SmartPhone USERS

Smartphone Camera option

In an effort to make creating banner designs more fun and accessible, we are encouraging people to enter photos made on high resolution smartphones.

As the saying goes, “the best camera is the one you have with you.” (Chase Jarvis)

Smartphone cameras continue to improve at a rapid pace, with larger sensors and higher pixel resolution becoming standard. However, not all smartphone cameras are created equal and there are a few things to consider when creating images for the banner contest on your mobile device:

1. Ensure that your smartphone camera has a minimum 14MP sensor with min. 1920x1080, 440ppi resolution (see adjacent list for recommended devices).

2. Ensure that your mobile device camera settings are set to the highest resolution available and use the “Most Compatible” image format. “High Efficiency” image formats can compromise the image quality by compressing the pixel data. See the video below to see how to adjust your settings.

3. When creating a photo on your mobile device, consider using a tripod or stand to ensure there is no camera shake / blur and that the image is correctly exposed.

4. Always “shoot” in portrait / vertical orientation to ensure minimal cropping of your submitted banner image.

5. Do not be tempted to “zoom” in to your subject too much, this usually ends up “crushing” the pixels and compromises the image quality - making the image unusable in a banner design.

6. Consider using smartphone apps to edit your photos and improve the colour, sharpness and contrast of the image. Some great apps are Snapseed (free), VSCO (paid) or Remini (paid).

7. When submitting your smartphone images to the contest, ensure that you download the HIGHEST resolution image(s) available from your device. See the video below for a quick tutorial about downloading your images.

QUICK Video TIPS