The iPhone 8 has a Portrait Lighting feature that is a complementary addition to the already existing Portrait Mode.
Portrait Lighting uses AI to analyze images that you snap on the smartphone and lets you change the lighting effects in real-time while iPhone owners are previewing the photo they took. You can also make the changes after you take the picture.
It should not come as a surprise to see Apple add these features because the company is looking to provide even more options for its customers. And since we use smartphones as cameras quite often, it is nice to see new and improved effects that let us modify the pictures.
Apple also mentioned that the Portrait Lighting feature is not simply a photo editing tool but rather a great analysis tool to help users adjust their photos and take advantage of various dynamic lighting effects.
The feature is quite cool, and not utilizing it as an iPhone 8 owner would be a waste. Let’s take a look at how to use and make the most out of Portrait Lighting on your smartphone.
Start With iOS Update
Your iPhone 8 should support the Portrait mode, but it is still recommended to check whether you are running the latest available iOS version. Go to the System Settings, tap the General tab, and click on Software Update.
Enable the Portrait Mode
To enable the portrait mode, launch the iPhone’s camera and swipe with your fingers until you are in the Portrait mode. There will be tips on the screen that you can follow. Once the mode is active, you will see lighting effect names turning to different colors.
To take a picture, tap the Shutter button (the one in the middle of the bottom of the iPhone’s screen).
The camera will warn if the object you want to snap is too close or too far away or if the environment is too dark to take a proper quality picture.
While in the Portrait mode, you can also enable a time and apply various filters to edit the picture.
Keep in mind that some iPhone models come with added benefits for the Portrait mode. For example, 1x or 2x add extra quality to the images to make them look more realistic.
Add Lighting
Now for the Lighting feature. Portrait Lighting applies studio-quality lighting effects to portrait images that you take on your iPhone. There are a few lighting modes that offer benefits to the pictures:
- Studio Light is meant to bring out the best of one’s facial features by brightening the details
- Stage Light isolates the person in a picture from the background and make them stand out more
- Stage Mono introduces white and black colors to the pictures
Like already mentioned, the Lighting mode can be used both while taking the picture in real-time and after. If the person you are taking a picture of is inpatient, they will not want to wait for you to switch between different lighting effects to determine which one fits.
If so, you can edit pictures after in the Photos application. Launch the application, open a picture you took, tap on the Edit button, and switch between different lighting effects that appear at the bottom of the picture. Once you find the perfect lighting effect, tap Done.
Make Adjustments
In case you are unhappy with a picture’s background or how intensive the lighting effect is, take advantage of the Depth Control feature in the Photos app.
Enable the Portrait mode in your photo library and click the Edit button. You should see a Depth Control button at the top. It looks like the letter “f” below a circle. When in Depth Control, use the slider at the bottom to drag left or right and adjust the effect to your liking. When you are happy with the result, tap Done.
Remove the Feature
When you want to remove the portrait mode effect from a picture, return to the Editor application and open a picture via the app. Tap on the Edit button and tap Portrait, which you can find at the top of the iPhone’s screen. Once again, after you are finished making changes, tap Done.
