How to use the iPhone Portrait Mode to take stunning people pictures

Photographers with DSLR or mirrorless cameras can capture more attractive portraits by using a wider aperture setting. The larger the setting (e.g. f/1.4), the blurrier the background blur (or bokeh) will be. A large aperture causes distracting background details, such as photo bombs or graffiti on a wall, to be turned into abstract shapes and colors, allowing the eye to focus on the foreground subject of the portrait. You can use Aperture Priority mode to choose a larger aperture, safe in the knowledge that the camera will use a faster shutter speed to avoid overexposing the image.

In standard photo mode, the iPhone’s camera app automatically adjusts the aperture and shutter speed so the foreground and background look sharp. When you’re shooting in low light and the subject is close to the camera, you can naturally create background bokeh, but you don’t have manual control over the aperture setting when using the iPhone camera’s default photo mode.

However, if you swipe to the camera app’s portrait mode, you can add distinctive DSLR-style background bokeh to your shots for a more professional portrait.

Portrait mode was first introduced in 2016 on the iPhone 7 Plus (but not available on the base iPhone 7). Any iPhone generation (opens in new tab) Model has since had the function.

We used an iPhone 13 Pro Max to capture and edit the images in this tutorial.

In Portrait mode, the camera app uses a mask to isolate the subject in the foreground from the background. You can then manually drag a depth slider to choose a larger aperture like f3.5. The iPhone then uses the mask to blur the background while keeping the foreground subject sharp. You can adjust the Depth slider while framing your subject for a shot, knowing that you can also adjust the amount of blur after capturing the image using the post-production tools in the iOS or macOS Photos app.

Because Portrait mode uses software to mimic the bokeh produced by a DSLR’s aperture, you have more creative control over the bokeh of an iPhone portrait than with the burned-in bokeh produced by a DSLR. You can view an image in portrait orientation in Apple’s Photos app and use a depth slider to adjust the amount of blur to suit your creative needs.

Unlike burn-in DSLR bokeh, you can adjust the amount of Portrait mode’s background blur while shooting (or afterwards in the Adjust panel of the Apple Photos app, as we see here.)

Another strength of Portrait mode is its ability to add lighting effects to your shots. Professional photographers can use an external flash or LED light to model a subject’s face. A light source from a side angle can accentuate the contours of a person’s face. Portrait mode has a range of lighting presets that you can choose to create a range of looks. You can even use the mask created in Portrait mode to completely remove the background of the shot, add high-key lighting and mimic a white studio background. Watch our mini walkthrough (and the video that accompanies this tutorial) to see these software lighting effects in action.

Since Portrait mode simulates the bokeh effect, it has its limitations. On older iPhones (like the 7 Plus), you can only add background blur to shots with human faces. Portrait mode would not recognize other subjects or add a mask to them. On newer iPhones (iPhone 11 and later), use Portrait mode to adjust the bokeh behind people or objects. Sometimes portrait mode doesn’t recognize every background detail. Complex areas such as gaps in the subject’s hair can be missed when creating the mask, leaving some background objects in focus while blurring others. This is less of an issue on newer lidar-equipped iPhones like the iPhone 12 Pro (opens in new tab) and iPhone 12 Pro Max (opens in new tab) further. With an extremely wide depth setting (e.g. f/1.4), the blur can seep into the edges of the foreground subject, so you may need to choose a slightly narrower aperture value for more realistic bokeh. Another limitation of Portrait mode is that you cannot shoot a RAW (.dng) file in this mode.