When I first started taking photos with a DSLR camera, it was the background blur that I fell in love with. I wasn’t sure how I was even creating that effect, but I saw how it made my subject stand out. It affected the way the light moved, and it added depth to an otherwise unfascinating photo.
Now I know that the aperture causes the depth effect or background blur. By making the aperture as small as possible, it limits the amount of light coming through the shutter. It’s a combination of the aperture size and the lens size that will determine your blur. The larger the zoom on your lens the better the blur.
With today’s technology, camera phone companies are seeing the disconnect between a camera and a camera phone. One of the obstacles is making images look like a professional camera took it. They’re still years away from really being able to capture all the benefits of using a DSLR camera, but their latest addition of Portrait Mode is the first step towards that goal.
If you have a newer smartphone (think iphone7 and up) or a new Samsung phone, you’ll have the benefit of portrait mode. It’s different from a camera in that it’s not getting the background blur from the aperture or zoom. Those things are fixed on a camera phone. What it does is, it uses two lenses on your phone to take two different photos and then it uses an algorithm to combines the two images.
There are many limitations to this. For example, I took a picture of my bike and the small areas between wires didn’t become blurred. It also needs a lot of light to be able to take a high-quality photo. Standing next to a window or outside are your best options.
The technology is getting there, and your product photography will look vastly different if you’re using your cell phone to capture it. When I can, I pretty much always shoot in portrait mode. However, if you’re looking for that perfect background blur to make your product shine, I will always suggest bringing out the big guns and using a DSLR or my favorite, a professional.
If you want to learn more about using your camera phone for photographing your brand, sign up for my FREE 7-day phone photography for businesses challenge. You’ll learn all the ins and outs of taking photos with your phone and even the extra free tools I like to incorporate. If you want to take your business to the next level, this is a great place to start. So what are you waiting for?
