Readers Share Cell Phone Camera Secrets

I asked and you told about the ways you've used your cell phone's camera to capture life's more practical moments. The responses were so varied and interesting that I thought I'd share. I've done some categorizing, concatenating, and taking a guess at gender in my use of pronouns.

The Shoppers

The cell phone camera works well for the shopping paparazzi. Fuelup_kr uses the cell to take pictures of products and prices, too; most recently a vacuum. Oceans972 uses the phone to share shopping finds with her sister, but also uses it as a memory jogger: "....like snapping a pic of an empty Rx bottle to remind me to pick up a new one."

The Memory Joggers

Memory joggers were on more minds than one. A number of readers suggested the parking lot shot where a few pictures can serve as reference locators when your car has misplaced itself. One really important memory jogger came from Brandoncariveau who said that he takes a photo of his kids every day before dropping them off at school and when they visit public places. "That way, should they get lost, I know exactly what they're wearing," he says.

When Things Fall Apart

Why is it so much easier to pull things apart than put them back together? A number of folks wrote about using their cell phones to capture the state of something before it was taken apart. One reader wrote, "when doing your own auto repairs, a snapshot BEFORE you take things apart, and at key points along the way helps you get things back together they way they should be."

Fuelup_kr suggested taking a picture of a room layout before rearranging the room for a meeting to be sure things went back the way they were. Iago2k1 snaps a photo of his equipment like computers, air conditioners, etc. just in case. Carpediemdjg holds a ruler next to an object and takes its picture with his cell phone before heading off to the store to buy something. He'll photograph the wiring of electronic toys before taking them apart. Photographing home repairs, even a septic tank repair, helped another reader document work that had been done already.

Accidents and Arguments

Serenahickey suggests photographing an apartment before moving out to help settle potential security-deposit issues. Jcollica922, another native New Yawker, photographs her parked car so that she has proof of being parked legally. Many wrote in about the fender benders or hit-and-run encounters where the cell phone provided evidence. A car renter wrote to say that her cell phone has pictures of the car before and after the rental. Proof that no damage has been done.

On the Job

Seems like cell phone photography is infiltrating work life too. An installer said he often gets calls from the crew explaining a problem they're having. He has them snap a photo and send it over. Schlauefrau's office admin took pictures of some office furniture that was being replaced. The furniture found a new home and no one had to leave their cubicle for the viewing. Oreohead7 wrote that he runs meetings from a white board and doesn't always have pen in hand. When he's about to erase the board he snaps a cell phone photo. After the meeting he downloads the pictures and can email them to attendees. A road department worker takes photos of rockslides or other storm-related maintenance issues and emails them into the office for further analysis. He wrote that it saved people from having to "come out into the field and see for themselves." And Dr_beting uses the camera to take photographs of patients' brain CT scans, noting that it cuts down the amount of stuff that needs to get lugged around.

Out-of-Box

Some of you had suggestions I never would have dreamed of: Hamagucd suggests taking pictures of business cards to record contact information. An Army recruiter wrote to say he captures images of questionable tattoos that he finds on potential recruit bodies to share with operations and figure out how to proceed. Chanrajesq wrote about using the camera to photograph people's palms. "If you want to keep a perfect identity-token of someone, take a close-up picture of his palm. With a 2-megapixal camera a very clear record can be obtained almost instantly—one which is far superior to a thumbprint." Gary.berthelsen discovered that you can take your cell phone into a concert arena, even when the security guards force you to leave your expensive camera behind. Funyakkers takes pictures of his X-rays at the doctor's office. And one reader wrote that taking a picture is faster than typing, so it's good to take your cell phone into the video store and take pictures of the films you want to see next time.

True Confessions

Some ideas belong in the "more than I need to know" category. One reader takes pictures of answers received before a test. She can then take out her cell phone for a quick in-class review. And some (surprise, surprise) wrote in to say they do things with their cell phone camera that I'd rather not repeat here.

The only negative expressed was how hard it can be to get the image off of the phone and into the hands of another. Isn't there any other way besides email?" asks, Imbluedracoai.