Huawei P20 Pro - A photographer's review

I have been a long OnePlus fan, i’ve owned the OP3 and then the 5 which i’ve kept for the past while, hoping for a refreshed camera experience - which was one of the main reasons for me to typically update the phone.

Since the OnePlus 5T, they have stuck with a borderline useless combination of cameras (even though admittedly the main camera was improved in the 6). Camera output was pretty decent and overall the photo quality was not bad. The problem arises when you look at what is possible today from other manufacturers.

This review was done using a Huawei P20 pro which i bought with my own money.

Tl Dr

The Huawei P20 pro has a fantastic camera with the main sensor being pretty huge - even though not all the features work as you might expect. Processing tends to be a bit on the heavy side, and doesn’t seem to be OIS on the main sensor. It’s also a great phone with good battery life and user experience if you can deal with some Huawei oddities on top of the stock android experience.

How is the P20 pro as a phone?

Photography aside, the phone itself is good. Comparing to my Oneplus 5, performance is pretty much on par with any other Snapdragon 835 device and screen is more detailed. There is a small difference between 1080p screens and 1440p - it’s not huge, but it’s there. Battery life is amazing - i’ve recently spent most of the day travelling and got home with 35% battery despite 7 hours of screen on time, 2 hours of stored Netflix and hours of music streaming. The only negative experience is the software - Even though EMUI is usable, it’s not as smooth as the native google experience, or lightweight skins like OnePlus’s OxygenOS. One mindbogglingly annoying feature is that the double-click on the power button doesn’t load the camera. There is a double-click volume down option but that doesn’t work at all if you have music streaming. The device is also a bit thicker than OnePlus phones and whilst not a big deal for people with bigger hands (mine are quite small) - it is noticeable.

Let’s talk about the camera engineered with Leica

Being a photographer, i had some ideas about how each of the separate cameras in the P20 pro would work independently in the same way that i would use different lenses on an SLR camera for different things. The main mistake in this way of thinking is that not each of the lenses available has the same capable sensor.

So if we had to take a look at the 80mm lens/sensor in isolation - this tends to be a little bit too close when shooting typical portraits with a phone, but also there is a noticeable loss of quality if you use 3x zoom in pro mode (which i believe uses the 8MP zoom sensor exclusively). Doing a simple test where one lens is covered shows that expected behaviour but this is hardly foolproof since there might be other colour information being gathered from the other sensors.

Whilst the 3x zoom performance is perfectly fine, it is not as good as the results you get from the main camera - which are borderline insane from a phone. Dynamic range is solid, and fine detail is great. In good lighting, 40MP mode (the camera is set to 10mp by default) is pretty detailed - however the camera disables zoom when it is set to 40MP mode. This makes it pretty unusable since it would take way too much time to stay entering the settings menu every time i want to get at the zoom. It would have been 10000x better if the camera just automatically switched out of 40MP mode if you try to zoom…

The same issue arises when we talk about the dedicated monochrome sensor. To shoot in monochrome you need to slide all the way right into the “more” section and THEN select monochrome. The results are pretty nice.. but we’ve lost the large 40MP sensor again - so what we gain by losing the bayer filter, we lose by having the smaller sensor.

So if i had to look back, i wouldn’t buy this camera for the black and white or zoom modules on their own - in the sense that it’s not a good expectation to want to use these on their own. And in fact it’s together that this camera array really shines.

5x hybrid zoom. In hindsight i should have pushed this file a little less in post or removed some of the noise

5x Hybrid zoom (which at first i thought was: digital zoom - ugh) is actually pretty usable. Photos taken in the fully automatic “photo” mode have beautiful colours, dynamic range i’ve never seen in a phone before and very satisfying detail. Some of the other ‘magic’ modes like night mode or water trails are harder to use since they involve stacking multiple shots together behind the scenes… but if you have a stable base (even good hand holding works) then the results can be pretty epic.

The Fake Bokeh(tm) mode we find in all modern phone cameras is mostly at par with other phones. I think the Pixel is by far the best in this space but realistically they are all going to be hit or miss at times. Whilst it is not perfect, the P20 pro hasn’t performed horribly here.

Autofocus is pretty accurate and the only times it’s gotten confused what when i was shooting through glass… but other than that it’s pretty instant.

The photos tend to be quite nice straight out of the camera, but they also have quite a bit of room for pushing. I edit all my phone photos and all the ones below have been tweaked using Snapseed. If you want an accurate representation of what the camera does out of the box please check out the Huawei P20 pro DXOMark review.

Pro mode was needed for this backlit photo but the results are quite good with lots of detail retained both in the shadow and highlights

Light-Painting “water trails” option can create some beautiful soft water

There is so much dynamic range in the main sensor that converting to black and white is probably as good as using the dedicated sensor

Great fine detail even in the 10MP mode

Close up food shots work quite nicely

Lots of detail retained in the areas of the building which was in direct sunlight

Fierce! - Sunday Circle Magazine Shoot

Released with the Sunday circle magazine on sunday, here is how we shot Fierce! - the fashion editorial which featured a current fashion trend - animal prints.

The Team:

Model: Giulia @ Supernova Model Management

Make-up was done by Jean Zammit at Inglot Malta

Hair by Toni & Guy Malta

Styling by Caroline Paris

Photography by Kurt Paris

Shot at the Meridiana Wine Estate

Here are some of the shots from the shoot, we used a single Bowens 500w strobe in many of the shots, and then a YongNuo ring LED when the space got a little more restricted. LEDs have become incredibly useful and versatile since they allow you to remain quite portable but also light up pretty tight spaces. The quality of their light is still not as high or accurate as with good studio strobes, however it does produce a punchy/contrasty image that works really well with particular editing or especially in Black and White

Waterfairy, Reflections

This was a very simple shoot which centered around the fantastic Biljana Boric. I think that one of the defining characteristics of a good model is the versatility and raw emotion that they bring to the table.

Armed with a YongNuo YN360 LED panel (and hoping not to be the first photographer in malta to lose a 5Dmk4 to the water) we headed to Ghajn tuffieha bay. Water at night has a very interesting quality to it and it changes drastically depending on the angle you are shooting at and also the angle of the light. Change these and you go from a transparent texture to a mirror

Inspired in Valletta - Ritienne Zammit

Last week as part of my wife's general craziness, we spent a few days living in Valletta. We stayed at the lovely Cumberland Boutique Hotel, used the Ferry to get to work, and ate pretty much EVERYTHING. You can check out the article by The Wife(tm) about living in Valletta on her blog. 

Apart from the sights, smells (food, oh so much different interesting food) and sounds (you can literally walk around Valletta at night and bounce from one live music act to another without hearing any silence - it's lovely) - there is a huge sense of drama to the place that just makes my creative side wake up.

So we had to do a fashion shoot - and since the light in Valletta is perfect very early in the morning, I passed on the amazing breakfast (food :() and convinced everyone to wake up early (I got coffee and fresh croissants to make up... yes more food)

So without further ado here's a shoot inspired by Ritienne Zammit's Past & Present collections

• Model: Rebecca @ Supernova Model Managment
• Photography: Kurt Paris
• Make-up: Jean Zammit using Inglot
• Styling: Caroline Paris
• Designer: Ritienne Zammit
• Hair Styling: Christian Galea @ Michael & Guy

Editing Mobile Phone photos

Even though i am a professional photographer, there are times where i don't have (or don't want to have) my camera with me - both when i'm in Malta and abroad. Like anyone else who has made their merry way into the 21st century, i do however have a mobile phone pretty much always in my pocket.

One of the main benefits a professional camera brings to a photoshoot, is the ability to work fast and in difficult conditions without losing quality. However, if you're prepared to sacrifice image quality a little bit, pushing your photos during editing will make a big difference in the impact.

This article is based on the Snapseed mobile application. This was built on an excellent software suite by a company called Nik (which was then taken over by Google). I use the android version which you can download here and there is also a version for iPhone here

Disclaimer: Is editing going to make my Oneplus 5 images look like they were taken with my Canon 5D mk4? No way! but it will add perceived detail and impact

Basic Corrections

The first step in our editing is to correct any mistakes that the camera may have made. Remember that the amount of light the phone captures and the colour which it sets to be "white" are guesses and it can get these wrong. (For example you might take a picture of a white plate in a room lit up in warm white light and get a yellow colour cast.)

1. White Balance (ie - is everything yellow-ish?) - The White balance tool has a selection tool that allows you to click on a spot on the photo and set it as white. If you're shooting food, this could be the table cloth or plate. Neutral greys work just as well (or better) than white too. Once you fix this you will see new colours appear in the photo

2. Exposure (ie is the photo too dark or too white?) - For these two questions we'll be using two different tools. Unfortunately, if the photo is too white, it is much harder to fix since the detail is lost and the colours may have become skewed. Your best bet is to use the Tune Image tool and reduce the brightness and highlights settings. Be careful because whites might become greys which are possibly uglier than the white you are trying to fix.

To add light we can either use the Tune Image tool and add brightness but i find that using the Curves tool and selecting "Brighten" from the palette produces a more pleasing effect. You can then adjust the curve to increase/decrease this - or you can just run the Curves tool multiple times (i find this produces the most natural result)

At this point out photo is well exposed and is showing the correct colours. Since these are things mobile phones often make mistakes in, we've already improved the image substantially

Case Study: Dinner

Food in particular needs correct colours and good lighting, additional detail and contrast are an added bonus (if you like that effect)

Adding Detail

1. The aptly named Details tool is an easy way to bring out the structure in the image. I personally like adding a lot of this since it adds sharpness and contrast across the board. You can then go into the layer mask (View Edits -> select the layer -> select the brush) and then brush away the areas where it might have added too much structure

2. Focus on your subject. This is much harder to do with a phone than with a professional slr since depth of field (blur/bokeh) is linked to the size of the camera sensor (which is tiny on a phone) so we can turn to software to help us out. Disclaimer: This can look fake if misused. This effect is very obvious and i tend to reduce the amount of blur that is set by default. I also adjust the shape of the circle to go around the object i want to keep in focus.

3. HDR. Yes, HDR Scape is a great editing tool for mobile phones - especially since the dynamic range of the sensor is much smaller than you get in a good camera. Disclaimer: This can look fake if misused. I use HDR typically for food shots and landscapes. Like lens blur i reduce the amount of filter strength that is set by default (be particularly careful for whites becoming "dusty" and reds becoming highlighted and over bright). From the palette i typically select the "Nature" or "People" setting

4. Tone the image. The Vintage tool is a great way to tone the colours in your image - again this is an effect that should be used sparingly and with caution. I tend to reduce/almost remove the default vignette setting and i reduce the overall effect by at least 50% - otherwise it will just take over all the colours of your photo. Remember that you want to add some spice, not overwhelm it

Case Study 3: Architecture in Valletta

5. Selective editing using the healing tool can help fix mistakes or dirt in the photo. Click on the affected areas will draw information for the surroundings to remove the offending debris. It's also very good when someone attacks the food before the photo was taken! :) In the next case study i had wanted a photo of the dish but absent-mindedly broke it with my fork. 

Questions? Anything Not Clear?

Just leave a comment below and i'll do my best to reach out and help you out or edit the article and explain better :)

Directing Fashion Models for Photographers and Posing Tips

Fashion photography is a team sport. If we had to look at any major sporting event, members of the team are constantly communicating - the captain might be directing individual plays/players team engineers and the driver communicate over radio, and so on.

We need to apply this model to fashion photography because irrespective of how good a photographer you are (in Malta or anywhere in the world), you will be better if you work well with your team - and leverage their strengths and ideas. 

First let's go over some quick tips from a slightly grumpy photographer (me! :)) and then let's get some models in here and see what they have to say :)

1. Be a nice human being. Models are people too, they have their own insecurities, they feel hot, cold, uncomfortable, happy... keep an eye out and proactively try to make your model feel comfortable

2. Share a moodbard with the team. This will help set everyone's visual goals and will allow people to prepare ideas beforehand. For example, if the visuals show a lot of movement - the model might practice some jumps/hops/etc before the shoot.

3. Pose the mind. Valentin Casarsa (a really amazing photographer who taught us a lot during istockphoto workshops) always said that to really get your models into the shot, you have to engage with them. Tell them a story, give them a character/ persona, are they angry? are they excited about something that's going to happen? You are looking for two main outcomes: Body Language and Expression - both of which will be driven by the state of mind you put the model in.

The added benefit is that this also acts as a great starting point for models to then expand on and build poses. Here is an excellent article on fstoppers that goes into more detail about this: Link

4. Pose the model. Not all human bodies are equal, or equally proportioned, or even symmetrical. Before the shoot starts take a good look at the model as if he/she were not a person. Think of the body's proportions - do they have a long torso? long legs? neck? is there a side of the face that might look better than the other. Any body modifications that may enhance/detract from the shot? 

Once you have understood your canvas a little bit better, discuss some poses that you think my work (having some examples from shoots you like in your head or even better on your phone for easy reference might make this easier). Don't be afraid to try out the pose yourself to show what you mean - it's much harder to explain a pose than to show it.

Once the model has posed and we're about to start shooting - take a good look and all the little details: How are the hands? does any part look stiff? is there any stray clothing/hair/makeup? At this point start shooting, experiment with different angles and let the model adapt. I like to set a starting pose and then the model can change based on their (often really good) ideas. 

5. Pose the clothes. It is very easy to ignore our main goal in fashion - the clothes & clothing brand and the values/emotions they represent. If we focus on the model herself (or himself) it is quite possible to take pictures where the clothes are not looking their best, or if their story/desire is not being conveyed. For example if we take a hypothetical scenario where we are shooting a long, wide pair of trousers and we ask the model to sit cross legged - we have lost that feature that makes the trousers special. Or if we are shooting some shiny leather/vinyl outfit and pose it in a way that creates unflattering reflections, we will have cheapened it and reduced its appeal.

6. Be a mirror. Remember that the model cannot see what he/she is doing. Frequent feedback is key: is the pose good/bad? tell them they look good! (if they do :D) confidence and trust are built on the feedback you give the model during the shoot. Are there any adjustments that might work? (raise your arm a bit, look left/right/up/down etc) 

I asked some great models who i had the pleasure of working with (and having a great model makes a photographer's life so much easier) in their own words. Big thank you for taking the time to answer my questions to:

1. Madeleine Baldacchino @ Supernova Model Management (Follow her on Instagram)
2. Claire Ciantar @ Supernova Model Management (Also the editor of Vida Magazine! - check it out here)
3. Stephanie Hodgkins @ Models M (Follow her on Instagram)
4. Blanka Bartosova @ Models M (Follow her on Instagram)

"What is the most important thing you expect a photographer to tell you when you are modelling?"

Madeleine: All photographers have different methods on how to guide models and it also depends on how well the photographer and model know each other. Normally I would ask the photographer how is the photo being framed for example if its a portrait or a long shot. This is important as poses will be different accordingly. I also expect to be told what mood the photographer is after.

Claire:  Its important that they make me feel comfortable and keep it casual rather than formal.

Stephanie:  I find it very important that the photographer communicates with the model and gives direction. It's really helps when the photographer shows the images to the model while shooting as I find it really helps deliver the perfect shot.

Blanka: I always want to know the mood of the shooting to be able to fit the photograpger ‘s idea. But I think models should not only listen to orders but also think outside the box and inspire and bring new dimension to the shooting. Usually I want to see first few shots just to check what kind of lighting we use, which helps me to orientate my poses. If it is possible, I check the photographers’ portfolios before the shooting to know what style should I be ready for.

"Do you have a posing tip for aspiring models?"

Madeleine: I always suggest to understand the light first as this can change everything in a photo. I love natural, candid looking photos so no real 'posing tips' from me but I do love that slight chin up which makes my jawline much more defined, again this all depends on the light and lens that the photographer is using.

Claire: There's no one pose fits all.. it's important to keep in mind that every shoot has a particular theme so the body movements and poses must always reflect that particular style.

Stephanie: Yes try to keep moving between shots and relax to avoid looking unnatural or stiff.

Blanka: Train, watch other professional models and practise! It is not about any talent but simply practicing and hard work. Some (especially ecommerce shootings) are long and staying in one position might soon get very painful. It is good to train your body regularly to be fit and stretched. The best for me personally seems to be yoga and pilates.
Posing depends not only on the client, photographer or a specific styling, but also on a country where you work. Check out some posing videos from China!
Poses are very important and my agencies were always telling me to train them in front of the mirror. I get inspired by editorials in big magazines too. Sometimes poses might look very funny in a real life, but on a final photo they might help a lot to present the clothes - many models want to only look beautiful, but in fact they should realise we are most if the time just good looking hangers and we must help the client to sell his clothes

"If you had to be a photographer for a day, and your model would be a local photographer of your choice - who would you choose?"

Madeleine: Haha! This is an interesting question since I've never really thought of photographing a photographer. From my perspective I would definitely go for Mia Sarah, I love her features and I bet we could create some interesting shots!

Claire: Gary Bugeja - i have worked with him a lot throughout the past year and have always been intrigued by his style of photography. I'm curious to know how his photography style would be translated into modelling if the lens were flipped on him.

Stephanie: You, Kurt Paris

Blanka:  Hahah, hard question! I would probably pick someone with a good sense of humor because having fun in the most important thing for me at work.

Pink Magazine Malta Fashion Editorial

These are only a couple of my favourite shots - You can check out the full shoot in the magazine, out today with the Sunday Times! As a photographer in Malta, Pink is one of my favourite magazines to work with for editorials.

For this shoot, (which was done in Birgu, Malta) i used a single strobe. I'm still enjoying overpowering the ambient light with the strobe so that's the effect i went for with this shoot. Visually it makes me a happy photographer and i feel it brings out the character and grunge in the location, whilst making the clothes pop.

The Team

• Photography: Kurt Paris
• Styling & Coordination: Marisa Grima
• Hair: Dominic Bartolo @ Dreads Hairdressing
• Makeup: Rachel Borg using Revlon
• Model: Gabriella @ Supernova Model Management

And check out Pink's Facebook Page: here

Backstage over the years

Just a quick trip down memory lane: i present to you photos taken backstage at various fashion shows around the world by a photographer from Malta (who used to be fat) including Milan Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, Serbia Fashion Week and Malta Fashion Week

2015

Fashion Scout Backstage - London Fashion Week

Giles Deacon Backstage - London Fashion Week

Ritienne Zammit Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

Caroline Hili Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

2016

Moschino Backstage - Milan Fashion Week

Etro Backstage - Milan Fashion Week

Stella Jean Backstage - Milan Fashion Week

Wedding Bells Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

Gaetano Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

Parascandalo Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

Ritienne Zammit Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

2017

Annakiki Backstage - Milan Fashion Week

Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

Parascandalo Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

Eymeric Francois Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

Ritienne Zammit Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

Stella Jean Backstage - Milan Fashion Week

Marija Sabic Backstage - Mad Mood Milan Fashion Week

Charles & Ron Backstage

Backstage Serbia Fashion Week

Mirat Cyril Backstage - Serbia Fashion Week

Backstage Serbia Fashion Week

2018

Eymeric Francois Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

Jasongrech Backstage - Malta Fashion Week

Ritienne Zammit Backstage - Malta Fashion Week