Why I Avoid Doing Street Photography with My Phone
There are some photographers who really like mobile phone photography, and I get the appeal:
You always have a camera with you because of your phone, and that’s obviously very convenient.
But the strengths pretty much end there for me.
Bad Image Quality
The biggest issue for me is probably the image quality, or lack thereof.
While the image quality of phone cameras has come a long way, it’s still not up to par with larger sensor cameras. Engineers have managed to do some pretty impressive things with phone cameras, primarily through software. But there are limitations to what can be done with small imaging sensors. Larger sensors will always have an advantage.
While these cameras do an impressive job under certain lighting conditions, a lot of the time, the photos look fake and oversharpened. I prefer to shoot in raw and start with a file that was just what the camera saw without any processing added to it. But in phone cameras, a lot of what makes them work is the processing done through software.
Phone cameras also don’t perform well in low light.
Ultimately, the files from phone cameras just end up being underwhelming for me. I don’t like how little leeway you have with editing the files.
Bad Ergonomics
The only thing I like about photographing with a phone is that they have large, bright screens. This makes them nice for composing photos.
In terms of things I like about the shooting experience with phones, it ends there.
The ergonomics of phones make them uncomfortable to hold for any period of time. They don’t have grips, so there’s not really anything to hold onto. I haven’t dropped my phone when doing street photography because the few times I’ve done it, I used a strap. But I can see dropping and damaging your phone if you’re walking around taking pictures with it.
Due to factors like not having a grip, few tactile buttons, no flip screen, etc., phone cameras make it harder to maneuver the way I can with a dedicated camera.
Distractions
There are all sorts of distractions with phones.
You receive a never-ending flow of notifications.
You can also be called. I can’t imagine being about to take a photo of an interesting scene and then someone starts calling me and ruins the opportunity.
There Are Some Strengths that Phones Have for Street Photography
The screens are nice and big and bright - I do like that.
I also like that because of my phone, I always have a camera on me. Because of that, I have taken some snapshots that I wouldn’t have otherwise. That said, they are what I would consider snapshots, and not up to the quality I’d be comfortable using in my portfolio or a project.
Phone cameras are also very easy to use - you just point and shoot, and the camera adjusts all the settings for you.
This Is Just My Personal Preference
I know there are photographers out there who are producing great work with phone cameras, and I totally respect that.
When I think of some of the street photography work I appreciate, some of the photographers have great photos with terrible image quality. The photographer that comes to mind most prominently is Daidō Moriyama. His photos are high contrast black and white and extremely grainy, but who cares? His work is amazing. You could get comparable image quality with a phone camera if you wanted.
Great street photography doesn’t require good image quality. But at least for now, it’s something that I strive for in my own work. And, value other things like shooting experience and manual controls too much. So for me, my phone will be there to take random snaps of things in my life, but I’ll do my street photography on my dedicated cameras.
Below are some photos I took with my phone recently:
