iPhone 13 ProMax HDR photos oversaturated (i.e look fake)

Hi, this won’t help. I spent almost 2 hours trying to figure it out, switching between photographic styles and there’s no way to avoid the fake colors and lights.

Please apple!! We need to be able to turn off hdr!

The problem with the "solutions" proposed on this thread so far is that they don't address the issue, which is that the HDR is very heavy-handed and the saturation levels over the top.

The "photographic styles" settings mostly just make the pictures even warmer. There's a "Cooler" setting, but that deals with color warmth, not HDR or saturation.

Previous phones allowed the HDR to be turned on or off. Not sure why that went away?

Don't get me wrong, the tech is clearly very powerful, and often pulls out great detail from the shadows. But there NEEDS to be a way to adjust the intensity of the image manipulation. As it stands it simply can't be used for any sophisticated or professional application. It's simply gaudy.

Because Apple is largely about providing the best results for most people in as automatic a way as possible.

If you asked most people, they would tell you they love the photos the iPhone 13 family of devices take.

You want something different, and by and large, Apple leaves "different" up to third-party providers.

The fact that the photo data is available to third-party camera apps tells you they're leaving the controls up to those who are interested in having them to implement.

A great example: for years, Apple did not make many exposure controls available in the Camera app; now they do.

An example of functionality they do not provide: despite being asked for years, there is no way to shut off OIS, which is a problem for anyone using an iPhone with a gimbal like a DJI Osmo.

In in the iPhone 13 - you can't turn off the hdr - that is hardware. It's so upsetting because I am comparing photos and videos from an 11pro max to the 13 pro max and there is such a huge difference.

You could have reduced the exposure when taking the original shot, or you can use various third party camera apps.

HDR doesn't blow things up so much as it can finally reproduce what was actually there with the side effect it no longer looks like what people have become used to as looking like a photograph.

You can also do a lot in various photo apps with just a few mouse clicks.

So you’re saying we should ignore our lyin’ eyes? I hardly think it matters what photo bloggers think. We (who are displeased) beg to differ.

As per my previous post, I’m not bothered by any perceived over-saturation. Yes, that can be processed out. What can’t be processed out is what’s bugging me. Highlights are knocked back and shadows lightened—just as what would happen with any other HDR process: as what happened on an iPhone back <when we had a choice>—and I, for one, find that disturbing. I know my way around photoshop and any attempts to rectify that particular issue results in a decidedly inferior product.

Anyway, I don’t think the issue is whether the end results are acceptable or not. The crux of the problem is that they took away our ability to choose.

My best workaround to over saturation that I have found (which only works for portraits and close subjects) is to keep my phone camera in "portrait" mode, which gives you the option of "natural light". Annoyingly and incomprehensibly, that option is not given in "photo" mode.

I still miss live photo for pets and children as well, though, who just won't sit still or repeat an action on demand for another shot. I frequently used to be able to salvage a precious moment by choosing a different frame of Live Photo using my old phone. Although even that wasn't perfect because image stabilisation was only applied to the default frame the phone chose, even if the subjects face was averted in the default chosen frame, with other frames around it having camera shake or subject blur that I couldn't find a way to correct when I chose a different frame that actually had the face captured. Still, it frequently gave me a snapshot of a moment I would otherwise not have had. Now I just miss the moment altogether. And I have to say I miss it more often too because there seems to be more of a lag in shutter response time than there used to be.

Anyone can shoot and process using ProRAW.

Take Apple ProRAW photos with your iPhone camera - Apple Support

You can't adjust HDR settings for the iphone 13 pro. The over saturation is particularity bad at sunset. I couldn't use the photos. If I turn off the "Apple ProRAW" it's a little better, but still very fake looking.

Clearly, you haven't paid attention to the original question. Preferences aside, Apple removed the option to turn HDR off or on. Regardless of your preference, sunset photos look awful and cannot be adjusted in how the image is captured. I'm sure your phone has the Thomas Kincaid option turned on, but the rest of us want to turn it off and we can't.

People buy the phone for other reasons and take the good with the bad. It doesn't mean they love every aspect of the phone. Particularly when they are locked into the ecosystem. I for one, bought the 13 mini because it is the smallest iPhone available, but chose the 13 mini over the 12 mini because the sales pitch was the improved camera. So I'm doubly disappointed that the images are so bad. But I took your advice and downloaded Halide and so far so good, but I will have to use it under more conditions to see whether it is easy enough to use as the default camera software. But when I've paid a premium price for the latest iPhone it is not what you expect to have the native camera software downgraded like this.

This look is the standard for high-end smart phones, so if you don't like it, don't get anything from Apple's competitors, either.

The best way to avoid it is to shoot in RAW and post-process it to your preferences.

Apple's implementation remains the best reviewed of the options available in the US market, and in fact if you do a quick Internet search you will see several sites stating that the iPhone's photos are the most "natural" looking among Samsung and Google's.

If purchased from an Apple Store, you can get a full refund for any reason, or even none at all, for 14 days.

Other retailers have other policies.

Many third party apps provide this functionality; Pro Cam works well for me.

gigabit77 wrote:

As far I understand, there are no differences between the 13 and 13 pro that would have any effect on this.

The 13 Pro supports shooting in ProRAW.

About Apple ProRAW - Apple Support