Here’s some tricks and tips on using the updated camera and its features.
PORTRAIT LIGHTING
A really cool feature on the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X is called Portrait Lighting. There are five types of effects that you can select from. Natural Light, Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light and Stage Light Mono.
Unlike other phones, Portrait Lighting on the iPhone uses a depth map and facial landmarking captured on the dual cameras.
Simply go into the main Camera app and tap Portrait Mode (next to Photo). A circular menu will show above the shutter icon where you can select the five different effects.
Our fave is the Stage Light effects. You’ll want to ensure to fill the circle as much as possible with a face so there isn’t as much background visible.
USE THE GRID
We’ve all taken that perfect shot only to find out later that it’s wonky and off-balance. By enabling the grid in Settings > Camera, lines will appear on the camera app to keep your next masterpiece aligned.
If your photo is still not aligned, you can fix it up in the camera roll by editing the pic and using the crop tool. Your iPhone will magically straighten your photo, or you can manually do it by using the arrow.
LIVE PHOTO
You can now save the 3-second photo as a short video that can be shared on social media. The long exposure shot is pretty cool, and worth checking out and playing around with.
OMG VIDEO
The new iPhone’s can now shoot 4K video as well as 1080p for slow motion vids.
You can select the different formats in the Settings > Camera > Record Video setting. To change the slo-mo video settings, tap on Record Slo-mo in the Camera settings.
FILTERS
Did someone say Instagram-ready? Swipe up in the camera viewfinder to see the ready-to-gram filters.
QR CODES ARE A BREEZE
The camera also now scans QR codes. Just select the Scan QR codes toggle in the camera settings. Then point and shoot.