Camera Phones vs. Real Cameras

Red Road, a photo by DVJ Photo on Flickr.

Can a person take really good photos with a camera phone?
My answer is, yes!
Let's be honest, most photographer and models are snobs. If it's not an advanced 35mm camera with interchangeable lenses, hot shoe flash, and remote control triggers, then obviously, your some sort of amateur or perv, in essence, a looser.
I disagree.
A photographer is a photographer, no matter if they use a phone camera or a Canon. All the rules of photography still apply.
What differes is the quality of the pictures and the options you have avaliable. Even an iphone 4, with it's amazing clarity, can't match the quality of a high end camera. And yes, more than likely, you have a digital zoom, which makes every picture taken look like someone threw up.
But there are ways around the limitations. Iphone has two great apps, the hipstamatic and the instamatic. Thanks to a combo of filters and lighting options (the hipstamatic has a virtual flash option) you can get some interesting and amazing photos (like the one above).
The portability makes it easy take a picture of something cool, with out having to lug a $1000 worth of very heavy equipment. Plus, you can do on the fly editing (with the instamatic at least) bringing out the best of the camera you are using.
As phones get better (and as point and shoot cameras improve as well), there will be more and more options for amateur and professional photographers to showcase their talent, or take interesting "at arms length" photos of them in the mirror.
So, don't let the snobs stop you. Take your photos with the camera of your choice. Share them, learn from them. Then, as you grow as a photographer, you may decide to take the next step, and invest in a 35mm!