Apple Blog Guides iPhone Photography

Apple introduced the Portrait Mode in 2016 along with the iPhone 7 Plus and while it was introduced in beta back then , it was a runaway success with all its users and with the launch of the iPhone 8 Plus , Apple has gone ahead and taken things one level higher with the feature called Portrait Lighting .
As the name goes , this feature lets you edit and play with lighting effects while clicking a photo in Portrait mode . While this feature is still in Beta mode , it is something Apple put a lot of thought into and here’s some details about how you could use it on your new iPhone 8 Plus .
Portrait Lighting Presets
There are four presets in the Portrait Lighting feature introduced by Apple and they are Studio Light , Contour Light , Stage Light and Stage Light Mono .

  • Studio Light

Studio Light brightens up the face in focus and removes any harsh shadows allowing you to see more detail .

  • Contour Light

Contour light adds dramatic shadows to portraits to make them look stunning by showing the difference between highlight and lowlight.

  • Stage Light

Stage Light adds a spotlight to the subject and makes it stand out against a black background thereby giving a dramatic and high contrast photo .

  • Stage Light Mono

Stage Light mono , while adding a spotlight to the subject against a black background , converts the image to black and white .
 
Usage :
The feature is baked right into the default camera app . To use it , all you have to do is open Portrait mode on your iPhone 8 Plus and you will see a small 3D cube above the shutter / camera button . Click and slide to the left to access the different presets that are available .

Photo Source : Riteshbendre on Giphy
The Portrait Lighting feature can also be added to an already existing portrait mode photo by selecting and clicking on the edit button in any Portrait photos . Once in the edit mode , all the presets are available and can be used easily.

Gif credit : iMore
Do remember that the feature is still in Beta and that means it is not fully perfect yet and may need some practice and work to get all the effects right . We hope Apple continues improving on these features and sooner than later these effects move out of the Beta phase .
Are you interested in this Portrait Lighting feature and are you going to buy the new iPhone 8 Plus to try them out ? Do let us know .
 
Here is a video ad that Apple has released showcasing the Portrait Lighting feature . Do take a look and enjoy .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgbv5z59OUQ&feature=youtu.be