Every family has its designated vacation photographer, so it was, to put it mildly, a moment of sheer horror when I arrived at the Naples airport last summer with my wife and two children for a brief stay on the Amalfi Coast and realized that I had forgotten my camera.

每个家庭都有自己的指定假期摄影师。去年夏天，我同妻子和两个孩子到阿马尔菲海滩短暂度假，当我来到那不勒斯机场的时候才发现自己忘了带相机，当时的感觉，说得好听一点，就是纯粹的恐怖。

It wasn't the first time. Many years ago, a friend asked me to photograph his wedding. I packed film but for some reason left my usual camera, a Nikon single-lens reflex, behind and found myself left with a simple Ricoh point-and-shoot camera. I heard the bride's mother say, "I thought you told me he was a professional."

这不是第一次了。多年前，一个朋友让我帮他在他的婚礼上拍照。我带上了胶卷，但由于某些原因忘了带平时常用的尼康单反相机，只带了一台理光傻瓜相机。我听见新娘的母亲说：“我记得你跟我说过他是专业摄影师的。”

But as it turns out there is a savior: your smartphone. Much to my children's embarrassment², I have a cracked first-generation iPhone 4. Things have come a long way since I bought that phone over three years ago. The cameras on cellphones today have become sophisticated instruments, with between 8 and 16 megapixel sensors⁴, which allow you to make extremely detailed⁵ and sharp images. However, there are many other aspects, such as actual pixel size and aperture⁶ size, that affect the quality of a phone's camera. But even an older phone like mine, which has a 5-megapixel sensor³, can take great shots.

但最后还有智能手机这个救星。令我的孩子们尴尬的是，我用的是一台破破烂烂的第一代iPhone 4。这还是三年前买的，之后很多事情发生了改变。如今手机上的摄像头已经成了精密的工具，有8兆到16兆像素的传感器，让你可以拍出细致生动的照片。然而还有许多其他方面，比如实际像素大小和显卡借用内存大小，这些都会影响手机摄像头的质量。但就算像我的手机这么老的机器，只有5兆像素传感器，也可以拍出好照片。

Of course, cellphones have their limitations, and it's important to understand what they do well: landscapes and portraits in good, even light. It is equally important to know what they do less well: any shot with poor or overly contrasted light, and scenes in which there are several light sources. Flash is also rarely satisfying, mostly because it is too weak to richly illuminate⁷ a dim scene. It works much better in situations when it is used as fill-in flash, to pop a bit of brightness into faces and eyes.

当然，手机也有局限性，了解它们的强项很重要——在良好而均衡的光线下拍摄风景和人像。了解它们的弱项也同样重要——在任何光线不足，或光线对比过大的地方，以及有多个光源的地方。闪光灯的表现也很少能令人满意，主要是因为闪光灯太弱，不能充分照明模糊的场景；但拿它充当补光，为面部和眼睛增添少许亮度的情况下会好得多，

There is also a host of apps available for Apple-, Windows- and Android-based systems, though the choice is wider for the iPhone. For me, the best apps are the ones that are easiest to use. The technical capabilities⁸ are more than most of us will need, so the important point is to find the interface⁹ you find the simplest and most fun to work with. Here are a few suggestions:

苹果、Windows和安卓系统中都有很多应用，但iPhone上的选择更加广泛。对于我来说，最简单的应用就是最好的应用。这些应用中的技术含量超过了我们绝大多数人需要的程度，所以重要的就是找到你觉得最简单、最有趣的界面。下面有几个建议。

Hipstamatic Available for Apple- and Windows-based systems, this app is a personal favorite. It's square — great for an Instagrammer or if, like me, you have spent years shooting on medium-format cameras. In fact, I used this app for the Amalfi photos displayed here. Two tips: Set the file size regulator to maximum to ensure the sharpest photo. Second, make sure the viewfinder is full frame so you see what you are getting in the picture.

Hipstamatic：可在苹果和Windows系统下使用。这个应用是我个人的最爱。它使用正方形照片，非常适合Instagram用户，以及我这种多年来拍摄中画幅照片的人。我在这里展示的阿马尔菲照片就是使用这个应用拍的。两个小技巧：首先，把文件大小设置为最大，保证照片清晰。其次，保证取景框是满帧的，让你可以看到拍出的照片是什么样子。

Camera+ and 645 Pro¹ Both apps are for iPhones and offer clear, improved controls for making 35-millimeter-style photographs, including easy zooming¹¹ and exposure control. These apps are designed to give you the feeling that you are holding a real camera.

Camera+ 与645 Pro：二者都是iPhone上的应用，可以拍出清晰的、控制程度更好的35毫米镜头式照片。二者都有好用的焦距和曝光调节。两个应用都是为了让你感觉自己是拿着真正的相机而设计的。

Camera Zoom¹⁰ FX and Vignette There are limited choices for upgrading an Android camera, but these apps, which offer easier control for framing and zooming, are two of the more useful ones.

Camera Zoom FX与Vignette：安卓手机的选择余地很小，但这两个应用有很简单的取景和调节焦距功能，比较实用。

Snapseed A well-designed editing program to make up for the sometimes frustrating¹² simplicity¹³ of cellphone lenses. It uses swipe-style controls, which makes editing simple and fast.

Snapseed：设计出色的编辑程序，可以弥补手机镜头有时过于简单的缺陷。它使用触控方式，让编辑简便快捷。

These are handy apps, and I relied on one, but the best thing about a cellphone is that it's in your pocket — at least you hope it is. Even my kids grudgingly¹⁴ admitted that the Amalfi pictures weren't bad.

这些都是非常好用的应用，我总是使用其中一种，但手机最好的一点就是，只要你愿意，就可以把它随时揣在兜里。就连我的孩子们都勉强承认阿马尔菲海滩的照片还不坏。