You used to have the ability to swap the iPhone’s HDR mode off, proper? I keep in mind whenever you had the choice to make use of HDR or not, and even save a non-HDR model of the photograph as nicely. So I went in search of that possibility on my iPhone and it’s gone. It’s not simply moved to a unique place, it’s gone altogether.
It seems it was eliminated a while in the past and also you not have this feature even within the greatest iPhones. Apple’s help web page says:
“By default, iPhone robotically makes use of HDR when it’s simplest. On some iPhone fashions, you possibly can manually management HDR as an alternative. On iPhone XS, iPhone XR, iPhone 11 fashions, iPhone SE (2nd era), and iPhone 12 fashions:
“Go to Settings > Digital camera, then flip off Sensible HDR. Then from the digicam display, faucet HDR to show it off or on. On iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X: Go to Settings > Digital camera, then flip off Auto HDR.”
In order that’s it. Now we’ve received HDR images whether or not we wish them or not. To be honest, the iPhone does often do an excellent job – however not all the time. It’s ‘correct’ HDR, the place the digicam is merging separate exposures and never simply doing a little bit of shadow adjustment.
Nevertheless, generally it will probably look slightly unnatural – and generally the iPhone compresses the tonal vary a lot to seize all of it that the photograph simply appears a bit flat.

The issue is just not essentially the HDR course of itself, although, however the best way the iPhone processes the HDR picture, and that’s one thing you can change.
That is one thing that solely extra severe photographers would need to undertake, since you’ll want to swap to a desktop photograph modifying app, but it surely does make it potential to take advantage of the iPhone’s terrific HDR capabilities in a way more managed and artistic manner.
1. Shoot RAW
With the RAW possibility enabled, the iPhone will seize a uncooked DNG file. The image will nonetheless look precisely the identical on the iPhone and in Apple Pictures, as a result of Apple is making use of its default HDR tone curve to the RAW file simply as it will in the event you had set the digicam to shoot JPEG or HEIF photographs.
The distinction is that the RAW information continues to be there, and it accommodates numerous prolonged dynamic vary information.
2. Export the RAW file from Apple Pictures (desktop)
Again in Apple Pictures in your Mac, you possibly can Export RAW iPhone images of their unique format. They are going to be saved as DNG recordsdata you could open in different software program.
If you happen to did a complete set of pictures in your iPhone, you possibly can export them abruptly and import them into Lightroom or Seize One. Or you possibly can launch Photoshop and open these DNG recordsdata individually.
3. Change the profile in Lightroom or Photoshop

If you happen to use Photoshop, these DNG recordsdata will open in Adobe Digital camera Uncooked initially, the place they’ll look just about as they did in your iPhone. However in the event you test over within the edit instruments in the proper sidebar, you’ll see that Adobe has robotically utilized its AppleRaw Profile – and you’ll swap to one of many others to get a totally completely different look.
For instance, in the event you select the Adobe Coloration Profile, it’d appear like all of your prolonged shadow and spotlight element is gone. In truth, it’s nonetheless there and you should use Adobe Digital camera Uncooked’s tonal changes – or, much more attention-grabbing, its masking instruments – to deliver all of it again.
However now you’ve received far more management over the tones and distinction and also you’re not caught with Apple’s personal HDR rendering.
So this isn’t a easy On/Off swap in your iPhone any extra, however it’s a approach to get a lot better photographic outcomes from the iPhone’s automated HDR merging and Apple ProRaw recordsdata.
It makes the iPhone an much more severe photographic device than it was earlier than.

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