You must be wondering how one takes professional looking pictures with a smartphone and you must have tried at least five apps to give you that pro effect. However, if you happen to own an iPhone 7 Plus or are looking to buy one in the near future, we need to tell you about our time with the smartphone. We tested the ‘Portrait Mode’ (which is still in its beta phase ) and it takes better photos than any smartphone we can think of. In fact, there are times when these pictures looked like they was taken using a professional camera and we could not believe the results ourselves.

The Portrait mode uses the dual-lens camera system and adds a layer that creates a depth-of-field effect. You may be familiar with this effect, as it is also known as ‘bokeh’, on DSLR cameras.

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We took these pictures in an open space with moderate lighting so we could show what the phone was actually capable of. In order to take pictures like these, you will come across a yellow prompt which reads “Depth Effect”. This label acts as a sort of digital help when taking such photos because it will light up when you’re at the right distance and detect the right lighting conditions for it to work.

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Since we were outside, we were taking pictures on a beautiful afternoon when our surroundings were well illuminated to give us the best outcome. Check out the results of this mode in the pictures below. In order to get the best portraits, you should take these pictures in bright light and make sure the subject is close enough to the camera.

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The Portrait mode on the camera app tells me that my subject should not be too far i.e. 2.5 meters or less. If the distance between your subject and the background is larger, the more defined the depth effect will be. If your subject is standing against a wall or the background, you will see no effect whatsoever.

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Getting closer to your subject makes the Portrait mode works its charm and helps in isolating the subject’s face. You can see from the pictures above that the faces are in perfect focus while the background, the hair and the surroundings are blurred. You can even see the city of Gurgaon in the background being blurred due to the depth effect. Even though the background is very busy with objects, the Portrait mode seamlessly focuses on the face.

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In case you do not want a picture with the ‘depth effect’, the Portrait mode automatically takes two pictures i.e. one with the blur effect and one without. This gives you the freedom to share whichever picture you prefer, however, I generally end up using the picture with the effect enabled simply because it stands out more.

Devotees at Nandgaon temple celebrating holi festival.  #shotoniphone7plus #colors #iphoneonly #travel #travelblogger #holi #traveller #travelmagazines #instaphoto #insta #travelgram #instafamous #tbt #followforfollow #everyday #india #love #uttarpradesh #stockphotos #holi2017  #nandgaon #barsana #vrindavan #cntraveler

A post shared by Mohit Agrawal (@iphonemusafir) on Mar 9, 2017 at 6:22am PST

Even though the Portrait mode is in its beta phase; its capabilities cannot be ignored. The mode is not perfect but the fact that the iPhone 7 plus is capable of taking such pictures means that we cannot wait to see the improved version of the mode.  Imagine using it during Indian festivals like Holi and Diwali, which are both full of colour. Since Holi is just a few days away, I am going to test the Portrait mode more and the best part – I don’t have to worry about it getting wet since it is water resistant.