Contrary to popular belief, a smartphone’s camera can be used in more ways than capturing a scene of life, an Instagram moment or a selfie, but can also be a very good ally in becoming a reliable witness and a helpful instrument in doing some chores in an ingenious manner. Well, this is what the camera was meant to: preserving in time a moment, a situation, a face, a phenomenon, an event and so on. The ability to take pictures and save them actually helped people to move forward in their development and evolution and reach a lot of objectives otherwise impossible without them. Back in the day, when our phones couldn’t take high quality photos, people were less willing to take a traditional camera along with them, but now it is so easy, as we have high performance tiny cameras incorporated into our phones and it would be a pity not to use them. So let’s see together 10 smart ways to use your smartphone’s camera for more than Facebook cat pics and Instagram selfies.
1. Save yourself from useless paranoia
If you have issues leaving the maid alone in the house together with your precious jewelry box or other high valued objects, snap a photo of the objects in place and check their position when coming back home, just to make sure nobody messed with your possessions, the secret drawer where you keep your cash and so on.
2. Safely save your personal data and important information
There is a good advice traveling on the Internet involving smart ways to use your smartphone’s camera and it involves taking a picture of your ID card, credit cards, a hotel address (if you’re a tourist in a foreign place) and wear it all times. In case you lose some personal papers, you need to quickly prove your identity or give somebody some financial details, you just take the phone out and use the pictures to solve the problem.
3. Don’t do too much or too less shopping
People need to go grocery shopping and some of them still use written lists to remind them what to buy and what provisions they should make. But the new ways of going to the supermarket suggests we take a picture of our fridge shelves or cupboard ones to see what we already have. However, the list is still useful if you remember what you have but completely forgotten what else you should buy.
4. Keep a photo of your kids or pets before going somewhere crowded
Among all the smart ways to use your smartphone’s camera, this one is brilliant indeed: if you’re taking the kid to an amusement park or another crowded place, take a pic before leaving and thus ensure that you will able to show authorities exactly how the kid looks like and is wearing in the terrible case he or she gets lost. Same goes with pets: it is easier to show passers by the picture of your missing pet than trying to describe the race, type, color, eyes and behavior.
5. Save time and troubles when looking for clothes or accessories
Women know what we mean by this: you go shopping having in mind some outfit or item you need to match the color or the model of something else you own and you try to combine. But it’s not comfortable to bring the coat just to buy a matching scarf, if you’re looking for color matching or the skirt to buy a jacket, if you’re looking for similar cloth texture or line cuts. But you can bring a photo with you and start shopping for new items having in front of your eyes the color or the design you’re looking for.
6. Take photos of your favorite hair cut to get the same one next time
This one is also for the ladies: you got a fresh haircut you’re in love with. Ask your hairdresser to picture it from all angles so next time you want the same cut, you have documented proof of how the final result should look like. It is helpful for both the lady and the hairdresser and saves time when explaining what you want and how you want it.
7. Take a picture of your parking spot
“Dude, where’s my car?” Sounds familiar? Well, be smart and take a pic of your car and some significant, permanent landmark, so you don’t have to frantically look for your vehicle when you get out of the mall or other place endowed with a crowded parking lot.
8. Ask for exactly what you want when buying certain products
“I need a face cream I forgot what is named, but it comes in a green box” or “I am looking for a device that looks like …” Save time and embarrassment and show the store clerk what you are looking for, especially if it’s a rare product that isn’t available everywhere you look around.
9. Take a pic of a business card
In the digital era we’re living, sharing paper business cards is a bit redundant, but some still have them and are willing to give them to you, in many business fields and industries. If you want to keep that person’s contact data or at least remember the name of the company to look for it online, take a pic of the card and transfer the data to your phone so you can access it at any time.
10. Lose your claim checks, as you took photos of them already
It would be easier to live in a world where we wouldn’t lose our claim checks for the cleaners or coat checks or bills. We tend to lose them or not even care where we put them, only to realize we need them to recover our belongings or go back to the store and contest some over-charging of your bill.
There are many other smart ways to use your smartphone’s camera, including photographing your friends while they borrow your stuff or the content of a box when moving, to remember later what is where when you start unpacking. If you came up with other ways of intelligently use your phone cameras, please let us know!
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