9 Essential Pixel Camera Settings to Significantly Improve Your Photo Quality

The Pixel phone camera is known as one of the most powerful smartphone cameras available on the market. However, as with many Google products, exploring its advanced features may require some effort. To get the most out of it and achieve the best possible photo quality, it is essential to understand the key settings and how to adjust them effectively.

1. Enhancing Photo Resolution: Switching to 4:3 Aspect Ratio in Pixel Camera

Many users are accustomed to shooting photos with a 16:9 aspect ratio, as this format provides a cinematic and modern look. However, it is worth noting that the Pixel phone camera sensor is primarily designed to operate at a 4:3 ratio. When using 16:9, the camera automatically crops the top and bottom parts of the image before capture, resulting in a permanent loss of vertical resolution and image quality. Switching to 4:3 ensures that all visual data seen by the sensor is captured, with the possibility of cropping the image later to 16:9 for the desired cinematic look. But remember, details not captured from the start cannot be added later. To apply this setting to improve Pixel photos, open the Camera app, then tap the Settings icon (gear) > Aspect ratio > Full image (4:3). Your photos will appear in a slightly taller format in the viewfinder, but most importantly, you will capture a much greater amount of image data.

2. Rich Colors in Pixel Photos: Expanding Color Gamut to Capture More Vibrant Details

The Display P3 color space allows for capturing much wider color information compared to the older sRGB standard, which is particularly evident in red and green tones. More color information means more vibrant and realistic photos, giving you much greater flexibility during the subsequent editing process. There are no known downsides to enabling this setting. To enable Rich colors, go to Settings > More settings > Rich colors in photos, then toggle it on. Your Pixel camera will be able to capture photos with a wider color gamut, and you will definitely notice the clear difference on compatible screens.

3. Boosting Pixel Photos with Ultra HDR: Stunning Brightness and Contrast

The Ultra HDR mode significantly enhances the brightness level in photos, leading to a major improvement in colors and contrast, making them more vibrant and dynamic. Once this feature is activated, you might find it difficult to turn it off, as it gives your photos a more attractive appearance, especially when viewed on compatible screens. However, this mode might not be suitable for everyone. Some users notice a "halo effect" or glow around bright objects and high-contrast edges, which can give the image an unnatural look. To turn Ultra HDR on or off in your Pixel camera, go to Settings > More settings > Ultra HDR, then toggle the switch to on or off as per your preference.

4. Professional Composition Rules: Using Camera Grids on Pixel Screen to Improve Photos

On-screen grid overlays are a valuable tool to avoid automatically centering every element in your photos, and more importantly, they significantly simplify the process of planning for vertical cropping. When using the "Rule of Thirds" for framing and placing the main subject within one of the virtual columns on the screen, cropping the image to a vertical format later becomes a very easy task. To enable the Rule of Thirds grid in your Pixel camera, go to Settings > More settings > Grid type > 3x3. A grid consisting of two horizontal and two vertical lines will appear in the viewfinder, dividing the screen into nine sections. It is recommended to place important elements at the intersection points of these lines for more dynamic and balanced photo compositions. The "Golden Ratio" grid offers another option that facilitates the application of traditional photography principles.

5. Ensuring Straight Photos: Activating Framing Hints in Pixel Camera

Framing hints are a vital tool to ensure the correct horizon level in your photos. Whether you are capturing breathtaking landscapes or aiming to maintain the straightness of a street scene, the two parallel lines that meet and turn yellow at the zero-degree level provide valuable guidance. The top indicator is also extremely useful when shooting products from above. To enable this feature in your Pixel camera, go to Settings > More settings > Framing hints. These hints will provide you with a horizontal indicator and a dedicated top/bottom guide for shots taken from above, ensuring your phone remains perfectly parallel to the ground for professional-looking photos.

6. Professional Photography: Exploring Manual Controls in Pixel Pro Camera

This is where Pixel Pro phone models truly shine, offering pro controls that give you full manual control over critical settings such as focus, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity, white balance, exposure, shadows, and even Night Sight settings for low-light shots. This level of flexible control empowers you to become an active photographer, fully in control of your creations. From the main camera interface, tap the controls icon in the lower right corner, then drag the toolkit from left to right to adjust each function. These advanced controls are particularly useful in low-light photography, for creating controlled motion blur effects, or in any scenario where you require creative control beyond what automatic mode offers.

7. When to Choose 50 MP or 12 MP? A Guide for Pixel Pro Users

This setting is a source of confusion for many users. The Pixel camera's 50 MP sensor defaults to pixel binning, combining this massive data into a more manageable 12 MP photo file. 12 MP resolution is preferred for most everyday photography purposes due to its storage efficiency, and pixel binning effectively contributes to improved performance in low-light and fast-motion scenarios. Advanced Pixel features, such as Top Shot and Motion Photos, require this resolution. However, it is recommended to switch to 50 MP when shooting landscapes to capture maximum fine details, or when planning to create large photo prints later. It should be noted that 50 MP photo files consume significantly more storage space on your device. This setting can be adjusted via Settings > Pro tab > Resolution, where you can switch between 12 MP and 50 MP according to your shooting scenario requirements.

8. Maximum Editing Flexibility: Shooting in RAW + JPEG for Pixel Pro Users

Generally, JPEG format is used for everyday photography due to its small size and ease of sharing. However, when planning a family trip or any special occasion, it is recommended to switch to RAW + JPEG mode. Knowing that you might want to create high-quality prints later makes the flexibility of recovering highlight and shadow details extremely important. Nevertheless, there is a major consideration: RAW files, which come in DNG format, consume significantly more storage space on your device, so they should be used judiciously. But for important shots that demand maximum control in post-editing, this option is entirely worth the trade-off. To enable this setting in your Pixel Pro camera, go to Settings > Pro tab > RAW/JPEG > RAW + JPEG. As the name suggests, you will get both a compressed JPEG file, ideal for quick sharing, and a full RAW file that provides maximum detail and quality for professional editing later. This setting represents an ideal solution that combines the best of both worlds.

9. Full Lens Control: Activating Manual Lens Selection in Pixel Pro Camera to Avoid Cropping

In some scenarios, when shooting an object at an intermediate distance – neither too far nor too close – the Pixel camera might struggle to automatically select the most suitable lens for the task. This could lead to the camera automatically switching to the wrong lens, resulting in distorted or completely blurry and unusable photos. Manual lens selection effectively prevents this issue. To adjust this setting in your Pixel Pro camera, go to Settings > Pro tab > Lens selection > Manual. This option will provide you with direct and precise control over the lens used, much like in professional DSLR cameras, ensuring the best possible image quality.