Singapore

Smartphone photography 101: How to take slice of life photos

Aim for a variety and tell a story

Published

August 9, 2019

Chay Lazaro

Whether you want to capture random mundane activities or annual festivities like National Day, making sure you tell a story with your photos is important. There are so many ways to snap slice-of-life images, no matter which platform they’re made for — the challenge is to make each photo interesting.

Here are some tips from actual photographers on how you can take pro-looking photos of everyday life using just an iPhone. The best camera, after all, is the one that you have with you at all times:

Use the horizon as your guide

When it comes to photographing buildings, Darren Soh says to keep your iPhone level to the horizon. There’s no shame in taking a few seconds to frame your shot so the building remains straight in your photos as in real life.

Aim for variety

No matter how mundane, a picture is worth a thousand words. Franz Navarrete says to ask yourself before tapping that shutter: “What’s the story I want to tell?” Spontaneity is fun but when time allows for it, plan and research the place you’re going to to give you a sense of what you should be looking for. Make an effort to explore and walk a lot the unbeaten path — go to the alleys and climb those stairs.

Use long exposure

Shot on iPhone XS Max, Melissa Patrice (@girleatworld)

Live Photo isn’t just for taking moving Harry Potter-like photos. When you swipe up on any Live Photo, you’ll see a variety of effects including long exposure. Melissa Patrice says you will want to be as steady as possible when taking photos with long exposure as the intension. A tripod will help, but if you don’t have one, she says you can find a stable surface to rest your phone on while taking the photo. Keep in mind that this effect works really well only when you have a steady subject and a lot of movement in the background.

Hold your breath

Shot on iPhone XR, Jason Lim (@jsnjnr)

This is one of the most underrated and least talked about trick, even in videography. If you don’t have a tripod, Jason Lim suggests holding your breath when taking a photo to keep your phone steady and make sure the photo is sharp.

Use portrait mode

Shot on iPhone XS Max, Ivan Kuek (@phonenomenon)

We’ve talked about using portrait mode sparingly before, and that applies here as well. Ivan Kuek says the trick for making it work is to look for good lighting. Framing your shot with a foreground or background that relates to your subject also helps tell a more meaningful story.

Clean your lens

This is another underrated and overlooked step when taking photos. Franz Navarrete reminds users to make sure you wipe the lens of your phone with soft fabrics, like a microfiber cloth to clear off dusts and smudges.

Do you have tips in taking slice of life photos? Share them with us in the comments below!

Enterprise

Razer CEO goes all-in for gaming and esports in Singapore

A whopping SG$ 10 million over one full year

Published

September 9, 2019

Gab Orlina

The world of gaming and esports is rapidly growing within Southeast Asia. So much so, that one of its biggest victories for recognition on the world stage is its inclusion in the 30th Southeast Asian Games later this year. Not only is esports part of the list of sports each SEA country will participate in, but it is also a medalled sport in the competition.

For Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan, it is time to take esports in Singapore to the next level. Earlier today, he announced through his Facebook account that he is committing SG$ 10 million to fund gaming and esports programs in Singapore. He plans to fund all gaming and esports activities — including its esports athletes over the next 12 months. Citing his gratitude for the continuous support from the Singaporean government, he wants to “give back and do more” for the gaming community in Singapore.

Razer, the official esports partner for the 30th SEA Games will also dedicate a portion of its investment to gaming companies in Singapore. In addition, Tan plans to continually fund Singapore’s esports team — Team X that will be participating in the upcoming SEA Games.

The company launched initial efforts earlier this month in preparation for the SEA Games with the Razer SEA Games esports Bootcamp. Partnering with one of the world’s top DotA 2 teams in Evil Geniuses, they hosted and trained over five eSports teams across SEA countries. Apart from that, they also opened a new RazerStore in Las Vegas, one of the major hot spots for esports in the United States.

The company hopes to fully transition their initiatives by 2020, when they will officially move operations to their new Southeast Asia headquarters in Singapore.

Malaysia

Huawei Nova 5T: ‘Fashionable’ and powerful

Same chip as the P30 Pro

Published

August 27, 2019

Kenrick Buduan

Image by GadgetMatch

The next #NovaStar has arrived. Huawei just launched the Nova 5T — a midrange phone that they say is fashion-focused while still packing some power.

The phone features a glass back design and will come in three colors: Midsummer Purple, Crush Blue and Black.

Nova 5T has flagship specs for a midrange phone

In terms of its display, the phone has a 6.26 inch FHD LCD display with a punch hole at the top left of the display. The punch hole houses the 32MP front-facing camera. Meanwhile, there are quad cameras on the back — consisting of a 48MP main camera with an f/1.8 aperture wide-angle lens, a 16MP ultra-wide angle camera, a 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor.

Image by GadgetMatch

A side-mounted fingerprint sensor is included for secure unlocking.

Powering the device is the Kirin 980 processor. This chip can also be found on Huawei’s flagships like the Huawei P30 Pro and the Mate 20 Pro. Memory is generous with 8GB of RAM, and onboard storage is more than enough with 128GB.

It has a 3,750 mAh battery that can be topped up with a 22.5W SuperCharge fast charging technology.

Pricing and Availability

In Singapore, the Huawei nova 5T will go on sale starting September 14. Pricing will be announced September 5. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, the phone will be available in stores on September 7 and will retail for MYR 1,599. In the Philippines, the phone will retail for PhP 18,990.

Lifestyle

Fitbit and Singapore are teaming up for a healthier nation

Could include more than a million subscribers

Published

August 22, 2019

Shivam Vahia

Governments everywhere are trying to leverage modern technology in their public healthcare programs, but the process has been slow. Adopting new technology is difficult because of the wide scale and costs. In a first, Fitbit and Singapore have teamed up to build a healthier country.

Singapore launched the Smart Nation initiative five years ago to modernize the city-state with state-of-the-art technology, as well as proactively improve citizens’ health. Fitbit has been signed onto Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) to undertake a project.

Starting next month, residents of Singapore can register for the Fitbit Inspire, which the company launched earlier this year specifically for employers and health plans. Citizens won’t pay anything for the device, but will commit to spending SG$ 10 a month for a year of premium service, which includes guidance and one-on-one coaching.

Fitbit Premium provides personalized coaching and nudges subscribers to drive behavior and lifestyle changes to live healthier. Apple, Fitbit’s arch-rival, had also competed for the Singapore contract, but Fitbit’s bid ultimately won out.

As part of the partnership, Fitbit’s digital health platform and wearable devices will integrate with Singapore’s public health program. It’ll be called Live Healthy SG and will be available to people of “all ages and levels of health.”

Singaporeans will be able to pre-register for Live Healthy SG around mid-September, Fitbit said, with the program set to launch sometime in October.

This project can be a inspiring stepping stone for other countries as well. Singapore is a very small country and hence ideal for a pilot run. The same setup can be replicated elsewhere and scaled.