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Using Portrait Mode on iPhone XR

When I use the rear camera on my XR, I only see 3 options - the stage lighting option is missing. However when I use the front camera, I see all options, including stage lighting. What am I missing?

iPhone XR

Posted on Jan 6, 2019 3:49 PM

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Thanks panchososa694. Yes, you gave me part of the answer. The full answer is that the XR does support portrait mode - but only 3 of the lighting effects with the rear camera. I found the full story by digging into the XR technical stats: https://support.apple.com/kb/SP781?locale=en_US.


Rear Camera 12 MP (aka Camera):

  • Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
  • Portrait Lighting with three effects (Natural, Studio, Contour)


Front Camera 7 MP (aka True Depth Camera):

  • Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
  • Portrait Lighting with five effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono)


So, I wasn't missing anything. I just needed to read a bit more. =D


Posted on Jan 8, 2019 11:26 AM

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Question marked as Best answer

Jan 8, 2019 11:26 AM in response to panchososa694

Thanks panchososa694. Yes, you gave me part of the answer. The full answer is that the XR does support portrait mode - but only 3 of the lighting effects with the rear camera. I found the full story by digging into the XR technical stats: https://support.apple.com/kb/SP781?locale=en_US.


Rear Camera 12 MP (aka Camera):

  • Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
  • Portrait Lighting with three effects (Natural, Studio, Contour)


Front Camera 7 MP (aka True Depth Camera):

  • Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
  • Portrait Lighting with five effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono)


So, I wasn't missing anything. I just needed to read a bit more. =D


Jan 8, 2019 11:40 AM in response to panchososa694

As per
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208118
This seems to indicate that portrait mode requires the dual camera system such as what's on iPhone 7 plus, 8 plus, X, XS, and XS Max.

"True" portrait mode does require a dual camera, as you need one to focus on the subject and a second with a different focus for the background. The alternative is to use a very large aperture (with a narrow focus range, or bokeh). This is how a DSLR does it. But there isn't enough room in a cell phone camera for a very large aperture, so portrait mode is a compromise if there's only one camera. Another approach is to use a high end photo editing app that can defocus parts of the image. Or, the ultimate solution, is to have a lot of cameras like the Light model L16 with 16 cameras: https://light.co/camera

Using Portrait Mode on iPhone XR

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