On newer smartphones we can find, in the camera settings, to enable HDR mode for everyday shots. To many this voice may not say anything, in reality the improvements it brings in terms of quality and photographic brightness can make the difference between a mediocre shot and a high quality photo, especially with some subjects and with some particular types of landscape. At the same time, using HDR mode without knowing what it is can lead to disappointing results or blurry or grainy photos. Since it is among the standard functions of every digital camera (even on smartphones), it is worth knowing in depth the topic and, above all, knowing when this option should be used and when not . In this guide we have collected all the valid suggestions to understand what HDR is, how to use it on our smartphone and, in case we are unable to use the integrated camera app, which apps we can download to get the HDR mode on the our phone.
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What does HDR mean
HDR is a single and means High Dynamic Range Imaging ; it is a photographic mode that allows you to add more dynamic range to photographs, where dynamic range means the relationship between light and dark in a photograph (or even the relationship between the highest and lowest perceivable light level). With this mode, therefore, we will obtain brighter images with more intense colors, given that precisely we broaden the range that we can acquire with our lens.Instead of just taking a picture, three pictures (in very rapid succession) will be taken with the camera in HDR mode, with different exposures . The HDR software included in the camera will then combine the three images taking the best parts of each photo.
In the case of the HDR option on iPhone, Android or other smartphones, it is the phone itself that does all the work, you just need to take a photo, stay a few seconds longer in pose (the time to generate the HDR image) and get a a result that should look more like how the scene is viewed with the eyes, rather than what the camera sees.
This is why, when you activate HDR mode, the phone takes longer to take a picture (on modern smartphones the three shots are so fast that they seem to be one!).
How to activate HDR mode
HDR mode should be available on all modern smartphones from the options of the included camera app. We open the camera app and scroll through the various modes, until we find HDR, High dynamic range or HDR Photos ; on other systems, however, the HDR mode is an option that can be activated separately (therefore regardless of the mode chosen), we will only have to press the relevant button or button to activate it.
Usually the HDR mode is only available for the rear camera, although more and more models integrate this mode also for the front cameras (although frankly useless, as we will show you in the next chapter).
When to use HDR mode
The HDR option is designed to take better photos, especially in certain situations; let's see with which subjects it is advisable to activate the HDR mode before shooting.- Landscapes, large photos with a lot of light contrast between sky and earth, difficult for the camera to reproduce in a single photo. With HDR, you can capture the sky without the earth underneath being too dark.
- Portraits in the sun : we all know that it is one of the most important aspects of a good photo and that if there is too much light on the face, in the photos taken at the sea, HDR can be used to avoid too dark shadows and bright flashes.
- Photos in counter-light and low light, to keep the shaded part illuminated.
- Night photo : capturing a good night photo is difficult, especially in low artificial light. HDR mode can help you get visible shots even in low light conditions.
Sometimes HDR, as mentioned at the beginning, can have poor and worse results; below we have collected all the scenarios in which it is not useful to take photos in HDR mode:
- In moving photos: just because there are three shots and not one, HDR increases the possibility of taking a blurred photo if the photographed subject moves between the first and second shots.
- High contrast scenes between dark and light, to highlight shadows or figures.
- Vivid colors : If the scene is too dark or too light, HDR tries to bring out the colors, but if these are already intense, then the photo will not be good.
HDR is also useless for face portraits, for close-ups and therefore for selfies, where it is advisable to use the blurry or bokeh effect .
App to use HDR
If the HDR effect of our camera is not satisfactory or we can not find the voice to activate it in any way, below we have collected all the best apps that we can use to correctly apply the HDR effect from our phone, either in case of Android devices is in case we use an iPhone.- Snapseed (Android and iOS): excellent app offered by Google that allows you to take photos and also add the HDR effect, so you can always get high dynamic range photos.
- Pro HDR (Android): camera app specialized in obtaining shots with the HDR filters immediately active, able to automatically adapt to each shot.
- Smart HDR (Android only): another excellent camera app that allows you to apply the HDR effect on all our shots.
- ProCamera. (iOS only): high quality camera app, capable of taking HDR photos in RAW format, easily editable in Photoshop at a later time. Available for a fee (€ 8).
- Fusion - HDR Camera (iOS only): simple and easy to use camera, with which you can create new HDR shots or edit photos with HDR filters already included.
Of course, we always recommend trying the camera app included in our phone first, because it is optimized to take advantage of the sensor included in the smartphone (driver question). If we cannot get the HDR effect, we can use the apps listed above.
In this official Apple guide, you can read the iPhone HDR camera guide .
Conclusions
Fortunately, most cell phones will show us two images: one with HDR off and one with HDR active, so you can always choose. Obviously, although this theory may be useful, only practice will lead us to use HDR as well as any other advanced camera option.In another guide, we showed you how to correct photos that are too light or too dark (HDR images), so that you can also apply this effect on photos already taken in the past.
If, on the other hand, we are looking for good advice to always take high quality photos, we recommend you read the guide on How to take better and not blurry photos with your smartphone .
