When Google announced the new Portrait Light feature for Photos on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, owners of older devices were promised they’d be next.
And today they have been rewarded for their patience with the exciting new feature rolling out to almost the full array of Pixel devices – dating all the way back to the Pixel 2.
Once the update hits Pixel 2, Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, Pixel 4 and Pixel 4a and the XL counterparts (where applicable) will be able to tweak the lighting in portrait photos within the Photos app.
Related: Pixel 5 vs Pixel 4
The feature enables users to adjust the intensity of the lighting within portrait shots, even allowing for the position of the light to be adjusted. There’s also an Auto setting, which allow’s the app’s AI to set the optimal lighting for each shot. Overall, the feature is ideal if you want to add a little more vibrancy to the portraits snapped on your Pixel camera.
If it’s available within the app, users will see a ‘portrait light’ setting within the Adjust section, provided it detects a human in the photo. According to Android Police, which unearthed evidence of the rollout, the option is available whether or not the original shot was captured in portrait mode. However, it does not work on non-human subjects like plants.
When announcing the feature last month, Google said it will “give you even more control over how your portraits look, you’ll be able to adjust the light position and brightness post-capture through the Google Photos app. You’ll also be able to add Portrait Light to regular photos not captured in Portrait mode—whether it’s a photo you just took or an important picture from the past—on Pixel 4a (5G) and Pixel 5, with availability on more Pixel devices soon.”
Are you touching-up your snaps with new portrait light feature? Let us know whether the feature is a winner @trustedreviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
