7 Tips For #Snapping Better #Pictures With Your #Smartphone #HTCOneLifeSA

Hi Guys, 

Smartphones have democratized photography, giving everyone the opportunity to unlock their creativity. Though it’s easy to snap a picture, it takes some technical suss and imagination to create a photograph that will get your friends on Facebook and Instagram talking. 

The good news, however, is that nearly anyone can learn how to take great snaps, provided they learn some basic disciplines and practice them until they become second nature. And with camera technology in smartphones improving all the time, these devices help you to capture meaningful moments and beautiful images wherever you are. After all, the best camera is the one with you, which is most likely to be your phone. It's getting so difficult to carry the DSLRs these days when you have 13-16MPs capacity camera sitting right in your pockets. 

Here are some general tips from HTC for using your smartphone camera to capture better photos: 

1. Pay attention to your background

Don’t get so caught up in focusing on your subject that you pay no attention to the background. For example, you don’t want to include the pavement rubbish bins when you’re taking a photo of your friend. Rather move closer or ask the person you’re photographing to step to the side to exclude the unwanted detail from the frame. 

2. Choose a perspective

Take your photographs from unusual perspectives to create interesting effects. Shoot upwards from a low angle to make things look large, or take your shot from a higher angle make things look smaller or to capture a larger area of detail

3. Zoom with your feet

Zooming with your camera phone results in pixelation and increases sensitivity to camera shake, resulting in blurred imagery. Rather get closer to your subject for the perfect close-up.

4. Avoid camera shake

To lessen camera shake, be as still as possible while shooting: take a deep breath in, hold, snap, breathe out.

5. Avoid using your flash

Using flash can give your photos a sterile, over-lit look, which can be especially harsh on faces. If you must use flash, why not cover it with some tracing paper to soften the effect?

6. Learn which apps and filters you love

Experiment with filters apps like Instagram to create a style that you like. When people see a pic with a particular filter, they’ll recognise your style. Pro tip: The VSCO app provides filters that are emulations of popular film cameras. There are hundreds of combinations you can create with the number of filters provided. 

7. Use apps to enhance your photos

Great photos are made in the editing process. Pro photographers almost always touch up their photos to get the exact look and effect they want. An app like Snapseed offers you basic editing tools and some cool filters to get you started. It also offers some features for heavy-duty editing once you’re more experienced.

I know everyone is master in their own art and style of photography they do and post on social media. Do share your comments and let's learn together and improve on our skills of mobile photography. 

Cheers!!!

Follow me on twitter @araijain or @thelifesway 

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HTC #Zoe Camera Creates Great #HTCOneLifeSA Moments

Hi Guys,

HTC’s Zoe app has been updated to let you create and save your short highlight videos (or Zoes) locally on your HTC phone, rather than on the online Zoe community. The latest version of the app also allows you to create videos that are three minutes long, rather than just 30 seconds. You can insert as many clips as you like into a Zoe and trim them as necessary within the app.

HTC launched Zoe for the original HTC One and subsequently opened the app up to Android devices from other manufacturers. Zoe expanded into a social network and became a cloud service. Following customer feedback, HTC has decided to bring Zoe back home to its own devices.

The latest version of the app uses the phone’s on-board CPU and GPU to make Zoe videos locally on HTC devices, without needing to upload media clips to the cloud. This will improve the user experience by improving reliability and performance.

You will be able to easily share your locally made Zoe clips via existing social networks like Facebook, Instagram and more. This means an end to Zoe fans’ frustration caused by unreliable mobile network connections in the past months. Already a lot of photo sharing platforms are already in the market but not every platform gets launched and picked up by the users a lot. I loved the Zoe in my HTC One (M7) but then after a while I saw it to become an online community which had some amazing photographs in it's directories taken using HTC devices.

With Zoe moving toward local creation, Zoe’s cloud services have already shut down entirely on September 30, 2015. The community members were given a chance to download their existing Zoes through the app and on zoe.com. After September 30, the only way to create and share a Zoe will be on a supported HTC device. 

Cheers!!! 

Follow me on twitter @araijain or @thelifesway 
Email - thelifesway@gmail.com for invites to launch events / sponsored posts and product reviews!
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Precautions to keep Data Safe in case of Stolen Mobile #HTCOneLifeSA

Hi Guys, 

Smartphones are easily stolen or lost, which means that it’s important to take the appropriate steps to improve the security of your device and data. Here are some tips on how you can keep your information safe from prying eyes if your smartphone ends up in a stranger’s hands:

1. Set a screen lock 

A screen lock is designed to help to protect your personal information and prevent others from using your mobile device without your express permission. Most modern smartphone platforms make it easy for you to put a password in place that prevents unauthorized people from accessing your device when the screen is locked. This is the first step towards security. 

2. Consider installing a security application

Many mobile apps are available to enhance the security of mobile devices. These security-related apps are often available for free or at a low price and can provide the capability to remotely lock, locate, or wipe your device.

3. Back up your data 

You probably keep valuable information on your smartphone, including photos, videos, and contacts, so backing up your data in case your smartphone is lost, damaged, or stolen is a good practice.

4. Set a SIM PIN

Many devices support the use of a personal identification number (PIN) to lock your SIM card. Setting the SIM PIN may help to prevent people from accessing your cellular voice or mobile data services without authorization. That will help prevent a thief running up your phone bill after he or she has stolen it. This was the biggest problem I faced when he started calling and sending my friends and family random text messages which were vulgar and rude. 

What to do if your device is lost or stolen

• Report the loss to your mobile network as soon as possible: If your device is lost or stolen, immediately notify your provider so that they can suspend service to your device.
• Remotely locate, lock, or wipe your device using a security app: If you have installed a security app you may be able to use it to remotely locate, lock, or wipe your device.
• Report phone theft to the police - If your phone has been stolen, you must report the theft of your device to your local police department. This is a legal requirement of the Regulation of Interception of Communication and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 2002, better known as RICA. You will probably also need a police case number if you planning to claim from insurance.

Take precautions to keep the mobile away from the display while driving on the highway or in town at robots. It's important as we don't remember anything these days as we have a habit to keep the device as our personal assistant with calendar, meetings, apps, mobile numbers and important goals. Also, always look behind on the seats you were sitting before leaving any location whether it's office, movie theater, restaurants or any other place you visit for the first time to keep a tab on your phone. 

Cheers!!!

Follow me on twitter @araijain or @thelifesway 
Email - thelifesway@gmail.com for invites to launch events / sponsored posts and product reviews!
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Spring Clean your #Android Smartphone #HTCOneLifeSA

Hi Guys, 

While you’re doing your spring cleaning, why not take the time to clear out the clutter on your Android smartphone? Getting rid of the apps you don’t use, the songs you no longer love, and all old messages, videos and emails can clear up some storage space for new content. We keep on accumulating stuff inside our mobile devices - knowingly and unknowingly sometimes. I generally clear up my phone from time to time as it gives a faster performance if you keep apps you don't use to the minimal. 

Start out by checking how much total storage you have and determine how much is still available under your phone’s settings. If you’re running short of space, HTC recommends that you take these easy steps to clear up room for new apps and media on your device:

1. Save photos to online storage

Photos, videos and docs on the phone take up a lot of storage space. To reduce the impact on your storage space, you can set your phone to automatically upload photos to an online service such as Google Drive, which you can download from Google Play, if you don’t have it already and own an HTC smartphone, then Google Drive will give you 15GB free storage for 2 years. Otherwise, keep storing them on your laptop from time to time to create space in your smartphone. 

2. Remove unused apps

If you have apps installed on your phone that you rarely use, uninstalling them will free up some space. Clearing out the app cache on your phone is also a great way of freeing up some space. Also, HTC gives you access to disable apps which won't be taking running space on your device but will stay in your settings>apps to enable again if anytime you want to use them again. 

3. Export files and data to a computer

If you have work-related documents or other confidential files on your phone, you can easily move them to your computer. Using your USB cable, plug your phone into your computer, your phone will be recognised as a removable drive, allowing you to access the file storage and from here you can find and copy the files. Once done, you can delete the original files from your phone or simply cut and paste to save the effort. 

4. Clear out your downloads folder

Your Downloads folder can get clogged with images, with PDFs and other files. Check through the Downloaded folder on your phone and delete these files from there. Alternatively, you can connect your phone to your computer and delete files from there after taking a data dump so that you don't need to download the same again if required in future. 

5. Use High-Speed Memory Card

Add a micro-SD card to your device to increase storage space and transfer your files onto the SD card once installed. This will not only boost your phone’s storage, but the speed too, with a smartphone such as the HTC One M9 supporting additional memory cards up to 128GB. Don't use a slow SD card (series 4) as it will easily be corrupted and will really slow your smartphone, better invest in series 10 cards. 

Cheers!!!

Follow me on twitter @araijain or @thelifesway 
Email - thelifesway@gmail.com for invites to launch events / sponsored posts and product reviews!
Checkout my Instagram (araijain) page 
Checkout my photo blog - www.photoyatra.blogspot.in 
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