We’ve always been a firm believer of what we call among ourselves the 50/50 factor in photography. One should have the skills, and one should have the right tools. The two go hand in hand together.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t know a thing about photography now. As with all things, it can be learned. And if you have the right equipment, your pictures will end up more stunning than when taken with sub-par devices.
SEE ALSO: ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M2 launching Dec. 11 in Indonesia
We at Revü recently visited Boracay, our first time since the island’s reopening on October 26, to attend an ASUS Philippines PixelMaster MasterClass session, the sixth seminar the company has held thus far.
PixelMaster MasterClass is a series of workshops conducted by eight of the noted photographers in the Philippines:
- Travel photographer Nicco Valenzuela
- Travel photographer Arlene Donaire
- Street photographers Jay Ermitano
- Street photographers Jasper Tejano
- Portrait photographer Ken Go
- Wedding photographer Emir Bautista
- Conceptual photographer Dail Deri
- Commercial photographer Ricky Ladia
The mission of the eight PixelMasters? To share with us the photographic capabilities of the ASUS ZenFone 5 series and help us bring out the best in our phone and level up our mobile-photography skills.
Here are just some of the many tips that the PixelMasters can’t stress enough:
- Use the light. Light is the most important element of a picture, so study the lighting condition before you shoot. Find out how you can best take advantage of it, as it sets the tone and mood of an image.
- Shoot with your mind. Before you press the shutter, it’s best to compose the photo in your mind first. Visualize, visualize, visualize. That should prevent you from being stumped when it’s time to take photos.
- Just shoot; save the review for later. Because the perfect moment may have come, and you’re still looking at your screen, checking pictures that are only average at best. That’s time wasted.
- Keep it simple. There should be a few points of interest. Focus, and avoid putting too many elements into your image.
- Think of variation. Make a list of to-do shots of a subject. One example given was shooting a festival. You can take snapshots from the church where it starts, the street where it goes through, and the people who are there to be part of the celebration. This is one way for you to be proficient at creating photo narratives.
- Hold your device properly. Keep it as close to your body as possible. Better if you support it with your other hand. That way, you won’t end up with blurry images.
ASUS ZenFone 5
For the practical test, we at Revü used the P17,995 (roughly $343) ASUS ZenFone 5 model. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 chip, the smartphone boasts 12- and 8-megapixel cameras on the back and an 8-megapixel shooter on the front. It’s obviously no flagship, but our shot of people playing beach volleyball actually won the lone main category we joined.
Our entry wins the Travel category
We’re no professionals, but it probably helped that we took the PixelMasters’ tips to heart, that we were at the right spot, and, even better, that the ZenFone 5 was a reliable companion. We just took photos without reviewing any of them for some time, especially since our subjects were moving. Sure enough, we got a lot of decent pictures. Surprisingly, the ASUS phone was able to capture action shots easily. For real. No wonder it scored 90 in camera-quality-ratings tool DxOMark.
Here are other photos captured by our friends, who were also part of the #ZenFoneXBoracay trip.
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#PixelPerfectBoracay #WeLovePhoto #ZenFoneXBoracay #PixelMaster #PixelPerfect #ZenfoneXSmile
Darwin del Rosario, winner, Smile category
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Josef Cagas, winner, Still Life category
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Colin Chan
PixelMaster Dail Deri
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First jump shot at Bora ???????????? #ZenFonexBoracay #PixelMasterBoracay #WeLovePhoto #PixelPerfect
Via Darwin del Rosario
PixelMaster Dail Deri
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???? ???? #ZenFonexBoracay #PixelMasterBoracay #WeLovePhoto #PixelPerfectSunset
Patrick Canete
PixelMaster Ricky Ladia
Leoren Violan
Dennison Uy
These images prove that you don’t need an expensive device to take above-average shots. You only need a capable one. And creativity — a boatload of creativity.
P29,995 ($571) ASUS ZenFone 5Z specs
- Fingerprint reader (rear-mounted)
- 6.2-inch LCD display, 2,246 x 1,080 resolution (18.7:9)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor
- 6GB RAM
- 128GB expandable storage
- 12-megapixel + 8-megapixel rear cameras with dual-LED flash
- 8-megapixel front camera
- 3,300mAh battery
- Android 8.0 Oreo
P17,995 ($343) ASUS ZenFone 5 specs
- Fingerprint reader (rear-mounted)
- 6.2-inch LCD display, 2,246 x 1,080 resolution (18.7:9)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB expandable storage
- 12-megapixel + 8-megapixel rear cameras with dual-LED flash
- 8-megapixel front camera
- 3,300mAh battery
- Android 8.0 Oreo
P12,995 ($248) ASUS ZenFone 5Q specs
- 6-inch LCD display, 2,160 x 1,080 resolution (18:9)
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB expandable storage
- 16-megapixel + 8-megapixel rear cameras with LED flash
- 20-megapixel + 8-megapixel front camera with LED flash
- Fingerprint reader (rear-mounted)
- 3,300mAh battery
- Android 8.0 Oreo
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