Wireless communications devices, such as cellular telephones (100), include an integrated camera (202) and process image data captured by that camera (202) to determine desired device illumination levels. A controller (410) within the wireless communications device (100) causes an image to be captured by the integrated camera (202). The captured image data is processed to determine approximate ambient light levels. A level of device illumination, such as provided by a display backlight (416) and a keypad backlight (418) is controlled based upon the approximate ambient light levels.