Can photos from your phone look like they were 'Shot on iPhone 7'?

If you live in a larger city, chances are you've seen the 'Shot on iPhone' billboards that have been dotted around for a few years now.

The award-winning campaign has long been an impressive way to highlight the quality of images that can be captured on Apple's phones, with the photos showcasing various different subject matters and styles.

The latest ones, for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, have focused on low-light photography – and Apple has been sending photographers around the world to get the most impressive pictures they can find (which you can see below).

It's clear that Apple has worked hard on getting the images to look as good as possible (using a "range of hardware and apps" to produce the final images – a look at the final resolution shows the images are larger than the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus can produce natively), but the upshot is that they create a stylized concept of what's possible with an Apple device, if you're willing to put in the effort and get creative.

Here at TechRadar we're constantly bombarded with claims of great low light performance from camera phones, so we got in touch with the leading smartphone manufacturers to see what they could offer by way of comparison, and wow us with their very own 'Shot on' campaigns.

We asked them to send us the best low light snaps their flagship phones can capture, and we're publishing them all here as galleries, with explanations of what / if any alterations were made post-shot.

What's clear is smartphones are really good at taking pictures, no matter which brand you're a fan of – and we've roped in the expertise of TechRadar's Cameras Editor Phil Hall to give his trained opinion on the images from each phone.

So take a look at the range of snaps we've received, and let us know your favorites in the comments below.

iPhone 7 specs:

Enhancements: 'Some images shot on iPhone 7. Additional hardware and apps used.'

The photos above were taken using the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, with Apple sending out a fleet of photographers to 'capture life from dusk to dawn using the low-light camera on iPhone 7'.

We've long been impressed with the iPhone's ability to shoot 'natural' snaps, not over-saturating, and there's an impressively ethereal quality to all the photos in Apple's Shot on iPhone campaign. We're almost at the point of being able to pick such a snap out of a crowd – and all the photos in this set are stunning.

The enhancements used on each are unclear, but the main takeaway is that all this is possible with a phone – whether it requires adding on hardware or using an app to touch up certain snaps, buying this phone will allow you to really flex your creative muscles – and potentially feature in a 'Shot on iPhone' campaign of the future if your snaps are good enough.

TechRadar's Photography Editor Phil Hall says: "There's no question that these images look mightily impressive.

"I'd love to know, though, what's gone on behind the scenes – I'm guessing they've shot them in raw format to draw out the best quality possible, while there's been some clever post-processing, especially to control how image noise is rendered.

"Regardless though, the images have real 'bite' and clarity, perfectly showing off what the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are capable of."

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge specs

Enhancements: 'Shot in a professional manner' / additional lenses

These photos were shot on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge by Thai photographer Theerasak Saksritawee.

They're part of Theerasak's rebooted 'Lost in Taiwan' campaign, and he's captured some stunning shots and scenes using the power of the S7 Edge's low light camera, which we rated as one of the very best out there on a phone right now.

Phil Hall says: "Again, these images look really strong. I particularly like the first shot here – the S7 Edge has been clever enough to freeze the action, while not being forced to underexpose the scene, delivering a vibrant shot."

Google Pixel specs

Enhancements: No filter, but HDR+ mode enabled by default

The Google Pixel photos are among the best in our test – which is understandable as the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL are two of the best phones we've seen for low light photography.

What's even more impressive is that these image are not enhanced in any way by the Google team – although the Pixel phones do automatically turn on HDR+ mode, which does a very effective job of improving and brightening pics.

Phil Hall says: "The Google Pixel really impresses when it comes to dynamic range. It handles scenes really well, maintaining detail in both the highlights and shadows, while colors appear faithful without looking too over-cooked."

Sony Xperia XZ specs

Enhancements: VSCO app, some other editing apps used

These photos were taken by two photographers, James Relf Dyer and Matt Scutt, who were commissioned by Sony to take its Sony Xperia XZ out to Lapland and get some cracking shots with its 23MP camera, which has also performed well in DxOMark tests in the past.

The set from Dyer formed part of Sony's World of Wow campaign, designed to show off the phone's fast shutter speed and color capture, with others added from the #takenwithxperia tag on Instagram.

Phil Hall says: "Images look pretty good, but where the Pixel excelled, the Xperia XZ struggles. The dynamic range doesn't look a patch on the Pixel's – highlights are blown in some shots, while the saturation looks like it's been cranked up too much."

Huawei P9 specs

Enhancements: 'Taken with the Huawei P9'

The Huawei P9 camera has been developed in conjunction with Leica, designed to showcase the fact it's got one of the highest apertures on show here.

The P9 comes pre-installed with EyeEm to let users share their dual-12MP-taken images and get the best published or exhibited.

These photos were taken from five photographers from the EyeEm community who were asked to shoot with the P9, with results from National Geographic and Conde Nast Traveler photographers included.

Phil Hall says: "The P9 has delivered some nice shots – dynamic range looks pretty good, although detail in the shadows gets a little too lost for my liking.

"Some of the pics are a little unremarkable though, so probably don't show the camera's capabilities off to its fall potential."

Honor 6X specs

Enhancements: Using night mode

While these photos may look less stunning than some of other the shots on show, it's worth remembering that the Honor 6X is a much cheaper phone than any other here, and the photographer was the brand's sales and marketing manager in the UK – and as such, the composition and camera performance should perhaps be lauded to a greater degree than with images taken professionally.

However, Phil Hall says: "There's not too much to get excited about with these shots – colors and contrast look a little flat, but it's the shots themselves that don't really jump off the screen, especially when you compare them to the iPhone 7 and Pixel images."

Honor 8 specs

Enhancements: Using night mode

These photos from the Honor 8 were also taken by Lee, and the subject matter is impressive given the lower-spec camera and the fact they're just 'general snaps'.

Phil Hall says: "Again, like the Honor 6X images, these aren't anything to write home about, so it's hard to really see what the Honor 8 is capable of."

Featured post

How to Take Great Photos With Apple's iPhone X

Labels