Just when you thought the iPhone couldn’t get any better, the iPhone 7 Plus brings an entirely new experience to its camera-loving users. Remember that one thing that made this unit a must-see is its dual-camera system, something that Apple lovers have been itching to use prior to its release.
Well, now that it’s here, there have been so many feedback about the way it works. Simply put, people are wowed by its performance, especially when it comes to the camera’s Portrait Mode.
Exploring Portrait Mode
If the term “Computational Photography” remains alien to you, there’s a simple way to tell you what it does. Basically, the new iPhone camera is so smart, it does its own post-processing. The iPhone automatically merges two different exposures on an HDR scale, bringing you a final image that is so good, it doesn’t need further editing. Even if you took a photo on a non-HDR setting, your phone will still automatically process the photo and make it as appealing as possible.
What does this have to do with anything? Well, with a camera this smart, Apple is able to allow their users to enjoy Portrait Mode on their iPhone 7 Plus.
What people are actually gushing about is the Depth Effect that you get when using Portrait Mode. When you add all the right ingredients into the shot, both cameras fire at the same time, creating a depth map that mixes different elements from both images. This depth map then gives you a variable-radius blur that gives that professional-looking final image, with a shallow depth of field that can wow any viewer.
The Depth Effect Without the iPhone 7 Plus
A lot of you are probably wondering – what if I don’t want to upgrade to the iPhone 7 Plus? Well, that’s okay, because as experts who sell iPhones tell us, you can actually achieve the Depth Effect without having to get yourself a new phone (especially if you’re still perfectly happy with your older iPhone).
Two apps come to mind here – Depth Effects and Patch.
Depth Effects allows you to post process a picture you’re about to take, or an image that’s already in your photo library. Just tap the blur feature, enable the Mask function, adjust the brush size and start blurring the areas you want to blur. You can also add flare filters and glare filters, depending on the final effect you want to achieve.
Patch, on the other hand, does not allow you to take a photo from the actual app. However, you can freely process any image in your photo library. What sets it apart from Depth Effects, however, is the fact that it automatically applies background blur. From here, you can just fix any mistakes you see instead of having to manually blur everything the way you would using Depth Effects.
Yes, the Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus works really well, considering that it does all the blurring on its own. But if you’re still unconvinced that the phone is not for you but would very much like to enjoy these effects, then you’re going to have to settle for these apps in the meantime.
