# data[].attributes.body
Watch this short video. Tell me what you like about Portrait Mode.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Dual cameras have become ubiquitous in the smartphone world, and with them has emerged a new technique for simulating a shallow depth of field - the feature commonly called ' Portrait Mode'. This 10-minute video from Marques Brownlee explains how it works, and it also pits Portrait Mode on an iPhone X, Note 8, and Pixel 2 against the $8,000 medium format camera Hasselblad X1D.

Because a smartphone's sensor is so small and the field of view is so wide, most of the time everything in a normal photo taken with the phone's camera will be in focus. Portrait mode simulates a shallow depth of field by using edge detection and/or depth mapping to differentiate between the foreground and background. It then blurs the background, simulating that shallow depth of field and making the foreground pop.

As Brownlee says, the iPhone X and Note 8 use depth mapping to figure out what is in the foreground of the image. These smartphones use data from the wide angle and telephoto lenses to create a depth map, and then artificially blur objects depending on how far they are from the in-focus subject.

The Pixel 2 takes a different approach - it utilizes pixel splitting to create a depth map and machine learning helps to identify the subject and create a mask. Because it doesn't rely on two distinct lenses like the iPhone X and Note 8, the Pixel 2 is able to take Portrait Mode shots from the front-facing camera.

The resulting images from the phones differ, Brownlee discovered. The iPhone X appears to focus the face at the expense of everything else, often resulting in blurred hair, ears, or even other objects in the same plane of focus as the face. The Pixel 2 seems to do a better job of keeping the entire subject in focus, but applies very strong sharpening to the foreground and aggressively blurs the background, resulting in a less natural looking image. The Note 8 is somewhere between the two.

Brownlee makes the point that the capabilities of smartphone camera software and hardware are increasing at a rate much faster than traditional cameras are. Features like increasing the amount of background blur after the shot is taken or the artificial lighting effects like those that the iPhone X offers are things that traditional cameras do not have.

The ability for smartphones to simulate 'real' cameras is improving every year and to the untrained eye, it can already be difficult to differentiate. With the relentless yearly cycle of smartphone updates, their capabilities continue to close in on mirrorless and DSLRs.

"I think you and I will always be able to tell the difference if you pixel-peep enough between a smartphone camera and a big sensor just because of the physical constraints of trying to make such a small sensor do such big things," Brownlee concludes. "For that reason, the big cameras will always have their place - professionals will always buy that. But [smartphone] cameras are getting so good.

"The best camera really is still just the one you have with you."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Portrait Mode Works and How It Compares to an $8,000 Camera

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dual cameras have become ubiquitous in the smartphone world, and with them has emerged a new technique for simulating a shallow depth of field - the feature commonly called ' Portrait Mode'. This 10-minute video from Marques Brownlee explains how it works, and it also pits Portrait Mode on an iPhone X, Note 8, and Pixel 2 against the $8,000 medium format camera Hasselblad X1D.

# data[].attributes.body
I like using Portrait Mode because I can get a nice photo with a professional look. I alwasy have my cell phone and rarely carry my big dslr camera around, so it is noice to get good photos with a cell phone.

# data[].attributes.body
I like how it blurs the background of the pictures and focuses on the object.

# data[].attributes.body
I like how it mainly focuses it on the subject giving the background a theme.

# data[].attributes.body
I like how it blurs the background of the pictures , i can get a nice work with my iPhone 11 because of camera is very nice.

# data[].attributes.body
I liked using portrait mode, because of how it focusś on what is being catured and how it blurs th

# data[].attributes.headline
I like taking portrait mode because you can take photos with nice light

# data[].attributes.subject
I like taking portrait mode because you can take photos with nice light

# data[].attributes.body
i like how it focuses on one thing

# data[].attributes.body
I like how it blurs the background and it focuses on the main object.

# data[].attributes.body
I like portrait mode because it just makes things look nicer and more professional.

# data[].attributes.body
how it captures just one thing

# data[].attributes.body
I like portrait mode because the main focus of the picture is front and center and it blurs the background.

# data[].attributes.body
I like how portrait mode creates simplicity and focuses on the subject and gives a clear background

# data[].attributes.body
ilike that portrait mode is easy to take and easily gets full body shots

# data[].attributes.body
I like how portrait mode would only captures one single object and blurs everything.

# data[].attributes.body
I like that it mostly focuses on one subject and the back ground is blurry

# data[].attributes.body
What I like is how they want to put more focus on the person or object to stand out and makes the background blurry like the person or object is more important than the area around it or him/her.

# data[].attributes.body
I like how it makes the picture look professional
and blurs the background

# data[].attributes.body
gives a more focused background on any object instead of all the unnecessary bigger background

# data[].attributes.body
I like that portrait mode gives you the ability to focus on a certain thing and blurs out everything else.

# data[].attributes.body
I like using portrait mode because it blurs the background and makes the picture look more professional.

# data[].attributes.body
I like portrait mode because it focuses on the object you want and blurs out the background which makes it cool

# data[].attributes.body
I like portrait mode  because when you take a picture it just focuses on a specific object you want and it makes it look like you took it from a professional camera but it was just from phone.

# data[].attributes.body
I love how the background is blurry and out of focus, but still has color, and the object itself is the main focus of the picture. Portrait mode makes you focus on the subject itself, and not worry about where the object is being placed.

# data[].attributes.body
Something I like about portrait mode is how it focuses on the subject and blurs out everything that is not the main subject .

# data[].attributes.body
What fascinates me when using portrait mode is when it blurs out the background and the main focus is the object right in front of the camera.

# data[].attributes.body
I love portrait mode because it focuses on one object to show small details and blurs the background.

# data[].attributes.body
how it blurs the background in focus on the main object

# data[].attributes.body
I like how portrait mode focuses on the thing that you want to see in the picture

# data[].attributes.body
I like portrait mode because they make the pictures look good, it blurs the background and it only focus the main object which makes the pictures look good.

# data[].attributes.body
I like portrait mode because it makes the photo/pictures look more professional. It focuses more on the person/object and the background is blurred out .

# data[].attributes.body
I like portrait mode because it focuses on the main object and makes the pictures look good.

# data[].attributes.body
I like that it focuses on basically only you.

# data[].attributes.body
I like how it focuses on one thing and really brings it out