Pixel smartphones are renowned for their top-tier mobile camera performance, particularly when it comes to point-and-shoot capturing of still images. Google’s blend of intuitive software controls and computational photography has been a strong point since as far back as the Pixel 2 series in 2017, which is around the time when the company first brought its advanced HDR+ technology into the mainstream.
Fast-forward several years, and the Pixel 10 series remains one of the most competitive options on the market for snapping pictures and capturing memories. That being said, right out of the box, Google has opted to toggle off a few specific features that add extra functionality to the photography mix. With this in mind, here are five Pixel Camera settings I always enable as soon as I unbox any new Pixel handset.
Enable quick access controls
Located under Camera settings > Fast access
In the name of simplicity, the Pixel Camera app is configured by default with quick access controls toggled off. When enabled, the feature adds on-screen sliders for adjusting white balance, brightness, and shadows whenever the viewfinder is tapped. These sliders all adjust in real time, allowing you to make precise adjustments that accurately reflect the final image you end up capturing.
Real-time Live HDR+ adjustments and the presence of dual exposure sliders were a key selling point back in the Pixel 4 days, and despite the feature’s brief hiatus in the interim, it’s now once again present and accounted for on newer Pixel models running the latest software. The only catch in its modern implementation is that the sliders don’t remain on screen indefinitely, but, hey, I’ll take what I can get.
Enable rich color in photos
Located under Camera settings > Photo
Interestingly, Google has opted not to enable rich color by default on new Pixel phones. In this context, rich color refers to the wide DCI-P3 color space, which offers approximately twenty-five percent more color depth than the standard sRGB color space. In other words, P3 wide-gamut brings richer and more abundant colors to the images you snap when toggled on from within the Pixel Camera’s settings page.
Technically speaking, images encoded to support P3 could create compatibility issues when viewed on devices that don’t support the color profile, but just about every modern operating system, photo editing suite, and image viewer comes with native compatibility these days. Best of all, switching on the rich color toggle won’t result in noticeably larger image file sizes.
Enable RAW / JPEG control
Located under Camera settings > Photo
Where RAW image capture was once the domain of high-end camera equipment, the feature is now commonplace on flagship smartphones of both the Android and iPhone variety. RAW images are significantly larger than their standard, compressed alternatives, but they allow for lossless data capture, better retention of fine details, more color and high dynamic range (HDR) information to work with, and more flexibility when editing after the fact.
Assuming you have the available storage space to work with, enabling RAW image capture from within the Pixel Camera app is a great way to dial-in on the way your photos look, allowing you (or someone else with the know-how) to make powerful edits that greatly enhance the overall look of your stills.
Located under Camera settings > Photo
Social media depth features is a quirky opt-in setting within the Pixel Camera application that, when toggled on, saves additional depth information in the metadata of images you capture. The idea itself isn’t anything new — the capturing of depth data has been a thing on smartphones since at least the HTC One (M8) and its Duo Camera setup in 2014, and depth calculations are also leveraged when capturing modern portrait-style shots on mobile.
For the most part, third-party social media services haven’t tapped into the Pixel’s depth features in any meaningful way, but that doesn’t mean they never will. The way I see it, the more data I can capture within a single shot, the more I’ll have to work with now and into the future. It’s worth noting, however, that photos may take longer to process and may take up more space when social media depth features are enabled.
Enable grid type
Located under Camera settings > Composition
Last but not least, I always enable the viewfinder grid within my Pixel’s camera interface. Out of the box, Google offers three grid types to choose from: 3 x 3, 4 x 4, and golden ratio. This last one is a well-known grid style used in professional photography to compose images in an ideal manner, with the intent of making subjects viewable and aesthetically pleasing.
While I’m far from a professional myself, I do find that grid lines help me in lining up my shots. I also appreciate that Google offers several styles to choose from, which simply isn’t the case over on the iPhone. Grids are an invaluable tool that, while not for everyone, can seriously improve a given image’s composition when taken advantage of.
