By Mike Wilmer

Could you win a Pulitzer with a camera phone photo? You never know! And to a lot of news editors, the day of the "citizen photojournalist" has arrived. Already people with camera phones witnessing historic events like the London terrorist bombings, Hurricane Dennis, and the Air France jet crash have generated an extraordinary influx of photos supported by eyewitness accounts. They've appeared on broadcast news, in print, and, of course, on news Web sites.

The Internet and camera phones have given rise to "citizen journalists," "community journalism," and a virtual army of people ready and waiting for the opportunity to move from being part of the story to telling the story.

But before you try to become the next Robert Capa (arguably the twentieth century's most famous photojournalist), here are some things to consider:

Know your camera's capabilities...
Knowing what you can and can't do with your camera phone before you try to take a picture in a chaotic situation is important. If all you've done is take photos of the family dog that you use on your phone's LCD screen, it's unlikely you have a good idea what your camera can do. At the very least, have prints made of some of photos that were taken under different lighting conditions so you will have a better idea of what will or won't work with your camera. In the "heat of battle," you don't want waste time shooting worthless photos.

Get supporting information...
The value of your photos will go up tremendously if you gather supporting information before leaving the scene. If you have the names of the people in your photos and a way to contact them, an editor's interest in your photographs will be exponentially greater than it will be if the people are anonymous. The usual "who, what, where, when and why" of a story may not be answered by your photos. Having some or all of that information can make your photos worth more to a publisher.

Fill the frame...
Professional photojournalists walk around with long lenses on their cameras for a reason. A telephoto lens will allow you to fill up the viewfinder with the most interesting part of a scene. Camera phones usually aren't equipped with very long lenses, and because of their low resolution, they won't allow much cropping after the fact. So if it's possible, get in close to the action and fill up the frame. But before you do that, read the next important tip!

Be safe!
Do not take unnecessary risks! During the Air France disaster, people with cameras could have easily caused their own deaths or the deaths of others had they obstructed the path of passengers trying to exit that burning plane. Professional journalists lose their lives all of the time when they go out to cover stories in hazardous conditions. In your enthusiasm to take advantage of being in the middle of a big story, you may overlook the risks all around you. It's one thing to take a photo while you're in the process of moving to safety. It's something else to assume even greater risks, such as lingering in a danger zone, in hopes of getting an exclusive photograph.

Without a doubt, anyone on the scene with a camera phone can make a useful contribution to our information society. But as with past trends, like desktop publishing, some contributions will be greater than others. So if you want to participate in this new phenomenon, it's wise to take the time to learn how to get the most out of the camera you'll have with you when that big opportunity comes your way.

If you were caught up in a news event, would you reach for your cell phone camera? Click here to participate in a poll in The Photography Forum!

Mike Wilmer is a Brooks Institute of Photography graduate, has been a professional photographer for over 3 decades, and established The Photography Forum in 1987 and the Gadgets and Gear Forum in 2005.