Camera phones are popular. So popular, in fact, InfoTrends Research Group. estimated in March that 60 percent of the 200 million digital image capture devices in use around the worldwide will be mobile handsets this year. And from these phones, a staggering 29 billion pictures will be taken.

One of the hallmark features of camera phones is their ease of use. However, many people don't know how to get the most of these devices. As a result, AT&T Wireless, Eastman Kodak, and Nokia, all companies that have significant stake in the world of camera phones, has posted several tips from Dennis Curtin, operator of photocourse.com and author of Choosing and Using a Camera Phone.

According to Curtin, "taking a great camera phone picture is easy, if you just keep three things in mind: The light, the scene and the camera phone itself." Some of Curtin's suggestions include:

-- Shoot a lot of pictures -- digital images are free, so you can pick the best and delete the rest
-- The best time for photos is when it is cloudy, yet bright -- in this light you can do no wrong
-- Get as close as possible, and have a group cluster together and completely fill the frame
-- Keep your camera phone charged

The companies are also running the "Picture an Endless Summer" photo contest. In the contest, entrants send what they consider their best summertime camera phone pictures directly from their camera phone to the contest site's dedicated e-mail address: summer@kodakmobile.com. The grand prize is a Caribbean cruise. Twenty other people get a Nokia 6620 camera phone and three months of service from AT&T Wireless.