Photos with a bokeh effect (blurred backgrounds) become all the rage since Apple decided to make it ‘cool’ with the introduction of the iPhone 7 Plus. Since smartphone sensors are not big enough to do this effectively like DSLRs, they have to use tricks like using two camera sensors to achieve this effect. Others like the Google Pixel and Huawei Phones use software trickery to achieve the same effect.
Since portrait mode makes subjects ‘pop’, it is a cool way to make your photos stand out and now Instagram is joining the fun. Yesterday, Instagram launched Focus which is their software trickery to enable you to take portrait mode like shots.
When you open the Instagram camera, look for the Focus option next to the Superzoom feature. You can either use the selfie camera or the rear camera if you are taking a portrait photo of a friend or a thing. When you are taking the shot, you will notice the background softly blurs out as the person or thing stays in focus. Interesting enough, you can also take a video, which is cool!
Instagram says that this feature is available on the iPhone SE, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and the X as well as select Android devices. Phones like the SE, 6S, 6S Plus, 7 & *8 don’t have portrait mode so this will be very welcome to people that own these phones. This update also gives Instagram Stories a leg up over Snapchat and it can be a potential hit with people.
Focus will be available as part of Instagram version 39.0 on both Android and iOS.
