Week 21: Upgrade Your Flat Photos to Pro-Looking Images with This Portrait Mode Hack


LEVEL UP YOUR PHONE PHOTOGRAPHY

WITH GABRIELLE TOUCHETTE

•••

Welcome to Week 21 of 2025!

In today's e-mail, you'll get:

TIP OF THE WEEK: My favourite camera mode to transform flat iPhone photos

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Faux macro on dewy blades of grass

RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE: Photo Studio Meetup on May 27!

TIP OF THE WEEK

Upgrade Your Flat Photos

One of my favourite things to shoot is nature. And my favourite ways of doing it is by experimenting with my phone camera's techniques to rise above the standard, boring phone photo look.

On the left is a typical point-and-shoot phone camera photo. Everything is in focus.

But on the right, I've added extra blur to create a macro-lens pro-camera look.

I did this using Portrait Mode.

The photo on the left feels regular. Typical. "Normal" to what the eye sees.

But the photo on the right grabs your attention, zeros in on the beauty of the fern's intricate details. The background is not distracting. It's soft, unassuming and helps draw the eye to the star of the show: the fern.

Portrait Mode on your iPhone camera must be turned on to get this effect. But what's even more fun is that you can further control where the blur lands and how much blur is added after you take the photo.

This after-shoot control happens in your Photos app on your iPhone.

Want to see how I did it?

I have an easy step-by-step article on my blog here.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Faux Macro on Dewy Blades of Grass

I stepped outside the other day to find rain drops on blades of grass. It was an instant invitation to start a macro photo shoot with my phone!

I just have a regular iPhone 14 camera, no macro function or third lens. But even with a standard phone lens, anyone can get in close and capture incredible detail and texture:

In case you're curious: no, I did not use Portrait Mode for this.

Of course, the photo is never finished until I take it to Lightroom Mobile to edit it. I make sure the contrast, colour and textures pop.

I posted more photos from this impromptu photo shoot on Instagram. Check it out!

RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Meetup in Winnipeg!

If you want to meet up with like-minded phone photographers and get a chance to practice taking portraits inside a professional photography studio, come join me and 'Segun as we host our next meetup on May 27th in Winnipeg!

No experience needed, just bring your phone and we'll show you how to create pro-looking portraits with just a phone camera and natural window light.

Get more info here:

•••


Hi I'm Gabrielle! I run a full time photography business in Winnipeg, specializing in portrait and commercial photography. This newsletter started with my passion for helping everyday people realize their full photography potential. With a bit of technical and creative help, you too can take better photos with the phone camera you already have.

Find more of my free resources:

InstagramMy Blog

Gabrielle Touchette Photography


UnsubscribePreferences • PO Box 46, Winnipeg, MB R2H 3B4

Level Up Your Phone Photography

Confident creativity starts with your phone. Simple, powerful ideas to help you grow your phone photography skills, tell visual stories that matter, and unlock your creativity in everyday life. One weekly e-mail at a time.

Read more from Level Up Your Phone Photography

LEVEL UP YOUR PHONE PHOTOGRAPHY WITH GABRIELLE TOUCHETTE ••• Welcome to Week 22 of 2025! In today's e-mail, you'll get: TIP OF THE WEEK: Your phone camera is applying a dull filter (that you can fix) PHOTO OF THE WEEK: When cabbage stops me in my tracks RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE: Culinary arts for inspiration TIP OF THE WEEK Upgrade Your Flat Photos One of the biggest reasons why your phone photos look dull and uncreative is because you’re going straight from shooting to posting. There is no...

LEVEL UP YOUR PHONE PHOTOGRAPHY WITH GABRIELLE TOUCHETTE ••• Welcome to Week 20 of 2025! In today's e-mail, you'll get: INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK: Who Cares About Art? TIP OF THE WEEK: Case Study: Composition Tips That Actually Work PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Emphasizing Chaotic Beauty RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE: Photo Studio Meetup on May 27! INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK Who Cares About Art? Think about this. You come across a subject that suddenly strikes a deep feeling within you. As a response, you take a...

LEVEL UP YOUR PHONE PHOTOGRAPHY WITH GABRIELLE TOUCHETTE ••• Welcome to Week 19 of 2025! In today's e-mail, you'll get: INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK: The Hidden Secret Shaping Your Creativity PHOTO OF THE WEEK: High-Impact Photography to Change the World RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE: Try This Exercise I Designed Just For You INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK The Hidden Secret Shaping Your Creativity Nathan Barry wrote an article about how we now live in an age where everyone benefits from technology equality....