How to use 'Aperture Effect' or 'Bokeh Effect' using Huawei P9

Huawei P9 smartphone has been in news because of the camera that it features, which has been co-engineered by Leica. The P9 features dual-lens camera each of which is a 12-megapixel shooter, one of which has an RGB sensor and other has Monochrome sensor.

One of the uses of dual-lens is that it help you click photos with ‘bokeh effect’, which Huawei terms as the ‘aperture effect’. Bokeh is basically the quality of the out-of-focus area in a photo, the blur effect that separates the subject from the background.

What is the use of Aperture Effect using Huawei P9 Camera?

Using the aperture effect feature on Huawei P9, you can emphasis on the subject by making the background out-of-focus using wide aperture opening (small F value). Alternatively, you can make all the elements in the frame sharp and in-focus by using smaller aperture opening (high F number). These adjustments can be done either at the time of clicking the photo or even after you have clicked the photo by viewing the gallery.

Moreover, you can change the focus to any subject in the frame even after you have clicked the photo in aperture effect mode. This is a great feature if you click photos in hurry and later wish to change the focus point to some other element in the frame.

NOTE: This mode is ideal if your subject is within the range of 2 meters (6.5 ft).

huawei p9 aperture effect — This shows the difference in the blue effect achieved at f/0.95 and at f/16.

How to locate and identify the Aperture Effect feature in Huawei P9 camera app?

The aperture effect icon appears on the main screen and is of the shape of the aperture. In order to use the aperture effect, you have to be in ‘Photo’ mode as the option to select this effect does not appear in any other mode such as Monochrome, HDR, Night Shot, etc. If you are in ‘Photo’ mode and still unable to find the aperture effect icon, you will have to ensure that you tap-and-drag the manual settings tray downwards to make it disappear.

If you are in ‘Photo’ mode and still unable to find the aperture effect icon, you will have to ensure that you tap-and-drag the manual settings tray downwards to make it disappear. Once the tray disappears, the aperture effect icon would appear just next to the flash icon (towards the left of the screen if you are holding the phone horizontally).

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How to use the Aperture Effect feature using Huawei P9 camera to adjust the Blur effect?

Once you click on the aperture icon you activate the aperture effect feature. Now all you have to do is frame the scene that you wish to capture and tap to focus on your main subject. Once your camera has focused on the subject, it will display a scale which lets you adjust the blur effect and ranges from f/0.95 to f/16.

As you adjust the scale, the aperture icon’s opening also changes thus giving you an idea about the effect that you would get on clicking at that number. This does not actually adjust the aperture opening of the camera lens, but what actually happens is that it tells the software as to how much of the effect needs to be applied to the photo.

But as you adjust the effect scale, the screen does not show the live view with the effect being implemented. The final results are only visible once you head over to the gallery after clicking the photo.

The Smaller the number = The wider the aperture icon opening = More Blur Effect

The Higher the number = The smaller the aperture icon opening = Less Blur Effect

As per my experience, the closest distance at which you can focus using the aperture effect feature is 7 centimeters (2.8 inches). This is worth mentioning as you can click beautiful bokeh effect by focusing at such close distance.

How to adjust the blue effect after clicking a photo with Aperture Effect using Huawei P9 camera?

The best part about this feature is that you can adjust the blur effect even after the clicking the photo. If you view the photo after a day and realize that wish you had clicked it with more blue effect to separate it from the background, or with less of effect to make everything in focus. This is when this feature comes to the rescue.

All the photos clicked using the aperture effect feature will have the aperture icon at the center bottom position when viewed in the gallery.

To adjust the blur effect:

Tap on the aperture icon from the image you wish to adjust the blur effect.
The camera will automatically show you the focus point you had selected while clicking, along with the effect adjustment scale.
Drag the scale upwards to add more blur effect to the photo, or drag it downwards to make everything in the photo sharp.
Once you have selected the desired effect value, tap on the ‘floppy’ icon that appears at top right corner in order to save the effect.
Saving the effect will add a new image in your gallery with the effect that you had selected.

NOTE: You can edit the image clicked in aperture mode feature any number of times, it would not affect the image quality. Every time you save the image after making effect changes, a new image appears in your gallery.

How to adjust the focus point after clicking a photo with Aperture Effect using Huawei P9?

There is a possibility that after you click a photo or when the moment is lost and you realize that you have focussed inaccurately. If you have clicked using the aperture mode feature, it is easy to adjust the focus point after the photo has been clicked.

Using the dual lens camera, Huawei P9 is able to capture multiple frames and bring them together as a single file. This allows the phone to later on let you change the focus point.

To adjust the focus point after clicking a photo with aperture effect using the Huawei P9″

Tap on the aperture icon from the image you wish to adjust the blur effect.
The camera will automatically show you the focus point you had selected while clicking.
In order to select a desirable focus point, simply tap on that portion of the frame.
This will shift the focus to that particular portion of the frame and blur effect will be re-adjusted depending on the aperture effect scale that you set.
Once you have selected the desired focus point, tap on the ‘floppy’ icon that appears at top right corner in order to save the changes.
Saving the file will add a new image in your gallery with the focus point change that you had made.

NOTE: For accurate results, make sure that the subject is within the range of 2 meters (6.5 ft).

Here are some of the images I clicked using the Aperture Effect feature on the Huawei P9 camera: