Editor’s Diaries: Create Like A Fashion Editor With ZEISS

An editor’s life is never really just about editing stories—it involves planning, meetings, going out to shoots and events, and creating a lot of content. Our phones are filled with photos of what happens during the day. In my case, I’m always on-the-go so I now rarely reach out for my DSLR, it’s simply too big and bulky, and does not fit most of my purses. Instead, my entire creative life rests with just one device, a smartphone.

Which was why it was a great surprise to have had a chance to play with the vivo X80 Pro for two weeks. I took it everywhere, to cover shoots, out of town shoots, to meetings and long lunches, to evening events, I even took it collection previews and ultra-exclusive fashion parties. After those two weeks, I was very much reluctant to part for this gorgeous phone which was my creative companion. I’m sure you’ll figure out why if you see some of my photos and videos.

Photo powerhouse

It was photo powerhouse: Both the vivo X80 Pro, which I tried, and the vivo X80 variant, are powered by ZEISS technology. While this isn’t the first collaboration between vivo and ZEISS, I believe this is the one to beat, simply because of the amount of technology in it.

It has ZEISS optics with lenses coated with ZEISS T* Coating, and you’ll see this difference with the image quality—photos and videos were clear and bright, and you’ll especially see it through the details. I played around with this in photographing sets for cover shoots, and even in shooting bag details during the Gucci press presentation, or the Louis Vuitton exclusive pop-up event.

The correct color and rendering is so important in my work, so being able to show the correct hue and rendering is essential. It also has a lot to do with the 50MP Ultra-Sensing GNV Sensor which lets in more light, so you can capture images in full detail. The V1+ Chip brings all of this together. The images are true, so I can trust that my eye also corresponds with the images I’m capturing.

Your own cinematic universe

One of the features I’m really loving is the cinematic video you can get form the ZEISS Anamorphic lenses. You can pick out different color or mood settings, and you can instantly shoot vignettes and shorts from futuristic to nostalgic, and so on. Pretty cool especially if you have a specific aesthetic for your feed. You can play around with the elliptical flares, or the blue streak line, or even the movie LUTs (“look-up tables in pro-speak, which pertain to special color tones).

In my case, I always like shooting natural, and just opting to color depending on the final output—but it’s different for every creative. A feature that is useful for fashion subjects: the Cinematic Style Bokeh and the Cinematic Video Bokeh which gives photos and videos a professional feel. Bokeh (pronounced bo-ke) in Japanese means blur, which is the effect that it gives the background. So your subject can be in the foreground, and the background can be a blur, so your eyes will focus on a certain area of the photo or video.

Having that out-of-focus part makes images visually appealing because the area in focus, like a bag or our celebrity, will be sharp since it’s in the depth of field, and the background, which can be the production set, can be blurry and out of focus. In fact, many of our fashion editorials and portraits use this technique on the depth of field, because you’ll really get to focus on the clothes and the faces of the subject. So imaging having that on your camera phone, plus you also have the option to do it in video!

Companion from day to night

Another feature I really loved is the ZEISS Super Night Camera. It’s great to take photos during the day when the sunlight conditions are perfect but night is where most of our parties happen (and they’re often in dark places), so having this Super Night Camera means we don’t have to keep pushing the exposure when editing the photos.

I’ve had a chance to try it also with the urban landscape at night, and I must say that the buildings and structures take on a different dimension. You can play around with the light and architecture when it’s all dark. During the day, it’s also great for landscapes—you get a lot of detail, from structures to foliage, and everything your eyes could see.

Something to consider: you can play around with the Gimbal Portrait Camera which gives stability even when you’re moving. I tried camera panning and it works with the Gimbal Stabilization! This is of great help because when you’re out shooting, it’s pretty hard to fit in a mobile phone gimbal inside your purse, and it’s a hassle to take videos while you’re holding a flute of champagne, which happens to us often.

Check out this fashion film we shot:

Pretty on the inside and prettier on the outside Which brings me to my next point: Looks. Now I saved this for last, because while it’s very important that your phone matches your clothes, it’s not the be-all and end-all. In this case, the vivo x80 Pro in cosmic black is quite versatile for evening parties to be the +1 of your purse, or even in casual settings, because it looks sleek. You can also opt to use the leather case that comes in as part of the box. I love using it because of the texture, and it helps you keep the phone from slipping while you’re taking photos.

The display will also spoil you from looking at other phones, there’s really so much real estate with its wide quad high-definition display which supports 2400x1080 and 3200x1440 pixel resolution. It has a 10-bit color depth with 1,024 color levels, so the color transitions are more natural, and the display gives a clear and immersive visual experience.

Finally, what good is a phone, if it’s always out of juice! In this case, the phone can take you from day to night with its 4700 mAH battery, or you can get it up to 100% quickly with the 80W Fast Charge. For the lucky ones who’ll purchase this online, you’ll actually get an exclusive vertical charging stand which can give the phone up to 50W wireless fast charging, too!

In the end, the editor’s eye is so important in my work, and so having the vivo x80 Pro as part of the creative process can elevate our storytelling and visuals. Having an all-in-one professional phone can make all the difference in creating your masterpiece.

Start creating like a fashion editor with the vivo X80 Pro on Shopee and Lazada, or the vivo X80 on Shopee and Lazada.

Want to learn more on how to be a digital creative? Watch vivo’s ongoing Global ZEISS Masterclass series!