iPhone 15's Smart Portrait Mode
The iPhone's Portrait Mode has evolved from a novelty to an indispensable, intuitive, and remarkably versatile tool. In previous iterations like the iPhone 14, using Portrait Mode involved selecting the mode, positioning the subject correctly, and ensuring the phone focused correctly—all now a thing of the past. This mode has matured, simplifying usage to the point where it operates seamlessly without manual toggling, allowing you to shoot first and refine focus later.
Gareth Barkin, a photography enthusiast and dean at the University of Puget Sound, notes the remarkable enhancements: the ability to select subjects post-capture, fine-tune depth of field in multiple ways, and retain an unaltered original image, making it a feature worth using consistently.
Portrait Mode emulates the blurred background effect of traditional cameras, a sought-after feature that enhances subject prominence against complex backgrounds. Smart Portrait Mode in the iPhone 15 leverages various sensors, including LiDAR, to create a 3D depth map, accurately identifying subjects and surroundings. The automatic integration of Portrait Mode in the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro eliminates the need to manually switch modes. Whether detecting human faces, dogs, or cats, it captures depth information, even in low-light conditions.
The upgrade goes further, granting users the liberty to select the primary subject after taking the photo, offering unprecedented flexibility. This innovation has been praised by tech journalist Matthew Panzarino for its seamless functionality and zero-cost adaptability, simplifying the photography process.
While dedicated cameras boast superior detail and control, the smartphone's computational power enables flawless exposures that traditional cameras might struggle to achieve. For most users, in most scenarios, the smartphone camera's prowess renders it more than adequate, consistently narrowing the gap between smartphones and purpose-built cameras.
