Nathan Skid: You know those cool 20 in their 20s photos? They were taken on my cell phone

It really doesn't matter what kind of camera equipment you have, anyone can be a better-than-decent photographer these days.

All you need to know are the basic elements of good photography: Follow the rule of thirds, fill the frame, look for interesting angles and don't backlight a subject.

But a decent smartphone helps.

About a month before this year's 20 in their 20s section went to print, Crain's Detroit Business page designer Jeff Johnston and I started mulling over potential layouts.

We always try to push the bar, but after five years of shooting the same style of photo for the sections, we wanted something different.

I thought about the types of images I post to Facebook; I almost always use a retro-camera application with cool results.

I snapped a quick photo of Jeff with the retro camera, used the in-camera editing software to overexpose the image then converted it to black and white.

The idea for this year's section was born.

I did a little digging, found a version of the app that can take high-resolution photographs, a must if you're going to use the images for print.

I set up our make-shift studio and brought in some coworkers for test shots. It didn't take long before I was fielding requests from employees all over Crain Communications looking to have their picture taken.

I knew we had a hit on our hands.

As each of our 20s came to the studio, I pulled out my Nikon D300, complete with a wireless flash and a new set of lenses.

"I'm going to take some photos with my Nikon but after I am going to take the real photos," I told each of them.

Then I pulled out my Evo Android cell phone and began the real photo shoot.

Most of the subjects had faith the images would turn out, some needed a little coaxing, all were happy with the end result.

You don't need a $3,000 camera body with a $1,000 lens to get good results; equipment is no longer the most important component in photography.

Put it this way, we all can type words on a page but that doesn't mean we can write like Mark Twain.