It’s no secret that many of latest smartphones have great cameras, indeed the camera is often the headline feature – when Google released its new Pixel 3a, the firm went out of its way to promote the camera with an ad campaign that contrasted it with Apple’s far more pricey iPhone X.
But while many of us are carrying high-grade cameras around with us all day, how often do we really put the results of all that tech to use? If your phone is stuffed full of under-used photos, here’s some ideas for what to do with them beyond just posting them on social media:
Custom Merchandise
Posting photos online is nice, but it’s possible to give them a more tangible life with custom merch such as mugs and T-shirts or even bespoke framed prints of your favourite holiday snaps and moments.
This is also a great option for groups looking to create a unified look with branded clothing and for artists and designers looking to offer their own merchandise range to followers.
Photo Books
Last year Apple closed its photo book service which allowed iPhone users to order bound books of their favourite snaps, but there are still plenty of online and high street firms out there who realise lots of people want to enjoy images offscreen.
Not only is a photo book a great way to enjoy your pictures and relive your happiest memories, they also make a great gift at birthdays and Christmas.
Stock Images
If you’re really confident about your photos, you can list them on stock photos sites which are commonly used by news sites to help illustrate stories.
Sites such as Shutterstock allow you to earn money from each use, while others such as Pexels provide a platform for people to upload images that can be used free of charge. It’s also possible to set up an account with Flickr and make images available for re-use under the creative commons license.
Back Them Up
Of all our suggestions, this is probably the most important but it’s something many people don’t think about until it’s too late and they’ve lost their phone and all the precious memories it contains.
Luckily this is easily avoided as there’s a number of apps which will automatically backup your photos and store them safely on the cloud.
Our favourite is Google Photos which is available for iPhone and Android handsets and offers unlimited storage of photos and videos (each file can’t be more than 16MP (MegaPixels)).
Even better, your backed up pictures can be easily accessed on your computer and tablet via your web browser or the app.
