Here at BuzzFeed, we love you, we care about you, we only want the best for you.
And so we wanted to alert you to a new "Focus" feature in Instagram Stories. It's basically a faux depth effect feature (kind of like Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus, 8 Plus, and X).
Instagram’s focus mode is golden. iPhone 8 Plus’ and X’s are shaking.
What it does is use digital manipulation to identify faces and then blur out the background. That makes a super nice photo that looks like it was taken by a real film camera, or a big fancy digital camera. (Google's Pixel 2 phone and Samsung's Galaxy S9+ can also take photos that look like this.)
It rolled out a few days ago, but you might not have noticed it, or maybe you haven't updated the app on your phone yet. If you don't have it yet, UPDATE YOUR INSTAGRAM APP!
Also, it's only currently available for iPhones 6S and up, and Android phones from 2015 and newer. Instagram is working on adding the feature to more phones. So for now, if you have an older iPhone or a kind of obscure Android, you might be out of luck.
Instagram just saved you a bunch of money that you won't have to spend on upgrading your phone for a better camera :)
I've been comparing portrait mode photos on my $800 iPhone 7+ to Instagram's new "focus mode" (FREE)... it's pretty close tbh
Basically I didn’t need to get the 8 plus because Instagram has focus mode now. Ok
Ok, so here's how to use it.
In the Instagram App, go to "Stories," and then go to the bottom where the options for "Live," "Boomerang," etc. are. Swipe left until you see "Focus." Tap it.
You'll have to play around with it a little to get the focus right. It works best if you're standing in front of a busy background, like on a street or something. That makes the blurry effect in the back really pop.
Here's BuzzFeed employee Alp (who also loves you and wants the best for you) demonstrating the difference between Focus and normal modes.
Here's another one. Notice the edges of Alp's hair gets a little blurry. It's not perfect, but it looks pretty cool, right?
There you go, my friends. If you don't have a fancy iPhone X, now you can fake having portrait mode through Instagram. You will look MARVELOUS!
