How To Stop the iPhone From Brightening Photos Automatically

iPhone 11 and higher models have a new algorithm integrated into their chip called Deep Fusion, which automatically enhances your photographs’ quality. With every photo you take, you’ll notice that colors and brightness are sharper to the point that, on occasion, it makes the pictures look unrealistic.

Unfortunately, this is an integrated filter you won’t be able to turn off.

However, you can try a few alternatives to reduce the enhancing effect and make your pictures look more natural. In this article, you’ll find the different ways to edit your iPhone photos to minimize the Deep Fusion filter effect.

Disable Full HDR

As disabling the Deep Fusion filter on your iPhone is impossible, you can try using other editing features to reduce its effect. Disabling the Full HDR (high dynamic range) is a good starting point. Like the Deep Fusion filter, the Full HDR is a feature that automatically improves the quality of your photographs. However, the Full HDR and Deep Fusion filter combined can result in unnaturally colored pictures.

Follow these steps to turn Full HDR off:

1. Go to the “Settings” app on your iPhone.
   
2. Scroll down until your reach “Photos.”
   
3. Disable the “View Full HDR” option on the menu. While this won’t stop the Deep Fusion feature from automatically retouching your photos, you’ll likely see some changes.

Use Noise Reduction

In photography, “noise” describes a low-quality picture taken under low-light situations. These photos usually look grainy and distorted. Even with the best editing apps, this effect is hard to resolve.

You can reduce image noise levels with the latest iPhone models to enhance image quality. Additionally, it will make a slight change in your photos with the Deep Fusion filter.

Here’s how to use noise reduction in your photos:

1. Go to the “Photos” app on your phone.
   
2. Select the photo you’d like to edit.
   
3. Tap “Edit” in the upper right corner.
   
4. On the menu below the image, scroll until you reach the “Noise Reduction” icon.
   
5. Use the bar to reduce your photo’s noise to zero.
   

Use Burst Mode

Another alternative to reduce automatic enhancement is to take them using Burst Mode. Here’s how to enable the feature on your iPhone:

1. On the “Settings” app, go to “Camera Settings.”
   
2. Activate the option “Use Volume Up for Burst.”
   
3. Open your camera app and take a few photos in Burst Mode.
   
4. Go to the camera roll and tap on “Select.”
   
5. Choose all your recent photographs.
   
6. Select “Done” and then “Keep.”
   

You can now verify if you notice enhancement reduction in your photos.

Use the Key Photo Option

Another way to access a photo that the iOS feature hasn’t automatically enhanced is by using the Live Photo Mode. Follow these steps to activate it and access the unenhanced images.

1. Open your “Camera” app and select “Live Mode” from the menu at the top of the screen.
   
2. Go to your photo in “Live Mode” and tap “Edit.”
   
3. From the menu at the bottom, tap the “Live Mode” option.
   
4. Use the Key Photo option to choose a different frame.
   

This new key photo will not have automatic enhancement.

Take Raw Photos With Apple ProRAW

With the iPhone 12 Pro and higher models, Apple introduced ProRAW, a photography feature with professional-level editing options. “RAW” is commonly used to describe an uncompressed file, which is easier to edit because it keeps more information about the photograph than a compressed file.

When the ProRAW feature is off, iPhones save photos as HEIC files. This format is popular because it takes less storage space. However, it also stores less information, limiting editing alternatives. Follow these steps to enable Apple ProRAW:

1. On your phone’s “Settings” app, tap “Camera.”
   
2. Select “Formats” at the menu’s top.
   
3. Enable the “Apple ProRAW” option under “Photo Capture.”
   
4. Go to your camera app and tap the “RAW” icon on the upper right corner to turn it on.
   

ProRAW is an excellent alternative to avoid the Deep Fusion filter on your photographs. However, this feature has some limitations.

First, the size of the photos you take with ProRAW will take up much space in your storage. A ProRAW photo can be up to 25 MB, while a standard image in a HEIC format is around 1.5 MB.

Another limitation is that your iPhone will be the only device you can use to edit your photos. While you can download them to your Mac computer and use Pixelmator, other apps such as Photoshop and Lightroom still don’t support ProRAW pictures.

Use Photo Editor

iPhone has an editor option with many features that will allow you to change your photos’ brightness, color, and details. These changes will apply on top of the Deep Fusion filter. However, it may help you reduce the sharpening effect. The features available for brightness include:

• Brilliance. It lightens the shadows and tones down the highlights of the photo.
• Shadows. It focuses on the darkest parts of the image and lightens them.
• Black point. It allows you to adjust the darkest part of the image.
• Brightness. It works over the entire image, lightening or darkening it.
• Highlights. You can use it to lighten or darken the lighter parts of the image.
• Contrast. It allows you to make the darkest parts of the image darker and lighten the lighter elements.
• Exposure. You can choose how much light gets into the lens.

Other editing features allow you to control the colors of the image. The editing options available include the following:

• Vibrance. You can change the intensity of the colors. The feature automatically works over the least saturated ones.
• Tint. It works on the intensity of the magenta and green color of the image.
• Warmth. This feature allows you to adjust the blue and yellow tones in the photograph to cool or warm the pictures.
• Saturation. Works over the whole photograph, changing the intensity of the colors.

Once you’ve controlled the brightness and color of your photograph, you can move to the details. These options include:

• Vignette. It works on the corners of the image, making them darker.
• Sharpness. It allows you to sharpen the corners of the image.
• Definition. It works on the details of the image, making them more precise.
• Noise reduction. It reduces the grains in the picture, usually present in photographs taken under low lightening.

Additional FAQs

Can I apply filters to photos on my iPhone?

Among the editing features available on your iPhone, you’ll find different filters that can be automatically applied to the photos, including noir, vivid, vivid warm, dramatic, and more. When choosing the filter you like, you can tap on the image to view the original for a few seconds and compare the results.

Can I undo editions from my photographs?

If you want to restore your edited photo to the original, follow these steps:

1. Go to the picture “Edit” menu.

2. In the upper right corner, you’ll find “Revert.” Tap on it.

3. Select “Revert to Original.”

What is the portrait effect in my iPhone camera?

The portrait feature on your iPhone’s camera allows you to choose the lighting and aperture of the photo. You’ll find this feature by tapping the portrait icon, which looks like a little cube. A diamond-shaped icon and an F are in the top left corner. With the diamond icon, you can choose the amount of light the image will have. With the F icon, on the other hand, you can select how blurry the background will look.

Can I crop a photograph with my iPhone?

When you click on the “Edit” option in your photograph, you can choose to crop or rotate the image. Click on the icon that looks like a square with two arrows to access the “Crop” feature. You’ll have different alternatives to rotate the image, crop it, and change its perspective.

What does the magic wand icon do?

You’ll find an icon resembling a little wand when editing a photograph on your iPhone. This Auto Enhance feature will automatically adjust the picture’s color, brightness, and details. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always achieve the best results. However, you can use it as an editing starting point.

Getting the Best Photographs

With the iPhone 11, Apple proudly announced a new photo filter called Deep Fusion. This filter automatically applies to every photo you take, enhancing its colors and brightness. While this made many users happy, others didn’t share their sentiments, disliking the unnatural look of their photos.

Unfortunately, users can’t disable this filter as it is integrated into the phone’s chip. However, a few editing features are available that will help you reduce the sharpening effect of the filter, such as disabling full HRD, using noise reduction, or burst mode.

Which editing options helped you reduce the Deep Fusion effect? Let us know in the comment section.