Smartphone News

It's Friday, which is when we like to share some amazing camera tricks we've learned in the past week. Today, here's a video from 5-Minute Crafts with "27 Crazy Smart Photography Tricks" that will make you laugh, shake your head or, possibly, blow your mind.

A smartphone is, in a way, the gateway drug that can lead to a lifelong addiction to photography. For millions of aspiring photographers, these multi-purpose devices are their first introduction to image-making and many smartphone users eventually get hooked on the craft.

Sony offered to loan me an Xperia 1 mobile phone for 30 days. I thought it was a mistake at first. My (first) name is pretty common; I’m not a phone guy. My last cell phone had a rotary dial and a whip antenna. But I heard that the Sony Xperia 1 had some of the most sophisticated camera features around, so I cautiously accepted and approached the product the same way I approach cameras. Here is what I found.

Sharon Stiteler was seven years old when she saw a pileated woodpecker—not in the wild, mind you, but in the pages of a Peterson Field Guide. It was enough. “I was intrigued by the idea that there was a crow-sized woodpecker out there,” she says.

It's Easy Photo Tips Friday when we like to share fun photography how-to videos that you can try out over the weekend. In the below tutorial from 5-Minute Crafts, you'll learn "13 easy photo hacks to make every picture look professional.

Do you think you could tell the difference between an image that was shot with a pro DSLR vs one that was captured with a smartphone? Do you think a pro photographer could tell the difference?