How to Take Better Photos With a Phone

The best camera you have with you is likely to be your smartphone. Use it to take the best photos possible with the help of these simple tips.

Professional photographer Chase Jarvis lives by the maxim that the best camera is the one that you have with you. These days that's likely to be your camera phone. How can you optimize the photos you take with it? Read on for some quick tips.

Zoom with your feet: Many camera phones include a digital zoom function, which you should avoid because it will quickly degrade the quality of your final image. Whenever possible, get closer to your subject by walking up to it (or wait for the subject to come to you).

Look for the light: Good photography requires good light. You can't always choose when to take photos, but avoiding midday glare is always a good idea due to the harsh shadows that appear at this time.

Get steady shots: To avoid blur, shake the camera as little as possible. Camera phones aren’t always the best shape for ensuring a good, steady grip, but you can use a nearby wall or telephone pole as a makeshift brace. Alternatively, consider a cell phone tripod such as Joby's Gorillamobile.

Clear the background: If you want to capture great portraits, pay attention to what's behind your subject. Try to find a simple, uncluttered background--nothing looks worse than tree branches or some other distraction appearing to grow out of your subject's head!

Crank up the resolution: Change your phone's camera-quality settings to ensure that it captures images at the highest resolution possible. The higher the resolution, the higher the quality of your final photo. Check out our smartphone camera roundup to get an idea of which phones offer the best cameras.

Be wary of shutter lag: Make sure to hold the phone steady until you see the final image on the screen. Significant shutter lag plagues most camera phones; this means that the camera is still engaged in the act of capturing the image after you have pressed the shutter button. The lag may last only a second or so, but that can be enough to blur the image.

You don't need crazy accessories to take great photos with your phone.Experiment with angles: The compact dimensions of a phone may give you the opportunity to exploit interesting angles or vantage points that you can't with a DSLR or digital point-and-shoot camera. Don't be afraid to try a variety of angles or elevations to capture unique images.

Keep it clean: Make sure that the camera lens on your phone is clean. People often keep their phones in pockets that they use for all manner of things, but if you ensure that the lens stays clear of grease, dust, and scratches, your photography will benefit.

Fill the frame: Try to fill the screen with your subjects. It's a simple way to give photos more impact and make them stand out on small displays. For example, head-and-shoulder portraits often appear more dramatic than full-length body shots.

Shoot more and shoot often: Taking a lot of pictures is good for getting extra practice, and it increases your chances of capturing a fantastic photo. Unless your memory space is limited, snap away while you can, and delete the duds later.

How To Avoid Cell Phone Scratches

Keep your cell phone looking brand new with this next-to-free protective cover that will last longer than the original.

1.Measure and mark

Measure your screen with the ruler and use the marker to mark the width on the packing tape before you unroll the tape. Then add an inch to your height measurement and mark that on the tape.

2.Cut

Cut the marked piece of tape as straight as possible. Peel it from the roll starting at the top, where the excess tape is marked.

Tips:Hold the tape by the excess inch. This prevents fingerprints and prevents the tape from getting hung up on anything.

3.Soak

Submerge the piece of tape completely in a bowl of water with a few drops of dish soap and soak it for several seconds. Avoid making the water too sudsy.

4.Place on phone

Make sure the tape and your hands are free from debris. Then, put a drop or two of water on your cell phone's screen and apply the tape, sticky-side down, starting at the bottom. Center the tape on the screen.

5.Squeegee

Remove excess water and air bubbles with the credit card, using it like a squeegee. Push from the bottom to the top. Then blot excess water from the screen with a tissue.

6.Remove excess tape

Carefully cut off the excess tape at the top just below the faceplate surface.

7.Avoid scratching back

Avoid scratching other parts of your cell phone by always placing it in a separate pocket from your keys and loose change, or in a separate compartment in your handbag.

 

How to Remove Scratches from Any Dvd Or CD

Do you have a DVD that has so many scratches you can't even use it? If so, keep reading, because this article will show you how to fix them!

1.Add toothpaste to the reflective side. 

2.Cover peanut butter over the toothpaste. Smother it over it, but put too much of both.

3.Wipe off all peanut butter and toothpaste.

4.Reapply. Reapply the toothpaste then the peanut butter.

5.Put your DVD in a good tight container.

6.Add soda. It sound weird, but add soda before you close it. Don't use too much!

7.Add baking soda. Add little bit of baking soda then put the lid on your container with the DVD inside.

8.Shake it a little bit and wait a couple of minutes.

9.Clean. After waiting, open up the container and polish it a with tissue or cloth.

Warning: 

• Make sure the lid on the container is tight or you could make a mess!
• Don't put too much soda, toothpaste, etc.

Tips :

• Put enough peanut butter and toothpaste.
• Use a good cloth or tissue.
• Wear gloves (if you have them) so your hands won't get dirty.
• Put the container's lid on tight.      

How To Pick a Lock

Locked out of your house in the middle of the night? Have you lost the key to the padlock on your shed? Before you pay a locksmith to let you in or to open something up, consider picking the lock yourself. Most locks around the home or office are simple pin-and-tumbler locks and can be relatively easy to open using a pick and tension wrench, both of which can be improvised from common household items.

While the process is simple and can be mastered with practice, picking such a lock requires a great deal of patience. To pick locks, a person has to insert a thin metal pin or needle, moving the pin around until hearing a click or a gear shift. This article will show you what to do.

1. Understand how your lock works. The pin-and-tumbler lock consists of a cylinder that can rotate within its housing (see the illustrations below). When locked, the cylinder is kept in place by several pairs of pins. The top pin of each pair protrudes into both the cylinder and the housing, thus preventing the cylinder from turning. When the correct key is inserted, it pushes the pairs of pins up so that the top pins no longer enter the cylinder. When this happens, the cylinder can be turned and the lock will open. 
2.Purchase a pick and tension wrench. Each pick is specialized for a different problem. A tension wrench, or torque wrench, is the device you use to apply pressure to turn the lock cylinder. Professional-grade picks and tension wrenches can be purchased in sets (see picture), but many lock picking hobbyists make good quality sets of their own. See the Things You'll Need section below for information on how to make your own picks and tension wrenches.
3.Place the tension wrench into the lower portion of the keyhole. 
4.Determine which way the cylinder must be turned to unlock the lock. If you commonly use the lock, you probably already know which way you turn the key to open the lock. If you don’t know, use the tension wrench to apply torque to the cylinder, first clockwise and then counterclockwise. The cylinder will only turn a fraction of an inch before it stops. Try to feel the firmness of the stop. If you turn the cylinder the wrong way, the stop should feel very firm and stiff. If you turn it the right way, there should be a bit more give. 
5.Apply light torque to the tension wrench in the correct direction, and hold. The required torque will vary from lock to lock and from pin to pin, so this may require some trial and error. Start gently, though. 
6.Insert the pick into the upper part of the keyhole and feel the pins. With the pick in the keyhole, you should be able to press up and feel the individual pins with the tip of the pick. You should be able to push them up and feel them spring back down when you release the pressure. Try to push each one all the way up. Identify which one is the hardest to push up. If they're all very easy to push up, turn the tension wrench more to increase the torque. If one won’t go up at all, ease the torque until you can push it up. Alternatively, you may wish to “rake” the pins before this step.
7.Push the stubborn pin up until it “sets.” Press the stubborn pin with just enough pressure to overcome the downward pressure of the spring. Remember, the pin is actually a pair of pins. Your pick is pushing against the lower pin, which in turn pushes against the upper pin. Your goal is to push the upper pin completely out of the cylinder. Then, when you stop pushing, the lower pin will fall back down into the cylinder, but the torque on the cylinder will result in a misalignment of the hole in the cylinder with the hole in the housing, and the upper pin should then rest on the cylinder without falling back down. You should hear a faint click as the upper pin falls back down on top of the cylinder. You should also be able to push the lower pin up a little with no resistance from the spring—when this occurs you most likely have the upper pin “set.” 
8.Continue applying torque and repeat the last two steps for each of the remaining pins. It is imperative that you maintain torque on the cylinder to prevent the set pins from dropping back down. You may need to make slight increases or decreases in torque for each pin. 
9.Use the tension wrench to turn the cylinder and unlock the lock. Once all the pins are set, you should be able to turn the cylinder. Hopefully you have already ascertained the correct direction to turn it. If you have chosen the wrong direction, you will need to start over and reset all the pins. 

Warning: 

• If a pin won’t budge when you try to push it up, you are probably applying too much torque so that the cylinder is too greatly misaligned with the hole in the housing. If this is the case, you’ll need to release some of the torque. Doing so may cause pins to fall that are already set. Unfortunately, there’s no way around that. Try changing the order of your picking on your next attempt.
• When done properly, lock picking does not harm the lock, but if you apply too much torque to the cylinder or too much pressure to the pins, there is always the risk of damaging the mechanism.
• There are varying laws on lock picking, owning lock picks, and creating improvised tools. Most US states have specific laws in their criminal codes that define possession of "burglars tools" as a distinct and separate crime, but how this crime is defined varies among states. Check the laws for your area. And obviously, only ever pick your own locks!