Xiaomi smartphones have long ceased to be a “budget compromise” – today even the Redmi Note series models are equipped with cameras with support for 4K HDR, night mode and artificial intelligence for processing images. But even the most advanced hardware does not guarantee perfect shots without the right settings and shooting techniques. This article will help you to understand how to get the most out of the camera of your Xiaomi, whether it is the flagship Xiaomi 14 Ultra or the affordable POCO M6 Pro.
We won’t list the obvious things like “keep your hands straight” or “wipe your lens” instead, specific instructions for setting up the Camera app, analyzing shooting modes (including hidden modes), post-processing tips in the Xiaomi Gallery, and even life hacks for shooting in difficult conditions. If you have never used manual settings, don’t worry: we’ll start with the basics and gradually get to the bottom of the box. PRO-mode and format RAW.
1. Basic Xiaomi camera settings: what to turn on right away
Before you get into creative modes, you should optimize the standard settings. Go to the Camera app, touch the gear (⚙️) in the upper right corner and check the following points:
- 📸 Photo resolution: choose the maximum for your model (for example, 50 MP or 200 MP). POCO Often the default is 12 MP with pixel binning – this worsens the detail.
- 🌙 Night mode: Turn on the Auto option so that the camera itself offers to activate it in the dark. IMX707 (For example, Xiaomi 13 Pro night mode works even in the daytime for shooting against the sun.
- 🔍 HDR: install the car HDR or HDR10+ (If there is, it will save the sky or the shadows in the portraits.
- 🎯 Focus: Turn off Autotracking if shooting sticks to random objects. For dynamic scenes (children, animals) turn on Continuous Autofocus (CAF).
Pay special attention to Save Settings (not all models are available) if it is active, the camera will remember your latest settings (for example, the 4:3 aspect ratio instead of 16:9), which will eliminate the need to reconfigure everything before each session.
⚠️ Attention: On Xiaomi smartphones with Snapdragon processor 4xx (Like Redmi. 12C) If you're shooting at maximum resolution, you might be slowing down, so you can set up 12 MP, which will speed up the work without critical loss of quality.
2. Shooting modes: when and how to use them
Xiaomi's Camera app offers more than 10 modes, but most users are limited to Photo and Video, while even Portrait and Document have hidden chips.
| Regime. | What do you need? | Hidden opportunities |
|---|---|---|
| Photo (AI) | Universal mode with automatic optimization | Hold the down button for serial shooting (up to 20 frames/sec on flagships). Press the screen with two fingers for a quick switch between the main and front camera. |
| Portrait | Blurring background (boke) for photos of people | In the mode settings, you can select the bokeh style (Studio, Contour) and adjust the intensity of blur after shooting in the Gallery. |
| Professional | Manual ISO setting, shutter speed, white balance | On models with Leica (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra) branded color profiles (Leica Authentic, Leica Vibrant) are available here. |
| Document | Shooting text, checks, pages of books | Automatically removes prospective distortions. In the Gallery, you can crop and improve the clarity of text with the help of AI-correction. |
| Long exposure | Glowing tracks of cars, starry sky, waterfalls | Use a tripod or stable surface. On Xiaomi with OIS (optical stabilization), you can shoot with your hand up to 1/4 of a second. |
Little-known life hack: In Video mode swipe left across the screen to open the panel with additional options. Here you can turn on Log profile (for professional color correction), Horizon Stabilization (useful for shooting with a drone), or Microphone amplification (if the sound is recorded too quietly).
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On Xiaomi smartphones with a wide-angle camera (for example, Redmi Note 12 Pro+) in Photo mode, you can hold the 0.6x button to quickly take a picture with an ultra-wide lens without switching.
3. Night photography: how to avoid noise and blur
Night mode on Xiaomi is one of the strongest in the segment, but it requires the right approach. The main mistake of beginners is shooting with a hand in low light. Even with OIS and EIS (electronic stabilization), the frame will be blurred if you do not follow three rules:
- Stabilize. Use a tripod, put your phone against a wall, or put it on a flat surface. On the POCO F5 and later, there's a manually stabilized Night Mode feature that reduces the immobility requirements.
- Manual settings: In Professional mode, set ISO to no higher than 3200 (otherwise noise will occur) and shutter speed to 1/10 of a second (if no tripod).
- Focus. Night autofocus often misses. Tap the screen to manually select the focus point, and lock it with your finger holding.
To capture the starry sky or glowing inscriptions, switch to Long Shutter and select Starry Sky Preset. The Xiaomi 13T Pro and above has shutter speeds up to 30 seconds. Importantly, turn off Auto-HDR in the settings, otherwise the camera will try to pull out dark areas and spoil the atmosphere of the frame.
⚠️ Note: When shooting in format RAW At night, files will weigh up to 50-80 MB each, and processing will take up to 5 seconds. Use this format only if you plan to edit your photo in Lightroom or Photoshop.
4. Portrait Shooting: How to Get a Natural Bokeh
Portrait mode on Xiaomi is often criticized for "artificial" background blurring, but the problem is not the algorithms, but the wrong settings.
- 👤 The distance to the object is optimally 1-1.5 meters. If you hold the phone too close, the camera will lose depth, and the bokeh will look like a drawing.
- 🌟 Shooting against the sun or window will give a natural glow along the contour (the rim light effect). On Xiaomi 14, this will strengthen the Leica Natural profile.
- 🔄 Post-shoot editing. In the Gallery, open the photo, click Edit. → Portrait and manually adjust the intensity of blur and face lighting.
For group portraits, use the main camera (not a telephoto lens!), as the algorithm better recognizes several faces on a wide-angle module. If the frame has hair or complex contours (for example, a scarf), tap the screen in the area of the problem - the camera will recalculate the blur mask.
How to shoot a portrait with the effect of the “golden hour” without filters?
5. Video Shooting: Stabilization, Sound and 4K HDR
Xiaomi video cameras of recent years support 4K@60fps, HDR10+ and even Dolby Vision (on flagships), but by default these options are often disabled.
- Go to Camera Settings → Video resolution and select 4K (3840×2160) at 30 fps (for smoothness) or 60 fps (for dynamic scenes).
- Activate Stabilization (called Ultra Steady or Pro Video) on the POCO F5 Pro, it works even when shooting in 4K.
- For better sound, plug in an external microphone via USB-C or use Xiaomi’s LDAC-enabled wireless headphones.
If you're shooting for YouTube or TikTok, turn on the Log Profile (MI LOG or Leica LOG) to allow you to adjust colors flexibly when editing. Note: the log profile eats up more memory card space and requires post-processing!
Set maximum resolution | Activate stabilization |Check free space (minimum 5GB) |Disable notifications during shooting |Charge battery to 50%+
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6. Hidden chips and life hacks for Xiaomi camera
MIUI and HyperOS hide a few useful features that are not mentioned in the official instructions:
- 🔍 Macromode without macrolens. On models with 50 main camera+ MP (e.g. Redmi Note 12 Pro)+) Pull your phone 3 to 5 cm closer to the subject and tap the screen to focus, and the camera automatically switches to pseudomacro with cropping.
- 🎭 Double exposure. In Portrait mode, take a picture, then in Gallery, click Edit → Double exposure and select the second frame to overlay.
- 📱 Gestures for shooting. In the camera settings, turn on the voice shot (Cheese! or Cheese! commands) or the gesture shot (wake your hand in front of the frontal).
- 🔄 Quick camera switching: Tap the screen twice with two fingers to swap the main and front camera in places.
On smartphones with an infrared sensor (for example, Xiaomi 13 Ultra) in the Professional mode is available to shoot in the camera. IR-This allows you to take pictures in complete darkness (although in monochrome format). To activate, go to Settings. → Additionally. → Infrared camera.
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Function AI-The watermark in the Xiaomi Gallery automatically adds date, location, and even weather to the photo, which is convenient for travel, but disable it before posting it on social networks for privacy reasons.
7 Post-processing: how to improve photos in the standard Gallery
The Gallery app on Xiaomi offers editing tools that are not inferior to many third-party programs. After you shoot, open the photo and click Edit.
- 🎨 AI-Retouch. Automatically removes wrinkles, red eyes and even adjusts posture. On Xiaomi 14 there is a natural retouch option that does not make the face "plastic».
- 🌈 Curves and levels. In the Color section, you can manually adjust the shadows, lights and contrasts to the color. RGB-channels (like Photoshop).
- 🖼️ The Magic eraser tool (available on flagships) will remove unnecessary details from the background in a few seconds.
For batch processing, select several photos in the Gallery, click Edit and apply the same filter or correction to all images. This will save time when processing series (for example, photos from an event).
If you’ve shot in RAW, export your files to Lightroom Mobile directly from the Gallery (Open to...) to help you work with colors and exposure.