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Apple Shares Tips for Taking 'Pro' Photos Using iPhone 7 Plus Portrait Mode

Love how amateur photographers who drop bank on their cameras get offended Apple is marketing a quality camera to those who don't need or want a professional camera.
 
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There are a couple of ok portraits. And many just meh, which could have been much better. The lead photo is one example that's not very good.

Also, I didn't really find any good "tips" that people can use. Mostly fluff.

And, some claims are extremely limiting with respect to good portraiture without further consideration of circumstances and goals.

A real shame. This set of "tips" could have been so much better and actually useful with just a bit more effort.
 
macTW said:
Love how amateur photographers who drop bank on their cameras get offended Apple is marketing a quality camera to those who don't need or want a professional camera.
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The fact is, current phone cameras will never be in the same league as current cameras. It really comes down to how much you want to invest in image quality. But for the love of god, let's not make any claims of being "professional" photographers using an iPhone. It's just embarrassing.
 
littyboy said:
The fact is, current phone cameras will never be in the same league as current cameras. It really comes down to how much you want to invest in image quality. But for the love of god, let's not make any claims of being "professional" photographers using an iPhone. It's just embarrassing.
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This..."Hi, I'll be your wedding photographer, It'll be easy with my iPhone (insert model)

The average consumer is good with this. Anything beyond requires, IMHO, a dedicated camera."It's an iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator." Even Swiss Army knives can't really do the real job that is required sometime.
 
coolbreeze said:
Yes, you found the one feature the Pixel doesn't have. Congrats.

I'm referring to photo quality. The Pixel software is actually aware of photons that don't "land" on the sensor during low-light photography and compensates for it, resulting in jaw dropping low light quality. This feature cannot be debated. If Apple had it, we'd be so smug the internet would break.

The zoom is neat. I use it sometimes. The low-light isn't. The Pixel produces better still photos, it's true. Facts.

It's okay to acknowledge this outside of the vacuum that is MR. I love the 7+ for the record, but the camera is dethroned.
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This post is pretty smug itself. Using extreme adjectives to describe a product that has comparable camera performance (maybe a tad better, albeit the different focal lengths).

I do own both phones. It's a great camera. But don't try to paint a picture of it being 'leaps and bounds' when in reality it's more like "wow these are as great as my iPhone, maybe a little better".

There are plenty of times when the zoom just made some great shots the pixel couldn't. And thats part of a whole package of what a camera can deliever - a sum of all its features.
 
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Sure, a smartphone camera might be okay in a majority of cases, but physics sets limits on a small sensor and the sensors in these phones are very small. Software attempts to mimic nice bokeh might work in some situations but not all and can't be a substitute for an 85mm f/1.4 portrait lens. So for some/most people the smartphone camera might be adequate, but it's not a pro camera.
 
konqerror said:
Nope, that's exactly the "need expensive equipment" thought. Composition is the number one skill in photography, and it requires no camera at all. Go walk around with your hand in a square. It's the same. Lighting. Directing a model/dog. These are the skills that those pro photographers talk about.

In fact, a lot of the film skills like metering and exposure, which you did need equipment, are gone now, thanks to bracketing, instant preview and editing.

Sure, there's specialized fields like sports photography and photography for print, but that's not something you do until you are skilled at the basics.
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Will have to agree to disagree. A camera is only as good as the photographer, sure, but you're undervaluing the technical side of it by a long shot.

I have trouble buying the expensive equipment argument anyway. An entry level DSLR can cost a third of a new iPhone.
 
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Apple teaches their fans how to take photos hahaha... Amazing, incredible, Apple will submit this pattern lol "MAKE PHOTO GREAT GAIN lol
 
I enjoy portrait mode on my 7+

It's semi beach proof, unlike my DSLR - and it fits in my pocket!

Yes she's due for a dental cleaning... :(

IMG_8264.jpg
 
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I did not see really any guides or tips on taking great shots...really a bunch of hyped iPhotographers gloating.
 
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konqerror said:
Nope, that's exactly the "need expensive equipment" thought. Composition is the number one skill in photography, and it requires no camera at all. Go walk around with your hand in a square. It's the same. Lighting. Directing a model/dog. These are the skills that those pro photographers talk about.

In fact, a lot of the film skills like metering and exposure, which you did need equipment, are gone now, thanks to bracketing, instant preview and editing.

Sure, there's specialized fields like sports photography and photography for print, but that's not something you do until you are skilled at the basics.
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Are you guys in the wrong thread/site. I feel I am on dps.com.
 
konqerror said:
Nope, that's exactly the "need expensive equipment" thought. Composition is the number one skill in photography, and it requires no camera at all. Go walk around with your hand in a square. It's the same. Lighting. Directing a model/dog. These are the skills that those pro photographers talk about.

In fact, a lot of the film skills like metering and exposure, which you did need equipment, are gone now, thanks to bracketing, instant preview and editing.

Sure, there's specialized fields like sports photography and photography for print, but that's not something you do until you are skilled at the basics.
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It really is, but you DO need expensive equipment if you're SERIOUS about photography.

Stop trying to copy the smartphone manufacturer song 1:1.

Whilst you can take great photos with iPhones & Co., if you are SERIOUS about it, stop right there and get real equipment.

Everyone wants to be so liberalized from the expensive stuff their grandpas bought "back in the day", "today it is different".

Well, there's plenty you can do with smartphones and getting INTO photography or being ready for a shot any second of the day are certainly great reasons to base a smartphone purchase on, but at some point you'll want more from your gear.

Not everyone is SERIOUS (keyword!) about photography and that is OKAY.

Photography has become a lot more democratic, much like traveling, but just because anyone can drive a car today instead of relying on trains or such doesn't mean everyone is a Formula 1 driver.

Composition and the other skills that photography demands are more important, doesn't mean that you want the low ceiling of a smartphone once you step it up.

Glassed Silver:mac
 
Polaroids were technically awful, but made history and enlightened lots of people's moments. No way a photography topic can go on without two opposite argumentations. B/W vs. Color, Canon or Nikon, PRO technician vs. amateurish enthusiast. We could go on forever and never make ends meet. It is about what is "good enough" and this is always going to be a subjective and personal option. Phone cameras impressively improved their skills in the last 10 years. Chapeau. But don't forget the most of this shots are going to be delivered on tiny 4/5" screens.
P.S. This "Pro" moniker abuse is getting embarassing
 
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djcerla said:
That's a fantastic camera, with well balanced performance between stills and video.

Video on Android devices is years behind.
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Lol, read any head to head review against the s7 edge. I'll wait!
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cocky jeremy said:
Does the light from the fire improve pictures that much? ;)
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Some would say that you make yourself look a tad foolish when you refer to incidents regarding the note 7, but address them to the s7 edge, while trying to be all cute.

#justsaying
 
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Some of my best photos were taken with an iPhone 4s, a FujiFilm FinePix (8MP), an iPhone 6S and an Olympus EM-10. All cameras have their best conditions. Personally, I love lenses, and I love heading off somewhere with a 20-year-old characterful lense and my Olympus, and seeing what shots I come back with. But I also have taken terrific shots with my phone. Things like portrait shots with good bokeh, including sharp edges around the subject, are something you really need a 'proper' lense for, but landscape shots with a phone have been quite good for a while now. As someone already said, the best camera is the one you have on you. By the way, one of my very favourite photos was taken with a pinhole camera!! :)
 
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mauka said:
I enjoy portrait mode on my 7+
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Might be just me, but I think the picture looks kind of artificial, something about the border between dog and background seems 'wrong'. My guess is that the software shifts the blur a little bit more into the portrayed object than natural circumstances would cause that effect to appear, since edges with non-blurred-out background would stick out drastically more.

And an unavoidable downside of software-rendered effects: The algorithm is likely to mess up when not provided with sufficient contrast for it to differentiate fore- and background, e.g. on her chest some fur got mistakingly blurred out.

Don't get me wrong: This is a very nice snapshot! But in my opinion also a good illustration that software can't replace actual optical hardware - yet. :)
 
nitropowered said:
I should sell my Canon EOS-1D X Mark II and my 70-200 f/2.8 IS II lens and trade in my iPhone 7 for a 7 Plus!
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The strength of a photograph and it's intrinsic power has little to do with gear.

Rather, a compelling photograph, one that has the power to release narrative and stir a viewer's mind and imagination, is made by and comes from within the photographer.

A photographer's life experiences, curiosity, imagination, ability to assess the potential of what's in front of him/her, the ability to read and understand the quality of light, the ability to decide what should and should not be within the frame, understanding gesture, ability to hide information when necessary to provoke viewer imagination and narrative, and, ultimately, creating a composition based on those and many more factors is what drives the success of a photograph.

In short, it's about the photographer. Not the cost or pedigree of the gear used.
 
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