Some superheroes don’t wear capes. Instead, they make the most extraordinary photography possible with just a smartphone. In this case, that’s the iPhone 17 Pro Max and its Portrait Mode at New York Comic Con, which is going on right now at the Jacob Javitz Center.
Now I have proof.
The kernel of this quest started almost a decade ago, in 2016, when I trekked across town with the then-new iPhone 7 Plus in my pocket. I planned to test the brand new, dual-camera Portrait Mode at that year’s culture, comic book, entertainment, and convention, using the new mode to capture what I hoped would be stunning images.
While the results were generally good for that time, it was a learning experience. As I wrote back then:
“First, I got better results in the brightly lit area outside the actual convention halls (the ceiling is all glass). Second, a convention is a difficult place to capture iPhone 7 Plus Portrait shots. There were thousands of people crossing in front of and, especially, behind my shots. The camera often got fooled and would try to focus on the tons of nearby people.
Looking back at my collection of photos (you can see a few below), I can see how 2016’s portrait mode was sort of a rough instrument. The bokeh effect stopped and started with the subject, making some cosplayers look almost cut out. The image processing could lose details like the cosplay props (if they were not in front of their bodies), and fly-away hair was cropped away. There just wasn’t that much detail.
A few iPhone 7 Plus Portrait Mode shots from 2016
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Looking at my new collection of photos, virtually every complaint is answered. I never thought about lighting, and I now have almost infinite control over the amount of bokeh. The level of subtlety is incredible, and generally, Portrait Mode in the iPhone 17 Pro Max is rarely fooled. It knows the subject and her props, and the background has many levels of focus. This has the effect of maintaining depth and realism. Instead of clipping individual strands of hair, the iPhone 17 Pro Max Portrait Mode keeps them in perfect focus with the subject.
Just take a look at the lead image above. The iPhone knew to keep the bat top out of focus, while he’s in perfect focus, and then the background is in soft focus again.
Lighting conditions also didn’t seem to matter to the iPhone 17 Pro Max. It adjusted and always left me ample information. Other than a few crops and f-stop adjustments, I did not touch the exposure or contrast on any of these images.
Honestly, it’s basically impossible to compare today’s iPhone portrait mode photography with what was possible in 2016. But I was happy to try.
How often do you use your Best iPhone’s Portrait Mode? Let me know in the comments.
iPhone 17 Pro Max Portrait Mode shots (2025)
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
