OPPO Find X9 Ultra: Portraits, Light, and Visual Storytelling in Masterclass with Simone Bramante
On one of the first warm days of the year in Milan, OPPO brought renowned photographer and creative director Simone Bramante to the city for a masterclass centered around the new OPPO Find X9 Ultra (see the review) and the concept encapsulated by the company’s slogan: "Your Next Camera". The event, organized to demonstrate technical capabilities and visual language in action, turned the room into an observation lab where the author explained how to construct a visual story starting from the gaze, not from the device.
Bramante opened the masterclass by reiterating a simple and essential principle: photography arises from curiosity and attention to the scene, even before considering technical settings. Through a selection of shots taken entirely with the Find X9 Ultra, the photographer guided attendees through his creative process, composed of emotions, atmospheres, and "hidden" details in everyday life.
The emphasis was on the ability to observe—and then tell—rather than on the obsessive search for technical perfection. What surprised Bramante was the intuitiveness of the shooting experience: "Instead of adapting to the device, I could focus on what I wanted to capture," he shared, emphasizing that the Find X9 Ultra does not interrupt the creative flow but facilitates transitions between angles and perspectives. This, he explained, is thanks not only to the hardware but also to the color rendering philosophy and light management underlying the new Hasselblad Master Camera System integrated into the smartphone.
The collaboration between OPPO and Hasselblad was a recurring theme. Bramante, a long-time user of Hasselblad in a professional context, commented on how the partnership makes a photographic philosophy previously reserved for dedicated cameras accessible on mobile devices, bringing color consistency and an imaging pipeline designed to preserve authentic textures and details. The result, he claimed, is a camera that expands visual language: the smooth transition from wide-angle to telephoto allows users to extend their range of focus up to medium focal lengths like 139 mm without sacrificing naturalness and continuity in the shooting experience.
Particular attention was dedicated to portraits: Bramante praised the Find X9 Ultra’s ability to render skin textures and light transitions naturally, reducing the need for post-production editing. "For most of the images, I almost didn’t need post-production: what you see is what you get," he explained, highlighting the effectiveness of a pipeline that aims for fidelity to the original scene.
Among the projected shots, one photograph made along the coast between Emilia-Romagna and Veneto stood out: a portrait of a young woman suspended between light and shadow, symbolizing the balance Bramante seeks in his images between person and environment, feeling and color. This shot was presented as a practical example of how a smartphone can support visual storytelling without distorting it.
The masterclass reaffirmed a simple yet significant concept: great photography always starts from a point of view; the right tools—in this case, the Find X9 Ultra with its Hasselblad system—make it achievable with immediacy. OPPO aims to position the device not just as an advanced smartphone but as a concrete response to the needs of those who make visual storytelling their profession or passion.