Does your smartphone look boring? Why not decorate!

Odds are that you don't have the latest nor greatest smartphone. Odds are also that your somewhat older smartphone is decent enough for your usage, but it may just start to look boring. Well, that's what I thought... You may be using a case for your phone, and then it's refreshing to take it out of its case for a while, so the device looks different. In the same way, I wanted my device to look different from how it looked over the past year. Now, I'm not a case man. The first time that I used some kind of case for my smartphone was when I used my very first smartphone: the Sony Ericsson Satio. We all know how that ended... Only once more did I use a case for my phone in my life, with the Sony Xperia S. At the time I worked at a supermarket, and my Xperia S sometimes randomly turned on and my leg was pressing things on the screen. I couldn't afford any catastrophes, so I bought a flip cover, one that opens as a book. It's the only kind of case that I was willing to try.

I'll call it the Sony Xperia Z1 Premium

I've used my Sony Xperia Z1 for almost two years now, and it's still in great condition without the use of a case. Only the back has some minor scratches. I've always liked the look of vintage cameras, too. Honestly, it's the reason why I liked the Fujifilm XF1 in the first place. Needless to say, I'm really happy with how the skin for my Xperia Z1 turned out in the image above. Although I had a bit of trouble applying it perfectly, it does make the device look much more luxurious. The best part is that the scratches on the back are now covered and I can finally start sliding my phone across tables like the average person. The skin holds up against scratches rather well, it seems.

If you're not a skin-kind-of person, there are other options that may not have crossed your mind. For instance, if you don't like the limited choice of colours you had when you first purchased your device, why not try painting? It's a more drastic modification, sure, but remember: "if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything!"

"A Photo A Day" should keep the laziness away

Two days ago I decided to do something out of the ordinary. It's a new year, so it's a good time to reflect on yourself to come up with so-called new year's resolutions. I for one honestly try to keep working on whatever resolutions I come up with. I feel like it's a simple way to regain motivation for important matter, and to eventually improve one's life.

As for my personal resolutions I looked at what I've been doing wrong lately. One thing was clear: I had to eat healthier, and when I eat I should eat a bit less [I'm not fat, but... there's certainly room for improvement there]. Apart from this [highly common] resolution, I also had something else in mind. I've been slightly losing interest in photography because I barely reach for my camera anymore. My mind is busy with other things and I don't always feel like going out with my camera anyway. I'm losing my creative juices for photography since I'm barely doing it anymore, so I came up with a way of motivating myself: I'm going to try taking A Photo A Day to regain motivation and creativity. This challenge would give me reason to think about photography and composition all day long, as I try to take the 'best shot of the day'. If you ever feel like you lack motivation, set up some goals and deadlines and stick to them. This is a great way to get back in control of hobbies you consider important but lost motivation for!




This photo above is the first photo of my album called "A Photo A Day", where I post all of these photos of my personal challenge. Most photos are actually taken with my Sony Xperia Z1, to show that you really don't need a great camera for creative photography either. And obviously, the camera that you have on you is more likely to take shots representative of that day because, well... you actually have it on you! I actually came up with the idea of taking daily photos after seeing quite a few people do "365 challenges" on Flickr, not knowing what that was exactly but assuming it was about posting a photo a day as well. I was never really interested until I realized it's great to get back at photography. And so to keep creative juices flowing throughout the day while searching for that perfect shot of the day.


Note: I was afraid I'd forget taking a photo every day, but so far I've managed with Google Keep's built in reminder function. Are you following a similar idea to regain motivation? Perhaps for a different hobby? Let me know in the comments below!

Note 2: I quit. Unfortunately taking a photo every single day turned out to be too much of a nuisance, not taking photography seriously anymore and forcing myself to take simple photos rather than good ones.

Get more out of your Sony Camera Phone - BASICS

Let me guess, you've got yourself a fancy, high-end Sony camera phone but the quality is below expected? You like the camera, but only use "Superior Auto" mode because anything else is too complicated? Or maybe you do like the quality of images it produces, but you wish to know more about the camera? You've come to the right blog to get your questions answered!

Note that although this article is mostly applicable to high-end Sony smartphones as of writing time, it can also be useful for any other (be it Sony or not) camera phone.


Introduction to Superior Auto mode
As you probably know, you have two default photography modes on your phone. There is "Superior Auto" mode and "Manual" mode, where Superior Auto mode is default when you open the camera application via the hardware camera button on the side (unfortunately there is no way of changing this to Manual mode). Superior Auto mode automatically chooses all relevant settings for you, only leaving you the choice whether you want to use the flash or not. Not only does it automatically adjust the white balance or exposure, it also detects scenes and uses presets when certain scenes are detected. Even HDR is used automatically in this mode when there is a lot of contrasting light (for a more detailed explanation on what HDR is and when it's best used, check the follow-up article on ADVANCED tips&tricks).

In Superior Auto mode you can still see what modes and circumstances the intelligent camera detects in the lower right corner. You either see an icon alone, or one with an informative label. There are a couple of noteworthy labels:

• Low Light (candle light icon) - Decreases shutter speed so more light will be absorbed when there is little available. Detected when there is little light around and images would otherwise turn out too dark.
• Sports (running human icon) - Increases the ISO so that the shutter speed can be extra high in case you're trying to capture and freeze fast moving subjects. Detected when you move your phone around a lot.
• Tripod (tripod with camera icon) -  Allows the shutter speed to go lower than when handheld, since you're not moving the phone. Detected when you hold your device steady against something else for a couple of seconds; basically impossible to obtain while handheld (go ahead, try).
• Macro (flower icon) - Allows the camera to focus really close. May or may not make images more saturated (no evidence to support this claim, just my guts telling me this). Detected when you're really close to your subject.
• Backlight (sun rays icon) - Turns on HDR mode. Detected when the camera is pointed towards strong (sun)light.

Note that some of these detection icons can be combined. For more information on "shutter speed" or "ISO", check the follow-up article or click here. Also note that Superior Auto mode can only shoot images at 8 megapixels, although you can still select the aspect ratio for this resolution in the settings menu.

Do you throw your phone on desks and tables?

If you're one of those people who throw their phones on a desk when they've come home from a long day, then keep listening [or reading, whatever]. You see, throwing your phone on a desk is the easiest way of damaging your phone^[1]. However, there's a quick and easy way to solve this - if you have spare Lego bricks, that is.

Instead of letting your phone slide across the desk and scratching the device, why not set up a sort of dock for your phone? It does not have to be functional [though you can of course incorporate a USB cable into the dock]. How does one make their own docking station, you may wonder? The answer is simple, especially if you've read that one sentence a while back:

You can use Lego bricks to create your own dock in whatever fashion you like!

I've set up two simple ones for my camera phones. This one above works in both landscape and portrait orientation for my phone. The best part is that I can finally see the notification light again, which is pretty dim on this device. If I set the device flat on the desk, I wouldn't be able to notice the light.

This one for my Sony Ericsson Satio is a little different, but that's because I didn't bring enough Lego pieces with me from home. This little dock perfectly balances the device to showcase the camera. Which is exactly what I wanted to do with this phone - it's a piece of technology mostly just for showcasing, as it has quite a history for me personally.


I'm sure you can create much more elaborate docks!
I know these are the simplest kinds of docks, which is what I was actually aiming for. Before this I did build a huge dock to feature the magnetic charging cable for the Xperia Z1 as well as a pencil for its so-called pen mod. But this dock was huge and red, making it aesthetically disgusting in my opinion. These two tiny docks are a little too small to annoy me with their redness, luckily.

Photography 101 - #2 The Power of Composition

When you snap a picture, do you think before you press the shutter button? Do you literally point the camera and shoot or do you think about where you want each object to go in a picture? In case you're used to point-and-shooting, here's a tip that can make new photographs really stand out from the rest. And it's a very simple tip as well!

All you need to do is to take a second before you press the shutter button to move your viewfinder around. And if possible, move items around as well. Do this to improve the composition of your to-be photograph.

For example, take a look at the above photograph. If I had only told you I was going to take a random picture of tongue-and-groove pliers on a wooden bench, you would have expected nothing but a boring picture with the pliers in the middle of the photograph randomly sitting on a bench. If you look at my take on the situation, somehow it looks much more interesting than a pointed-and-shot photograph as I just described. Somehow, did I say? Let me explain why.

Photography 101 - #1 Clean the camera lens

Do you have a phone?
- Yes?
Does it have a camera?
- Yes?
Have you ever taken a picture with it?
- Yes?

Then this very simple but often overlooked tip is for you:
Wipe the damn smudges off your camera lens with your shirt before you take a picture.


This tip may not apply to everyone, but I've seen too many photographs on the interwebz that suffer from blur and vagueness. If you ever put your phone down on a dirty table, chances are the camera is already getting greasy. Greasy enough to ruin otherwise decent photographs. Let me show you with an example:

This picture is taken with a dirty camera lens. Now let's see what the same image would look like when you wipe the camera clean [after the break]: