras will likely be on par with stand alone cameras but until then cell phone cameras are basically fun accessories to take spur of the moment average quality photos with.