Gone are the days when we would willingly put Instagram filters on our photos because we thought they looked good. Now, your photos are still being edited, even if you’re not the one doing it. Most people don’t even know what a real photo taken on a smartphone (with zero processing) would look like. Thankfully, I’ve found an app that lets me snap away with no processing — and I’m shocked by the results.

Your smartphone is editing images without telling you

And there’s not a lot you can do about it

As a photographer, I ditch my smartphone for a real camera any day of the week — but that doesn’t mean a smartphone camera is completely useless. It has its time and place. But in this modern age, most smartphones are built with enhancements, and AI features embedded in the camera’s function, meaning most (if not all) of the pictures you snap are transformed between the camera and photo album applications, without you knowing.

A few years ago, a Redditor demonstrated that Samsung artificially edits images of the moon. When the Reddit user took a photo of a purposefully blurry image of the moon on his laptop, the Samsung phone inserted details that weren’t there in the original image. Samsung comes with built-in AI features that are designed to “enhance image quality”, though Android users remain free to turn the AI features off in settings.

On iPhones, it’s called “computational photography,” according to Ziv Attar, chief executive of Glass Imaging, who worked on the team that created iPhone’s Portrait Mode. In essence, this feature takes the image your camera captures and reimagines what the photo would look like if the camera were better, as reported by the BBC.

And it isn’t just Apple and Samsung receiving backlash; plenty of Google Pixel users are also disgruntled with the automatic processing that happens to images, raising concerns about “skin-smoothing filters” being added to pictures that aren’t supposed to have filters on them.

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Zero Processing may be better for your photos

Or at least, some of the time

Does “zero-processing” mean better? From my own experience, using the Halide Mark III – Pro Camera iPhone app (which came highly recommended on Reddit), I can adamantly say…it’s complicated.

For the most part, I think it definitely depends on your intention for the image. If you’re posting it on social media, a lot of people may prefer a higher contrast and/or higher saturation (I certainly do, especially for nature images). In which case, your smartphone’s camera mostly does the job. See the above photo of a flower. The iPhone’s creation is a lot more vibrant and colorful than the image taken with zero processing.

But…it doesn’t look realistic. The flower being photographed was not an insanely bright purple; it was closer to pastel IRL, and yet the iPhone produced an image that was incredibly saturated. If you’re going to wack the saturation up anyway, then this is fine for you. But if (like me) you’d prefer your nature pics to look more natural, this kind of borderline-neon coloring immediately gives away that the image has been edited.

Using the Halide app

Taking that “zero-processed” snap

The outcome images with zero processing look softer and more closely resemble the “preview” image you get in the camera app before pressing the button. Though I will say they do appear duller or poorly lit, that is how an image taken on a smartphone would look if Apple weren’t stepping in at the last minute to alter the image.

One thing I will give Apple credit for is the automatic lighting balance, a benefit you don’t get when you’re using zero processing, which is why the non-processed images lack color or definition in the sky. But the Halide app does come with its own editing suite, which lets you play around with exposure, the same as you would in the iPhone’s editing mode, so this can be altered after the image is captured.

The app is incredibly easy and simple to use. All you really need to do is allow it to sync with your camera and photo library, either in settings or when the pop-up prompts you to agree. And then off you go, taking photos in whatever format you prefer. The catch? This app does require a subscription if you want to keep using it after its 7-day free trial has expired. But there are plenty of other recommended apps that function the same and don’t come with a pay wall.

Should you shoot with “zero-processing” all the time?

If you’re interested in photography and are looking for a way to utilize your smartphone’s camera without the obnoxious saturation levels that are automatically put on images, an app that lets you shoot without the processing is great. You can create natural images that aren’t enhanced or morphed in any way you don’t want them to be. For the casual selfie taker, you’re alright using your smartphone’s camera as-is, without the need to subscribe to any additional apps or software. Just maybe tweak the image’s contrast and vibrancy before you hit post.