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Smartphone photography 101: Taking flat lays

Keeping it straight and casual for beginners

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If you frequent Pinterest and Instagram, I’m certain you encounter a lot of flat lays. In case you didn’t know, it’s one of the most popular genres of smartphone photography. Despite the popularity and abundance of tutorials, people still struggle with taking flat lays.

As someone who always takes flat lays both for work and personal reasons, I’m going to give a few tips and tricks on how you can maximize your smartphone for your flat lay needs. Take this as a refresher if you’ve forgotten all those flat lay tutorials you’ve studied in the past.

Setting up

Before you start pulling out your smartphones, use them to find inspiration first. Browse and scan excellent flat lays on Instagram, Pinterest, and other inspiration-filled platforms. Soak up all the goodness and the shots you like and let it sink in.

When you’re done, decide on a theme for your shoot. What story do you want to tell? Once you figure this out, you can start assembling your props.

Make sure you follow a color palette,  and pick different shapes and sizes to ensure balance — which is the most important trick in shooting flat lays. Remember, the message is important. Don’t shoot just because you want to shoot.

Shooting

Pick a background and compose your shot

Grab your props and set them up on a table. My ideal time to shoot is always in the morning or late afternoon when the light isn’t harsh. Shooting at noontime will produce strong shadows and contrast, deeply impacting the quality of your flat lays.

Shot on Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (1x Auto) | Cookies by @ovenfulbyian

If your spot is a little bit dark, never use flash. Just move somewhere with ample lighting. For instance, I set up next to a window. Sometimes, I shoot at the shaded area of my porch.

Shot on Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (1x Auto) | Cookies by @leezipotato

When you’ve assembled your props, make sure to leave spaces between objects to make your set breathe. And don’t forget to mix up and play around with the props.

Shoot it straight from the right distance.

Cameras use different focal lengths, which is why sometimes taking flat lays using a smartphone or a certain lens can cause a distorted output. It’s difficult to straighten the photo when your primary camera uses a wide lens.

Shot on Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (1x Auto) | Chocolate crinkles by @ovenfulbyian

Finding the right distance by standing up on a stool, an elevated block, or climbing a ladder is the key to taking proper flat lays. If you think you’re too cool to make an effort by standing up to get the right shot, girl, bye.

Kidding aside, once you find the right distance, you have two options: Shoot at 1x then crop it later or shoot using 3x optical zoom. In my stint with the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, I used both 1x and 3x to achieve a straight shot.

Shot on Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (3x Optical Zoom) | Chocolate crinkles by @ovenfulbyian

Although, you need to balance yourself while shooting. Not all smartphone cameras are made equal, some struggle maintaining focus when using optical and digital zoom features.

Consider this before you complain about how you can’t take a proper shot or blame it to your smartphone. You always need to adapt and be smart in the way you handle different situations.

Post-processing

Have fun editing, but don’t go overboard.

Forget those who glorify using and uploading raw photos. Import your photos to an editing app, and make some magic. Turn an ordinary photo into something even more captivating.

Shot on Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (1x Auto), Cropped and increased exposure via Adobe Lightroom Mobile | Cookies by @ovenfulbyian

Just make sure you don’t edit it too much that it’s borderline unrealistic. You can use existing presets, or you can tweak around the settings to learn more about post-processing. The possibilities are endless.

SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE review: Premium phone you can afford


Smartphone Photography 101 series:

Smartphone photography 101: Foreground element

Smartphone photography 101: How to take slice of life photos

Smartphone photography 101: Capturing festivities

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Dyson Airstrait: Hair straightening with air, not heat

Less heat, less damage

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People may now straighten hair without worrying about heat damage. Dyson has launched the new Dyson Airstrait hair straightener, ushering a new era in hair straightening. As the product name suggests, this innovative tool introduces a new way to straighten hair using just air.

The Airstrait has a simple wet-to-dry straightening process. Airflow is accelerated through the two arms’ 1.5mm openings, creating a high-velocity downward blade of air at a specific angle. This creates a controlled downward force to straighten hair simultaneously as it dries.

With the tool, stylers can achieve a naturally straight and shiny finish that maintains the hair’s strength and healthy look. The Airstrait also speeds the process up by about 25%. What’s best is there is no heat damage, unlike traditional straighteners.

Designed for multiple hair types

The Airstrait runs on a specifically-engineered Hyperdymium motor, a 13-blade impeller that spins up to 106,000rpm and generates 3.5kPa of pressure. Like Dyson’s hair care range, the Airstrait features intelligent heat control that measures the airflow’s temperature to ensure there is no damage.

Users may switch between two styling modes: Wet and Dry. The Wet and Dry modes are pre-set with specific heat and airflow combinations for the best results. A Cool mode is also available to set the style. Moreover, the airflow control has two speed settings, low and high. Drying, meanwhile, can be set to cold shot or root drying.

The science

Dyson has constantly invested a lot financially in research and technology development to craft innovative products in its specific industry. In creating the Airstrait, Dyson engineers studied every detail, from airflow dynamics to hair structure. They also considered thermal, mechanical, and chemical damage and their effects to hair health.

In the end, the Airstrait works based on one key principle. In styling hair to a new shape, hydrogen bonds from each hair strand are broken down. Traditionally, this is done through heat or moisture. But Dyson came up with a tool that just lets water weaken the hydrogen bonds, and then style hair with the optimum level of heat and controlled airflow.

Price, availability

The Dyson Airstrait is available starting April 16 in two colorways: Bright Nickel/Rich Copper and Prussian Blue/Rich Copper. It is priced at PhP 33,900.

Those interested in preordering may already do using this link: Dyson Airstrait

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Filipina who created Window Garden joins Google Play program

More indie games to come?

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Filipina-owned CLOVER-FI Games is taking the next step to build more accessible mobile games through Google Play. One-woman developer and publisher Camilla Santiago is representing the country at Google Play’s Indie Games Accelerator (IGA) program this year.

Her CLOVER-FI Games studio is behind hit local game Window Garden. The idle game lets players plant and decorate their own virtual indoor garden while relaxing in chill vibes, lo-fi music, and a cottagecore aesthetic. It was released in October 2021, back when Santiago learned app development amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Windows Garden has since amassed a million downloads. In almost three years, it has been received well by gamers with a 4.7 rating based on more than 8,200 reviews.

Google Play IGA

The Google Play IGA is a 10-week course designed for high-potential indie game studios. The program allows these startups to access the best of Google’s programs, products, people, and technology to be able to build and improve a successful organization.

The last Philippine representative in the program was Ranida Games, which had created one-on-one fighting game Vita Fighters. Through IGA, the title received benefits, allowing the developers to improve it.

Like Ranida Games, Santiago’s CLOVER-FI Games is just getting started. Her studio’s goal is to ultimately create more cozy-themed games that are accessible to everyone through mobile platforms.

With the help of the IGA, Santiago will be equipped with the necessary skills and experience needed to create another potentially successful title just like Window Garden. We can only wait as she empowers Filipinas through her craft.

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Dyson unveils ‘most intelligent hair dryer’ yet

The Supersonic Nural

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During its global launch event in Seoul, South Korea, Dyson has unveiled its “most intelligent hair dryer” yet: The Dyson Supersonic Nural.

The styling tool harnesses Dyson’s new automatic Nural sensor technology to protect scalp health and enhance hair’s natural shine.

One of the Dyson Supersonic Nural’s key features is a Scalp protect mode which is activated by the Nural sensors.

This automatically reduces the dryer’s heat as it nears a person’s head, protecting the scalp from damage. The process is done by having the sensors recognize when the dryer is already nearing the person’s head.

In addition, the Supersonic Nural’s LED light automatically changes under Scalp mode, depending on the distance from the head. Users will see yellow for low heat, orange for medium heat, and red for high heat, for convenient usage.

Moreover, the tool intelligently remembers your last used heat and airflow settings and will apply them the next time it is in use.

Price, availability

The Dyson Supersonic Nural comes in two color palettes: Ceramic Patina and Topaz or Vinca Blue and Topaz.

The entire package will come with five attachments, including two new ones:

  • Gentle Air Attachment
  • Styling Concentrator
  • Smoothing Nozzle
  • Diffuser
  • Flyaway Smoother

However, the technology has not been made available in the Philippines yet as of writing time. To be the first to know when it arrives, sign up here.

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