Phonography
By W Bro Terry McCallum
Lodges, Phones and Photos Terry McCallum is a professional photographer whose photos have been run in many magazines and journals. Here are his tips to ensure you capture the best possible image.
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ictures don’t just come from cameras anymore. The technical wizardry of modern professional cameras is constantly filtering through to everybody’s mobile phone. With every new release, a mobile phone is becoming less and less about making a phone call and more about the myriad of other services it can provide – in particular its ability to capture images. I recently read something that gave a perfect new word for this – phonography rather than photography. There are several matters to consider when taking and sending photos taken using a mobile phone. Please bear in mind I can only cover basic principles. Any specifics for your own model of phone must be guided by your own product manual. In short, printing on paper requires very high resolution photos. It is essential you select the largest file size possible, because the reproducing on paper requires more than simply showing on a screen. Explore your phone, find the largest settings for pictures and select them if taking photos for the magazine. The magazine is delighted to keep receiving contributions to Regional
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September 2021
Roundup, which is where we let everyone else know what has happened in your lodge. The mobile phone has taken the place of ‘heavy artillery’ cameras. The result is that photos we receive often fall short of the technical specifications required for printing because settings designed for a simple ‘screen shot’ are used for what will become a printed page. The majority of photographic submissions to the magazine are taken on mobile phones. This brings a bagful of concerns regarding the technical side of those pictures.
We see so many great pictures that cannot be used because they are too small.
CRUCIAL POINT: If you are using your phone to take pictures in a lodge room then please set it to silent mode, and make sure that all brethren present are OK with their picture being taken. Also, make sure no photos display the TB or an open VSL. Ensure the photo only captures the subjects. Offerings sent to the magazine must meet technical requirements before proceeding to the print stage. Resulting hurdles are as follows: A phone lens is considerably smaller than that used in a more conventional camera, giving less image to work with. Phones tend to keep the file size pretty small, with the consequence that much of the original image information (which wasn’t much in the first place) is discarded – leaving the user with a very low resolution picture that looks amazing on the phone screen, but deteriorates rapidly as it is applied to other uses. Mobile cameras are improving, so the main task is to ensure photos you take that are intended for print are as ‘fat’ as possible. So, what can we do?
Integrity – Loyalty – Respect Freemason
