How to really use portrait mode on your phone
Portrait Mode. This is also known as Bokeh or depth of field. This is the quality of the blur in the background of your photo.
This is all the rage right now, and I get why. I spent months trying to create the bokeh effect on my portraits. I rented camera lenses to see which had the best capabilities. Now you can just pick up your phone and do it. I will not lie, I rolled my eyes when this option came out and it definitely will never replace my trusted 50mm/1.2 lens.
So you want that sharp image of your kid, animal, flowers, or maybe even your dinner? You have probably already explored portrait mode, but if you understand what it does exactly you will start to recognize the perfect portrait mode opportunities!
Portrait mode was created to allow you to take portraits w ith beautifully blurred backgrounds. This is also known as shallow depth of field. Follow these steps below to achieve this:
Open your camera
scroll camera options until you get to portrait
follow the prompts on your screen (move further or closer to subject) and snap your photo
*Now here is the part people aren't using.
Go into the photo you would like to edit
select the light adjustment dial and you will notice your portrait took the photo automatically at f/4.5
If you use your finger you can slide all the way down to f/1.4 or up to f/16
The difference between the default photo at f/4.5 and f/1.4 is depth of field; the distance between your nearest and farthest objects in the frame.
To triple break it down to make sure you got it- f/1.4 is the most shallow depth of field you can get on iPhones. This will create the most bokeh (blur). To get LESS, move the scale towards f/16.
Free tip; f/1.2 generally will only be wide enough to focus one object or person. Portrait mode under f/4.5 is not for groups or multiple objects in one photo.
See the photo of Kayla below. This is set at a f/1.8, you see her clear face and blurred background.
