Portrait Light in Google Photos - Is this the future of mobile photography?
One of the best things about Google Pixel phones is that you get most, if not all the software features new Pixel phones get. For example, Google rolled out Night Sight to older generations.
This year, Google announced a very exciting feature called Portrait Light in Google Photos with the launch of the Pixel 5. Less than a month after the announcement, the feature is now rolling out to older generations. I got the update today on my Pixel 4 XL.
What is Portrait Light?
Portrait Light lets you augment your photos with a studio light like effect. It's similar to portrait mode lighting we’ve seen in other devices, but on a whole new level, allowing you to change the direction and intensity of your light source after you've taken the photo.
The best thing about portrait light is that you can use it with any photos. It doesn't have to be taken on a Pixel phone.
To use portrait light, simply go into Google Photos, open a photo you'd like to add Portrait Light to, press the edit button and then go into adjust. Then select Portrait Light to add the light source.
You can drag the circle to adjust the direction of the light and you can also adjust the intensity of the light through the bottom slider. You can also tap and hold to view the before and after results.
There are a couple things you should keep in mind while using portrait lighting. It only works when it detects a face and it only does that when your face is taking up a considerable part of the frame. If you don't see the option to select portrait light on the photo you are trying this on, you can crop the photo to force it to detect it the face, and then use the effect. Also, it doesn't work if your subject's entire face isn't visible. You can't use it if your subject is looking to the side in your photo.
The feature works on both colour and black and white photos and the lighting effect you get is quite realistic, even creating shadows depending on the angle of the light.
In terms of improvements, I'd love to be able to control how widespread the light is. Right now, it only lets users control the intensity and angle. Also, I hope the app gets update to work with wider angles. Sometimes, the context in a portrait is lost with tight framing.
Apart from that, it's a solid feature and a much welcome addition to the Pixel line.