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iPhone 8/Plus Portrait mode - gimmicky?
- Thread starter chelsel
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My friend just got the 8+, I have the 7+. The portrait feature on the 8+ is certainly better. Keep playing with it; you'll like it!
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In the real world (DSLRs) it's done with the aperture setting (f-stop).
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Btw, the bokeh effect is enhanced the closer you are to the subject (but there is a minimum distance) and the subject is further from the background.
In the real world (DSLRs) it's done with the aperture setting (f-stop).
The effect is to mimic a proper camera/lens set up. Because of the limitations on smartphone sensor sizes and lens sizes, it has to be done via software (aka Portrait Mode.)
Otherwise Apple would have to have an f-stop of f/0.2 on the telephoto lens to replicate the same effect of a 50mm f/1.8 on a dslr. Which isn’t really possible currently.
Gimmick? I wouldn’t say so. It’s using software to push past a hardware limitation. Making the smartphone photography better.
Otherwise Apple would have to have an f-stop of f/0.2 on the telephoto lens to replicate the same effect of a 50mm f/1.8 on a dslr. Which isn’t really possible currently.
Gimmick? I wouldn’t say so. It’s using software to push past a hardware limitation. Making the smartphone photography better.
portrait mode was released last year and I don't believe it's in BETA anymore according to the specs sheet. Portrait mode works great but you need a still subject. My child never stops moving.
portrait lighting is in beta as it was released this year and it seems very finicky/hardly works properly. This feature feels more like alpha than beta.
My head gets cut off half of the time when using the black background.
portrait lighting is in beta as it was released this year and it seems very finicky/hardly works properly. This feature feels more like alpha than beta.
My head gets cut off half of the time when using the black background.
It struggles in low contrast settings. Also, the bokeh can be spotted a mile away as fake. Good in a pinch though to jazz up an otherwise boring photo. I like it for fun but that's about it.
Some of the results From photographs I have viewed have been impressive from other members on here. There are various threads with photo's from Portrait Mode.
Hi, I’ve seen a couple of posts about this issue and I am having the same problem. When trying to take a portrait picture using the rear camera I always get the message “move further away” Force closing the camera app, turning the phone off or force resetting it has NO effect. However, resetting all settings does bring the functionality back for a short period of time before the fault re-occurs. I have also performed a DFU reset of the phone, again, this restores functionality for a short time before it fails again. I would assume this is therefore a software bug, but it does not seem widespread enough - although there was a patch in a recent update to do with the telescopic focus... I’m wondering if this broke the feature for me? Either way, where do I go from here... I suspect the Genius Bar will say, reset again, but that gives me functionality for up to 1 week... this is not really acceptable for a £1000 phone. Any ideas?
So you're saying that you get this message even after you move farther away from your subject? Or when your subject is at least a couple of meters away? Apple recommend 2.5 meters or 8 feet, but I have gotten it to work only a few feet before. Just keep in mind that perspective changes with distance to subject, and 6 to 8 feet provides a more flattering perspective than 3 or 4 feet. If I do get the "move further away" message it always goes away when I move a little further away. This is not the case on your iPhone? I've got an X on 11.2.1 (I know I need to install the security update for Safari).
The shallow depth of field portrait look generally appeals to people, but of course it's subjective. It literally puts the focus on the subject, and de-emphasizes the background by blurring it. There are also many great portraits taken by famous photographers where everything is in focus. Keeping everything in focus can be especially important when you are trying to show a subject in their environment. In those situations many photographers will shoot a bit wider while stopping down to an f-stop that will keep the entire scene in focus. Most of the time people shoot what I would refer to as candid portraits. These are not professional portraits taken in a studio or in a controlled environment using professional portrait lights. These are spontaneous snapshots of a person where the environment may not be as important. in fact we may want to blur that background as much as we can because it might be full of distracting elements like other people, dirty dishes, etc.
On my larger sensor DSLR and m4/3 cameras I frequently shoot with shallow depth of field because I simply need to shoot with a wide aperture in a low-light situation. In those cases a blurred background just happens because of the wide aperture. If the background is important to me, I may increase ISO or use flash so I can use a smaller aperture to bring everything into focus.
Among professional portrait photographers the shallow depth of field look kind of goes through trendy phases like many other techniques, and right now you could say it's very trendy among the general public because smartphones are now capable of achieving the shallow depth of field look by blending data from two different images taken with two different cameras (on smartphones with dual lens). Quite often the effect looks very authentic (as if it were created optically rather than using software), and other times it can look like really bad Photoshop. From the samples I've seen, it looks like Apple's technique is more realistic looking than most. I have been playing with it quite a bit on the iPhone X and so far the results have been good. Since I take a lot of candid photos of my kids, it's nice to have background clutter blurred out in some situations. In other situations I might want the background. If you are trying to capture something quickly, the regular Photo mode is faster and more reliable. If you have time to experiment, why not experiment?
Portrait lighting is beta, but if you have the time why not experiment with different looks by selecting Studio lighting, contour lighting, etc.? In my experience the Stage Lighting is the one that feels most beta. It doesn't always mask the subject as cleanly as it should and ends up looking like bad Photoshop. I'm sure it will get there with future updates though. Rather than thinking of these effects as gimmicks, I would just think of them as photographic tools that are worth exploring so you understand when they might improve the final photo.
On my larger sensor DSLR and m4/3 cameras I frequently shoot with shallow depth of field because I simply need to shoot with a wide aperture in a low-light situation. In those cases a blurred background just happens because of the wide aperture. If the background is important to me, I may increase ISO or use flash so I can use a smaller aperture to bring everything into focus.
Among professional portrait photographers the shallow depth of field look kind of goes through trendy phases like many other techniques, and right now you could say it's very trendy among the general public because smartphones are now capable of achieving the shallow depth of field look by blending data from two different images taken with two different cameras (on smartphones with dual lens). Quite often the effect looks very authentic (as if it were created optically rather than using software), and other times it can look like really bad Photoshop. From the samples I've seen, it looks like Apple's technique is more realistic looking than most. I have been playing with it quite a bit on the iPhone X and so far the results have been good. Since I take a lot of candid photos of my kids, it's nice to have background clutter blurred out in some situations. In other situations I might want the background. If you are trying to capture something quickly, the regular Photo mode is faster and more reliable. If you have time to experiment, why not experiment?
Portrait lighting is beta, but if you have the time why not experiment with different looks by selecting Studio lighting, contour lighting, etc.? In my experience the Stage Lighting is the one that feels most beta. It doesn't always mask the subject as cleanly as it should and ends up looking like bad Photoshop. I'm sure it will get there with future updates though. Rather than thinking of these effects as gimmicks, I would just think of them as photographic tools that are worth exploring so you understand when they might improve the final photo.
I guess it depends on your expectations.
If you’re looking to produce similar style pictures as a dslr with a blurred background then I think it accomplishes that.
If it’s gimmicky on the iPhone then I assume you feel its gimmicky on this style pic produced by a much more expensive camera.