When I got this phone it was mainly for the “exceptional” close up camera, however, that’s not the case. Close up photos I take look like watercolor portraits / cartoonish. Is there a way to fix this in settings. I asked someone at the Apple Store and they only gave me deer in the headlights look and said they had no idea.
iPhone 12 Pro Max
Hi lisa a from dallas
welcome to the Apple (user-to-user) Community.
Re: "Close up photos I take look like watercolor portraits / cartoonish. Is there a way to fix this in settings".
Am no expert in this area, yet your question surely deserves a reply:
"like watercolor portraits / cartoonish"
seems just like the "filters" some apps can use have been applied.
On iPhone you may be able to edit your photos to remove that look:
Wondering if this Apple support article can help:
Take and edit photos on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch – Apple Support
says:
"Edit your photo or video
After you've taken your photo or video, open it in the Photos app and tap Edit. Then you can adjust the crop, angle, light, add a filter and more. Choose an adjustment, like Brightness or Saturation, and slide to change the strength and intensity. If you don’t like how your changes look, tap Cancel and revert back to the original."
and
"Apply filters
Tap one of the photo filters to give your photo a different colour effect, such as Vivid or Dramatic. Or try classic black and white looks like Mono and Silvertone.
_______________________________________________________
Re: Is there a way to fix this in settings".
Settings you may want to experiment with / on / off:
Change advanced camera settings on iPhone – Apple Support
Eg: says:
___________________________
"Turn Lens Correction off and on
On iPhone 12 models, iPhone 13 models, and iPhone 14 models, the Lens Correction setting adjusts photos taken with the front camera or Ultra Wide camera for more natural-looking results".
Lens Correction is on by default. To turn off Lens Correction, go to Settings > Camera, then turn off Lens Correction.
____________________________
Turn Scene Detection off and on
On iPhone 12 models, the Scene Detection setting can identify what you’re taking a photo of and apply a tailored look to bring out the best qualities in the scene.
Scene Detection is on by default. To turn off Scene Detection, go to Settings > Camera, then turn off Scene Detection.
__________________________________________________________
How to: Adjust HDR camera settings on iPhone – Apple Support
Eg: says:
"By default, iPhone automatically uses HDR when it’s most effective.
On some iPhone models, you can manually control HDR instead.
____________________
Turn off automatic HDR:
iPhone 12 models: Go to Settings > Camera, then turn off Smart HDR.
Then from the camera screen, tap HDR to turn it off or on".
________________________________________________________________________
If you have several mins to spare: There's a (not-from-Apple)YouTube video with tips about close-up and macro photography. (Does not mention the settings though)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m6pTRJYWKM
For more support if needed:
(There's a "Get Support" link at the bottom of their webpages... links below)
iPhone Support Website
iPhone - Official Apple Support
or
Photos Support Website
Photos - Official Apple Support
All the best :-)
iPhone 12 Plus Max Camera
