7 tips for snapping better pictures with your smartphone

Smartphones have democratised 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.

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 closeup.

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, overlit 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 heavyduty

editing once you’re more experienced.

For more info about the HTC Desire lines of smartphones visit www.htc.com

Good Secure EMM Suites from Blackberry

Good® Secure EMM Suites by BlackBerry, and significant upgrades to its enterprise software portfolio, enhancing BES®12.

“The new Good Secure EMM Suites provide simple and flexible options for customers to deploy industry

leading security across devices, apps, content and data. BlackBerry now has five tailored mobility suites to meet the current and future needs of businesses of any size,” said Billy Ho, Executive Vice President,

Enterprise Product and Value Added Solutions, BlackBerry. “This major step in the integration of Good

Powered by BlackBerry comes less than three months after the close of the acquisition, enabling us to

expand our industry leadership and further drive innovation in the EMM market.”

Research firm Strategy Analytics predicted the combined market share of BlackBerry and Good at 25% in the EMM segment.

The Good Secure EMM Suites combine a broad set of management, security, productivity and collaboration capabilities in different combinations and enable seamless access to data and applications behind the firewall or in the cloud – across any mobile endpoint or platform including:

· BES12 multiOS

EMM platform

· Bestinclass

Good Dynamics secure mobile app platform and container

· Bestinclass

MDM/MAM supporting iOS, Android (including Android for Work and Samsung KNOX),

BlackBerry, Windows 10 and Mac OSX

· Allinone

Good Work email and collaboration app

· Good Share secure file access supporting SharePoint, file shares, OneDrive and Box

· Good Connect secure enterprise instant messaging for Microsoft Lync and Cisco Jabber environments

· Good Access secure browser with SSO support for enterprise web applications and cloud services

· Deployment of ISV apps from BlackBerry’s broad partner ecosystem

· Deployment of custom developed apps secured by Good Dynamics

· WatchDox enterprise file synchronization and sharing (EFSS) including complete DRM capabilities and

file level security

· Identity and Access Management capabilities to extend 2factor

authentication to mobile apps and to use the mobile device as a second factor for accessing corporate applications

Pricing and Availability

The Good Secure EMM Suites will follow the established userbased subscription licensing model with

pricing starting at $3 USD per user per month for the Good Secure Management Suite. The other product offerings will then range from Good Secure Enterprise Suite for $5 USD, Good Secure Collaboration Suite for $10 USD, Good Secure Mobility Suite for $15 USD to Good Secure Content Suite for $25 USD per user per month. The Good Secure EMM Suites can be deployed onpremise

or via a cloudbased model, and are now being introduced to customers worldwide.

Find out more on Good Secure EMM Suites at

www.blackberry.com/enterprise

Now you can draw cash from the ATM using the FNB App no card required

FNB today announced that the cardless cash withdrawal feature is available on the latest version* of the FNB Banking App. The feature allows customers to withdraw money at an ATM without using their bank cards.

This launch to the 1.2million active devices that currently make use of the FNB Banking App comes shortly after FNB announced that R2 billion has been withdrawn through cardless cash withdrawals on cellphone banking.

Giuseppe Virgillito, Head of Banking App at FNB Digital Banking says the rollout to the App was the logical next step.

“Enhancement of the FNB Banking App has always been driven by innovative banking solutions and customer demand. Our latest results show a 67% increase in App transaction volumes. This comes as a result of increased usage across the spectrum of App features as well as more customers that are migrating to the App for their digital banking needs.”

Over the past year, the FNB Banking App has been enhanced to include features such as lost or stolen card cancellation, opening of new accounts and ordering of new cards. Use of these features continues to see growth.

Whilst cancelling a cheque card would ordinarily imply that the customer would not have the tool to access their cash whilst waiting for a new card, cardless cash withdrawal serves as a complimentary feature ensuring that a customer can gain access to cash whenever needed.

“Irrespective of the reason for not having a card with you, your mobile devices are unlikely to be more than an arm’s length away. Cardless and cashless features on digital channels ensure simplified banking and 24/7 access to accounts, no matter what the circumstances,” concludes Virgillito.

*The latest version of the FNB Banking App is available from Apple, Android, Windows, and Blackberry app stores.

To use Cardless cash withdrawals on the FNB Banking App:

·         Launch the FNB Banking App

·         Select Cardless Cash Withdrawals

·         Enter your FNB online banking password

·         Follow the prompted steps

·         Once the temporary ATM PIN has been received the money can be withdrawn from any FNB ATM

Tech News and Jobs Around South Africa

New App Alert 

A new App is out just in time for the summer festivities, offering a real-time guide to popular gigs. Trender will be launched so that partygoers can see what places are Trending right now and also where their friends are going.

Trender is a photo location-based social App that ranks popular venues as a ‘Trend’. It allows both locals and out-of-towners to view the most popular venues displayed in an interactive list. Partygoers can now browse Trends by category including nightlife, bars, and restaurants or just check where friends are meeting.

Trender joint-CEO Calvin Terblanche says Trender will be available on iPhone and Android. "Ever wondered where people hang out or which places are popular ? Trender offers a real-time guide on what’s happening where, based on its real-time atmosphere."

"All that’s left to do is to decide where to spend the next few hours with friends. Trender lets you see what your friends and other partygoers are doing in your city in real-time and allows you to discover what the atmosphere is like, with current photos uploaded by people already there,” he explains.

With Trender, people can be in the right place at the right time. Users can browse a list of venues ranked in order of popularity, based on real-time check-ins. Trender ranks trends based on people checked in and also ranks users based on photos taken and activity on the App.

Content is constantly being refreshed with real-time information, its elegant interface is text input free and easy-to-use and also free from the annoyances of advertising.

“Users can also create their own Trend anywhere with their own name featured on it,” says Trender joint-CEO Deane Hitge. “They can invite friends to Trends, take and share photos of Trends in real-time, see which friends are going to which Trends and how many people are there right now. One can also view the top Trends for the past week and more importantly, see the gender ratio at a particular Trend.”

Once registered, the App allows users to share where they are going with their friends and checks them in automatically when they arrive. This is done by means of intelligent geo-fencing technology that tracks one's movement.

"It posts that you are going to a destination and then acknowledges you as arrived when you do. The built-in directions feature also ensures you get to your destination,” he adds.

“You could think of Trender as an instant gratification App to see what there is to do right now. It takes the conversation off the ‘Friday night plans WhatsApp group’ and puts it in one place in the context of what is happening around you," Terblanche concludes.

Trender is available for free worldwide and will be available in English on the Apple store and Android market. For more info visit www.gettrender.com or follow Trender on Twitter @gettrender.

Vodacom launches campaign to curb texting while driving

Texting and driving can keep your eyes off the road for as much as five seconds at a time. At 120 kph, a car would travel a distance equivalent to more than one and a half football pitches during that five seconds of inattention, making texting and driving extremely dangerous.  In fact, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that you’re 23 times more likely to crash if texting while driving. Vodacom is taking a stand against texting and driving, and has today launched W8_2send (pronounced wait-to-send), a campaign that encourages South Africa to pledge to never text whilst driving.  

W8_2send aims to create as much awareness around the dangers of texting whilst driving as possible. The campaign, which has been specifically designed with the youth in mind, uses social media to spread the W8_2send message.

“We wanted to find a way to engage as well as educate South Africans around the dangers of texting and driving. Which is why we came up with the W8_2send online game that simulates what can happen when drivers are distracted by their cellphones on the road,” said Vodacom’s Chief Officer of Corporate Affairs, Maya Makanjee. 

The game, which can be played at www.w82send.co.za, challenges players to manoeuvre an animated car by tilting their smartphones or using the arrow keys on their keyboard. At the same time they will have to type the answers to various questions. Once played, the game then prompts players to take the pledge to W8_2send by sharing the following message with their friends and family via Facebook or Twitter:

I've just promised to wait to send. Using your phone whilst driving is dangerous. Take the pledge http://w82send.co.za #w8_2send

FNB has festive deals just for you

Festive season deals include an array of XBOX One and XBOX 360 deals from as little as R99 p.m over 24 months as well as the exclusive Samsung 40” Smart LED TV + Xbox One offer which includes the Fifa 15 game at R619 p.m over a 24 month period.

For more information on smart device gifting options for the festive season, visit: https://www.fnb.co.za/downloads/smartphone-tablet-offer/FNB_Broadsheet_2014YearEnd.pdf

*Qualifying criteria and terms and conditions apply

Jobs In Social Media

Absa is looking for Community Managers

https://barclays.taleo.net/careersection/absa_external/jobdetail.ftl?job=00191668&lang=en_GB&sns_id=twitter



This edition by Fred Felton
twitter @fredfelton