Cake Cam
Candice Lusk, Michael D. Jones · 2019
Tourists often turn to strangers when they need a photographer while traveling; however, they do so at a cost. Strangers are not typically trained photographers, nor are they telepathically intuiting what composition the tourist wants. Existing smartphone camera interfaces do not communicate the desired framing to the stranger, and prior work in mobile photography guidance does not manage the 3D movement required when composing the tourist's ideal photo. We offer a new kind of mobile interaction for communicating the intended photo to a stranger without instructions. In our methodology, the tourist first composes a photo with the desired framing. The app, Cake Cam, then stores the camera position and orientation. Finally, 3D augmented reality markers guide the stranger to retake the photo with the tourist now standing in the frame. Our study resulted in more accurate camera placements and required fewer additional instructions than the traditional tourist photography method (n=40).