I've been using the Honor 8x for several months now, and am starting to think that the camera isn't getting the level of attention it deserves. Yes, the AI is unpredictable, and it doesn't have the instant polish of some of the $800+ flagships out there, but it more than does the job.
I took it out for a day in the park with some friends this weekend, and got a ton of fantastic portrait shots and some selfies that I'm quite pleased with. I want to share my 3 favorite shots, as well as some photography tips that I found enormously helpful, and go over which aspects of the 8x camera really worked for me.
Graham: Composition + AI Photography
Full disclosure, I'm no pro photographer. I do know the basics of composition from taking a few years of art classes in high school, but that's it. I don't own a DSLR.
That's why I was so shocked that the photo below turned out so well. I've been used to taking dozens of shots before finding a good one.
The sky looks amazing, and though the grass is a bit too green for my tastes, I was still quite impressed.
To get this shot, I activated the AI photography mode (red arrow), and then went into Settings and turned on an assistive grid. This is a really helpful tool, and I have only ever needed the standard grid (shown below).
Here, I lined up Graham's head with the lower left intersection, keeping the grass in the lower third, the trees in the middle, and the sky in the top third.
In post-editing, I tweaked the photo's hue to reduce the “radiation green” effect, and I'm really happy with the result.
Final product:
Ozzie: Background + Filters
A simple trick I always use when taking photographs of people is to find a simple but contrasting background. To get the photos below, I looked for backgrounds that would contrast well with Ozzie's white hoodie.
In post-editing, I used the Nostalgia and Sharp filters for a social media ready effect.
By the way, there are 37 filters on the Camera app (yes, I counted!). I certainly didn't ask for this many customizations, but they're available, and all of them are adjustable. You can also manually adjust 8 other parameters, and layer effects on top of effects. The possibilities are truly endless.
Faye: Lying Down Selfies + 3D Lighting
I love a good selfie. They're a must on any social media profile, and help you see yourself from another perspective. And the Honor 8x seems like it was custom-made for selfies.
First of all, the Volume down button is a shortcut for the shutter. So you can take one-handed selfies by snapping photos with your thumb or index finger pressing on the Volume down key.
Also, there's a Portrait mode that includes Bokeh, 3D Lighting, and Beautification.
I found 3D lighting to be a source of unlimited fun. The lighting effect is really subtle, and I'm thrilled with all of the selfies I took.
If I had to pick, I'd say my favorite is the Split lighting option, because it makes it look like there's a light source shining from off camera: subtle and ultra-realistic.
For these shots, I had the beauty level set to 2 out of 10.
I took a couple of test shots with beauty set to 10, and the results were, uh…interesting….to say the least!
I also made a recent discovery that's changed the way I approach photography: adjustable 3D Lighting during post-editing. You can move a little sun icon around to determine how the photo is lit, switching between five 3D lighting effects.
I took it out for a day in the park with some friends this weekend, and got a ton of fantastic portrait shots and some selfies that I'm quite pleased with. I want to share my 3 favorite shots, as well as some photography tips that I found enormously helpful, and go over which aspects of the 8x camera really worked for me.
Graham: Composition + AI Photography
Full disclosure, I'm no pro photographer. I do know the basics of composition from taking a few years of art classes in high school, but that's it. I don't own a DSLR.
That's why I was so shocked that the photo below turned out so well. I've been used to taking dozens of shots before finding a good one.
The sky looks amazing, and though the grass is a bit too green for my tastes, I was still quite impressed.
To get this shot, I activated the AI photography mode (red arrow), and then went into Settings and turned on an assistive grid. This is a really helpful tool, and I have only ever needed the standard grid (shown below).
Here, I lined up Graham's head with the lower left intersection, keeping the grass in the lower third, the trees in the middle, and the sky in the top third.
In post-editing, I tweaked the photo's hue to reduce the “radiation green” effect, and I'm really happy with the result.
Final product:
Ozzie: Background + Filters
A simple trick I always use when taking photographs of people is to find a simple but contrasting background. To get the photos below, I looked for backgrounds that would contrast well with Ozzie's white hoodie.
In post-editing, I used the Nostalgia and Sharp filters for a social media ready effect.
By the way, there are 37 filters on the Camera app (yes, I counted!). I certainly didn't ask for this many customizations, but they're available, and all of them are adjustable. You can also manually adjust 8 other parameters, and layer effects on top of effects. The possibilities are truly endless.
Faye: Lying Down Selfies + 3D Lighting
I love a good selfie. They're a must on any social media profile, and help you see yourself from another perspective. And the Honor 8x seems like it was custom-made for selfies.
First of all, the Volume down button is a shortcut for the shutter. So you can take one-handed selfies by snapping photos with your thumb or index finger pressing on the Volume down key.
Also, there's a Portrait mode that includes Bokeh, 3D Lighting, and Beautification.
I found 3D lighting to be a source of unlimited fun. The lighting effect is really subtle, and I'm thrilled with all of the selfies I took.
If I had to pick, I'd say my favorite is the Split lighting option, because it makes it look like there's a light source shining from off camera: subtle and ultra-realistic.
For these shots, I had the beauty level set to 2 out of 10.
I took a couple of test shots with beauty set to 10, and the results were, uh…interesting….to say the least!
I also made a recent discovery that's changed the way I approach photography: adjustable 3D Lighting during post-editing. You can move a little sun icon around to determine how the photo is lit, switching between five 3D lighting effects.
