PortraitMode is now faster, more polished & ready for bigger uploads

We’ve made a lot of progress over the last two weeks, and there’s quite a bit to share.

Our focus has been on performance, polishing the app, and bringing the new website experience to the remaining parts of the platform. Here’s what’s changed.

A much faster PortraitMode

We’ve spent a lot of time optimizing the platform, and the results have been pretty incredible.

Both the app and the website are significantly faster. Browsing photos, exploring the community and moving around the platform should all feel noticeably smoother. There’s still (a bit) room for improvement, but we’re very happy with the progress so far.

A fresh look across the app

We’ve also given the app some extra love.

One of the smaller changes that makes quite a difference is our new custom icon set. Until now, the app used Ionicons. We’ve replaced them with icons designed specifically for PortraitMode. It’s a small detail, but details like this make PortraitMode feel more cohesive and give it a more distinctive identity.

More improvements to the website

When we gave the website its facelift, two areas weren’t part of the redesign yet: profile pages and the photo popup. Work on both is ongoing.

One change is already live: you can now pick one of your own photos as the header image for your profile. We’re still experimenting with the overall look and haven’t settled on a final design, so expect a few more changes here.

Places is now available in the app

We recently introduced Places on the website, and now it’s in the app too.

You can discover street photography and photographers by location, which makes it easier to see what’s being photographed around the world and find inspiration in new places.

The design isn’t final yet, but we’d rather get it into your hands than keep it behind the scenes. We’ll keep refining it as we go.

Bigger uploads for Pro members

Pro members can now upload much larger photos. We’ve removed the 6500px limit and raised the maximum file size from 24MB to 90MB, up to 100 megapixels. You no longer need to resize or re-export your photos before uploading; just upload them straight from your camera or editing app.

All photos are still displayed at up to 2200px, so this is about convenience rather than image size on the site. We’re keeping this a Pro feature, as processing large images puts quite a load on the server.

What’s next?

Our next priority is improving the app experience further, especially based on the feedback you’ve shared in our recent survey.

If you haven’t taken part yet, we’d really appreciate it. Your feedback shows us what’s working, what isn’t, and where we should focus next.

I think we’re one or two more rounds of app optimization away from where I personally want the experience to be, especially when it comes to overall smoothness of the app. There’s always something to improve, of course, but we’re getting closer.

As always, thank you for being part of PortraitMode and supporting what we’re building.

If you have any feedback, suggestions or ideas, let me know in the comments below. I read every one of them.

Happy shooting! 📸
David