I went camping the other day and I was taking some pictures of my surroundings with my iPhone 4, having left my little digital point-and-shoot at home. I noticed the HDR feature was activated and even though I’ve had my iPhone 4 for months I realised with a little shame that I had no clue what the HDR feature was and what it did. So if you’re the same as me, here’s a little what-and-when article that you might find useful!

So... what is HDR anyway?

The HDR (high dynamic range) setting that’s available for use with the rear-facing camera on your iPhone, takes three different photos at three different exposures. The three exposures being underexposed, overexposed and one that’s somewhere in the middle which is then combined into an image with increased dynamic range, meaning a photo that will be a lot closer to what you’re seeing as opposed to a photo with too much shadow or too little shadow. 

AN IMAGE TAKEN WITHOUT HDR

Having said that, using the HDR setting will result in slightly longer developing and saving times as well as increased photo size compared to the small amount of storage space needed for a photo taken without the HDR setting. 

Using HDR

Portraits taken outdoors benefit greatly from this feature as harsh sunlight can sometimes cast uncomplimentary shadows on the subject that might exaggerate flaws like heavy shadows under the eyes etc. The same can be said of back lit portraits, in which case the setting will combine a normally exposed photo with one that has a slightly less hectic background. Normally the two combined create a better than passable image. 

You might have noticed that if the HDR setting is in play the flash cannot be engaged, so if you’re using the setting in badly lit circumstances you can still get a decent image provided the camera is kept steady. 

THE SAME IMAGE, TAKEN AGAIN USING THE HDR SETTING

Also worth mentioning is that you do have the option to keep the original photo - the one taken before the three different exposures are combined. You can find and activate/deactivate this feature in Settings > Photos.