Scissor Sisters
On Thursday last week (14th August 2025), I rolled up at Sandringham for the Pet Shop Boys Concert supported by the Scissor Sisters. As per every concert in the world, you can’t take a camera into the concert with you. Now I would rather eat my own eyes than use a mobile phone to take photographs with, but I had no choice if I wanted pictures. To be transparent, I don’t have a great all-singing, all-dancing phone. I’ve never had any real interest in them. These were all captured on a Motorola G32. I hear you laughing!
There is a saying:
The best camera is the one you have with you.
Chase Jarvis
As far as I’m concerned, just no!
The saying should be (it just rolls off the tongue, don’t you think):
If you have nothing else, use your mobile phone, but if I were you, next time take your camera!
The Eclectic Photographer
The times people have tried to convince me how great their mobile phone is when looking at a small backlit screen, saying how brilliant the image is, drives me nuts, as I know what’s hiding underneath!
I was photographing a wedding once, and I overheard a couple near me say, “I don’t know why they got a wedding photographer, we all have mobile phones”. I swear, I’m not making that up! That goes to prove just how good the mobile phone camera marketing has been.
Mobile phones have tiny sensors, poor lenses that distort and a limited dynamic range. In low light, the noise they produce is something shocking!
But if you’ve no alternative, then necessity may demand using your phone. Whatever you do, if your mobile allows, shoot images in RAW format. If you do that, however (certainly on my phone), you’ll not be able to zoom in on the picture. When a mobile phone is set to auto, it crops into an image and uses a technique called optical folding. This gives the impression of a zoom lens. That is certainly the case on my mobile phone.
But in RAW, at least you can edit your images and crop in afterwards.
Here are some of the photographs I took. At these sizes on screen, they look about OK. Under scrutiny and full size, they leave a lot to be desired. There’s a reason why people are allowed to take their phones into concerts. The pictures are never that great!
Pet Shop Boys
This one had to be converted into black and white due to moire, but that could happen with a few cameras. The trick to getting at least the chance of a decent image is to use the camera’s pro mode. In the dark, you need to set your camera to underexpose. Most of these are underexposed by 2/3s of a stop.
The images didn’t come out too badly for posting on my blog. But I had to do a lot of editing on them.
In good daylight, you’ll get acceptable photographs. Once the light starts to go down, the problems begin.
Final Thoughts
Have I changed my mind about mobile phones and photographs?
Not at all, but…
If you’re driving down a country road and an alien lands in front of you to make first contact with the human race (see Star Trek, First Contact), take a picture with anything you have to hand. It doesn’t matter what with. No one will care which camera you used to take the photograph with. The event being captured is bigger than the camera you’re using. Get the image (retain your copyright) and charge for its use (no freebies).
If you go to a concert, go on holiday, visit the zoo, or do anything else, use your mobile phone, take hundreds of photographs. No one will care. It’s your memories. Mobile phones have their place.
But I would still rather eat my own eyes than use one (that is a colourful metaphor, I do have both eyes).
To add some balance. You wouldn’t (would you?) hire a photographer who uses a mobile phone to capture your wedding day!
The concert was brilliant. The Scissor Sisters were excellent. They had so much energy and fun on stage. I would go and see them again. I’d forgotten just how catchy their music was.
The Pet Shop Boys were brilliant, of course!
Who to see next year?