Photography 101 - #1 Clean the camera lens

Do you have a phone?
- Yes?
Does it have a camera?
- Yes?
Have you ever taken a picture with it?
- Yes?

Then this very simple but often overlooked tip is for you:
Wipe the damn smudges off your camera lens with your shirt before you take a picture.


This tip may not apply to everyone, but I've seen too many photographs on the interwebz that suffer from blur and vagueness. If you ever put your phone down on a dirty table, chances are the camera is already getting greasy. Greasy enough to ruin otherwise decent photographs. Let me show you with an example:

This picture is taken with a dirty camera lens. Now let's see what the same image would look like when you wipe the camera clean [after the break]:

That photo shows how sharp your phone's pictures should be. Do you see the difference in sharpness on Johnny Greenpants, the Lego figure? You may consider the blurry picture artistic in its own way (you might call the effect dreamy) because of the reduced sharpness. But since most people take phone pictures to keep memories instead of creating art, the effect is often unwanted.

So, if you're unlike me and you don't keep your phone clean all the time, remember to wipe the damn grease off the camera lens before you take a picture. Do it for the sake of people who can't stand viewing crappy pictures on social media - we thank you!