EXPLAINED… Smart HDR options

HDR options

Smart HDR is the default on the iPhone XS and XR. Turning it off in Settings reverts to HDR. If you turn on Keep Normal Photo, an unenhanced copy of each shot appears in Photos along with an HDR or a Smart HDR version, labelled ‘HDR’. With Keep Normal Photo off and Smart HDR on, the label is not applied.

Preserve detail

Smart HDR comes into its own with high–contrast scenes. Few cameras would cope well with the huge range of tones between the brightest and darkest areas, but computational photography means you don’t have to pick one exposure for the whole scene, so detail can be preserved in both shadows and highlights.

Keep the look

The iPhone processes atmospheric shots like this sensitively, preserving the look rather than ‘HDR–ing up’ the tone. Despite the better performance of the new camera sensors, however, noise reduction will make low– light pictures less crisp. Luckily, short exposures freeze action and avoid camera shake issues.