9 photography tricks to get the most out of the Huawei P20 Pro

9 photography tricks to get the most out of the Huawei P20 Pro

The Huawei P20 Pro has turned out to be a surprise in the photographic field within the mobile industry. And it is that Huawei has known how to innovate and take advantage of the virtues of the different objectives included in this terminal. All of them signed by the well-known and recognized photography brand Laica, and with the usual color sensor and monochrome sensor system of the Chinese brand. But would you know how to get the most out of it? We have tested the terminal for a while, and here we tell you how to take advantage of these three cameras in different situations and configurations that may not have occurred to you.

Remember that the Huawei P20 Pro has a 40 megapixel main sensor and a wide-angle lens with f / 1.8 aperture. It is the main camera of the mobile, which can boast of clarity and quality. Then there is a second sensor, in this case monochrome, with 20 megapixels. Its lens has an aperture f / 1.6, which achieves great brightness and collects details to make up the final image. Apart from these two, the Huawei P20 Pro stood out at the time for being accompanied by a third camera . It is an 8 megapixel sensor with a telephoto lens. Thanks to it, and to the Artificial Intelligence that comes in the NPU processor, it is possible to enlarge an image with a 5x zoom and achieve defined results.

huawei p20 pro

In short, a great list of tools that can be used to achieve surprising results. Of course, as long as you know the scene or how to use these sensors. Here are our 9 photography tricks .

1. Backlit portraits

The Huawei P20 Pro controls contrasts and scenes with lots of light and dark very well. While other mobiles leave everything dark when you focus on a light source such as the Sun or a light bulb, this terminal is capable of offering details in the twilight zone .

backlit portraits

So, if you are passionate about portraits and you like the concept of backlighting, do not hesitate to mix these two concepts in the same photo. Take advantage of portrait mode and look for light sources . Place your subject between the camera and the source and start trying poses.

backlit portrait

Backlit bokeh result

The best results usually occur with the sun . In this way the image is filled with sparkles. Try playing with composition in the streets of a city where the sun is shining. The results are amazing and worthy of professional Instagram profiles.

2. Know the portrait or bokeh mode

Portraits are the fashionable format since the iPhone introduced a really useful and amazing Bokeh effect on mobile phones. Since then many other manufacturers have tried to imitate it with better or worse results. Huawei is one of them, and it can boast of some quality results . Although this effect still does not respect spectacle frames and other elements that are difficult to discern from the rest of the scene.

bokeh Huawei P20 Pro

The portrait effect disappears if the user's face is covered

The key at this point is to know how this portrait mode works in the Huawei P20 Pro, and it is by recognizing the user's face . When you select this mode, make sure you have framed the scene as you wish. Either against the light, as we said before, or adding elements to the composition and good lighting to the user's face.

portrait effect

The trick is for the user to look at the camera first , although this is not going to be the final pose. In this way, the terminal detects the face and applies the bokeh effect. From this moment on, it is possible to change the position, the look, the gesture, etc. If we are careful and do not move the frame, the bokeh effect remains active and applied correctly. If we lose it, we just have to tell the subject to look back in front of the camera before moving to the next pose. Look at our examples when we hide the face behind the camera, the effect is lost.

photo with portrait effect

Bokeh effect result when the camera detects the user's face

3. Night mode for photos with light

It is one of the key points of the Huawei P20 Pro. And it is that both the lenses with large apertures and Artificial Intelligence have a lot to do with the results that this mobile offers at night or in dark places . Thanks to them we can take a long exposure capture without the help of a tripod to reveal the secrets of a dark place. So far what you knew.

What you may not know is that you can also apply the night mode in dark scenes with some type of light . In this way you will get really surprising effects with great contrasts and many more details. Take advantage of this mode at night in streets illuminated with Christmas lights to achieve a much more striking scene.

Night photo

You can control the exposure by pressing the stop button during capture.

And it is that this mode is much more versatile than it seems. You can even shoot portraits with it in dark environments to ensure subjects appear in more detail. Of course, keep the terminal as firm as possible and patiently endure the seconds of exposure and processing.

4. Telephoto for composite photos

The telephoto lens of the Huawei P20 Pro is a great bet to give versatility to its photographic section. It is possible that most of the time you use it only to spy or to try to see in detail a distant scene, and not so much to get quality photos. However, with a little creativity it is most useful to achieve eye-catching results. Of course, taking advantage of third-party applications to create collages .

telephoto

Thus, you can shoot a normal, wide scene with the main sensor. But don't leave it there. Then portray some detail of the scene applying the maximum possible zoom. These two photos can tell a little story or detail if they are shown on Instagram in a row (either in stories or in a post in the form of a carousel).

photogrid

Collage process in Photogrid

Or you can create a collage with an application like PhotoGrid to show all this in the same snapshot, together with the two or more photographs with different framing and zoom. The result is very striking.

photography that tells story

Photography that tells a story

5. Turn off AI scene recognition

Huawei is doing a great job using Artificial Intelligence over the years. Proof of this are the virtues of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, which even changes its photography mode depending on the situation. However, the Huawei P20 Pro suffers from the presence of this scene recognition. And it is that the result ends up being an oversaturated photograph that has little or nothing to do with the original content. Something that seems to like a lot in Asia, but not so much in the West.

disable AI scene recognition

So do not hesitate to go through the Settings menu of the camera application to deactivate it . In this way, what you frame and see on the screen will be the final result. And you can use other applications of filters and photo retouching to modify the photo to taste. Remember that you can re-enable automatic scene recognition whenever you want.

disable Artificial Intelligence

In vegetation mode, only a little more contrast and color is appreciated

Some results achieve that surprise effect by oversaturating the colors and attracting the attention of the viewer. However, if you develop a critical eye for photography, the results are often too unreal. So it is convenient to train the gaze and improve the photography with filters that we can control manually , and not so much by others that are applied according to the criteria of a machine.

vegetation

6. Use your mobile as a scanner

Precisely, thanks to the Artificial Intelligence of the automatic scene recognition it is possible to use the Huawei P20 Pro as a document scanner . Something really useful if we don't have this device at home. Activate scene recognition or download document recognition mode in the More section .

mobile as scanner

In this way you can take pictures of your notes, letters, invoices, printed texts, etc. to digitize them. That is, to create a virtual copy . The application itself is responsible for finding the outline of the document and adapting it to a straight plane if we have made the photo crooked. An advantage for the workplace, if you use your P20 Pro for it.

Scanned document

Scanned document warped to display flat

7. Sort photo modes

It is essential to have all the photography modes arranged to your liking. And yes, in the Huawei P20 Pro you can do it so you don't have to look for the most recurring ones in the menu anymore. Or to always have the most used ones on hand . Of course, only with the extra modes. That is, with those that are collected in the More folder, without the possibility of ordering the rest as Opening, Photo, Video, Professional, etc.

sort photography modes

All you have to do is enter the camera application and click on the More section . In this way the rest of the available modes are presented. Well, top left you will see a pencil. It is the editing tool. By pressing it, as if the modes were application icons, you can make a long press on one to move it to the place you prefer. The logical thing is to leave the most used at the top left and the most forgotten at the bottom right. Right in reading order.

8. Quick photography

There are times when you don't even have time to unlock your phone to take a snapshot. Huawei knows this and in its P20 Pro it introduced a quick photography mode to capture any detail as soon as you take your phone out of your pocket . It is really useful for situations where you do not have time to frame, or even to record events that happen too quickly, such as a possible assault. So it doesn't hurt to handle this feature with ease.

quick photography

You just have to go to the camera application and access the Settings menu. Make sure to activate double-tap here and set a photo to be taken as the main action. From this moment, and with the mobile at rest, you can double-press the key to lower the sound. The mobile will take a photo before even activating the screen. It may not be the best photo in the world, but it will be in focus and ready in a split second.

Huawei quick photography

Picture taken in 0.3 seconds

9. Photos in puddles

There is a really striking and precious photographic resource. It is to pour water or take advantage of a rain puddle to bring the camera closer and photograph what is seen in the reflection. Something that can also be done with the Huawei P20 Pro. Of course, you have to take into account several things.

puddle photography

The first thing is the arrangement of the cameras. Being on one side we have the possibility of turning the mobile and getting the lenses flush with the water in the puddle . So the effect will be more striking. You can also use the monochrome sensor to make the photo more spectacular and get a lot of detail.

photo in puddles

Flipped puddle photo preparation

Do not forget that the Huawei P20 Pro is IP67 certified , so it is resistant to water splashes. You can't submerge it, but at least you know you're not in such danger next to a puddle.