Price tags, maps, recipes: mobile phone photos for functional purposes

Cameras have become an integral part of mobile phones, providing similar capabilities than low-end consumer cameras. Cameraphones have emerged to cover versatile use contexts and have become an effective tool for ubiquitous capture. In this paper, we report research that investigates motivations and practices in taking photos for functional purposes. Our findings reveal that users have commonly and broadly adopted practices where cameraphones are used for functional photography. Major cases include taking photos as a memory aid or to secure evidence. The capability to take photos, ad hoc and without preparation or planning, is the key reason for this practice. Our data suggests that use cases spread over a large variety of domains and are entwined with users' everyday tasks.