On iPhone 15, if you take a photo of a person, cat, or dog, the camera detects them in the frame and captures rich depth information automatically — allowing you to turn it into a stunning portrait right away or later on in the Photos app. Here's how it's done.

iphone 15 portrait photo
Apple's Portrait Mode has become a popular way of taking impressive shots using a depth-of-field effect known as bokeh, allowing iPhone users to shoot a photo that keeps the subject sharp with a blurred background.

On previous iPhones, Portrait photos mode used a more laborious system than regular photos in order to capture the depth map in the image, and this resulted in more shutter lag as well as a lack of support for Smart HDR.

On iPhone 15 models, however, Apple's new next-generation Portraits use the same Photonic engine pipeline as regular photos, so there's no compromise in quality or shutter lag in either mode. That means you can turn a photo of a subject into a Portrait long after shooting. All it takes is a few taps when editing. The following steps show you how.

Quickly Change a Photo to a Portrait

  1. In the Photos app, tap any photo taken in Photo mode to view it in fullscreen. If depth information is available for the photo, a Portrait button will appear in the top-left corner.
  2. Tap the Portrait button and select Portrait from the dropdown to enable the depth of field effect.
  3. If you're not happy with the effect, tap the Portrait button again and select Portrait Off to disable it.

photos

Edit the Portrait Effect in Photos

  1. In the Photos app, tap any photo taken in Photo mode to view it in fullscreen. If depth information is available for the photo, a Portrait indicator will appear in the top-left corner.
  2. Tap Edit.
    photos

  3. Tap the Portrait button to enable the depth of field information.
  4. Use the Depth Control slider to increase or decrease the level of background blur in the portrait.
    photos

  5. To change the focal subject in the picture, simply tap the new subject, and the focus will switch to it.

  6. Tap Done to finish.
    photos

To undo all portrait effects, simply open the photo again, tap Edit, then tap Revert.

It's worth noting that when the portrait effect is applied to a Live Photo taken in Photo mode, the Live Photo effects aren't available. Tap Live to view the Live Photo or apply a Live Photo effect without the portrait effect applied.

Disable Auto Portrait Capture

If you want to save storage space, you can prevent the iPhone 15 camera from automatically capturing depth information in photos.

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down and tap Camera.
  3. Scroll down and toggle off the switch next to Portraits in Photo Mode.

settings

To learn how to take photos in Portrait mode during shooting, check out our dedicated how-to article.

Related Roundup: iPhone 15
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
iPhone 12 Made in India

Trump Tells Tim Cook to Stop Building iPhones in India

Thursday May 15, 2025 2:21 am PDT by
President Donald Trump has asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to halt the company's manufacturing expansion in India, in a potential disruption of Apple's plan to shift iPhone production away from China. "I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said during his state visit to Qatar, according to Bloomberg. "He is building all over India." "They [India] have offered us a deal where...
apple music

Apple Music Gets New Transfer Tool to Make Switching From Spotify Easier

Wednesday May 14, 2025 5:17 pm PDT by
Apple this week introduced a new feature designed to allow prospective Apple Music users to import their saved music and playlists from third-party music services to Apple Music. The feature is either in an expanded testing phase or it has started rolling out, and it is available in Australia and New Zealand according to an Apple Support document. Signs of the transfer option first surfaced...
maxresdefault

Here's the First Real-World Look at Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:52 am PDT by
The first videos of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience are now available, providing a never-before-seen look at the long-anticipated iPhone-linked infotainment software. British automaker Aston Martin today shared the first video of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience in-action, followed by a detailed walk-through of the CarPlay Ultra system on Top Gear's YouTube channel, which provides the...
vision pro video recording

WSJ: Some Apple Vision Pro Buyers 'Feel Total Regret'

Friday May 16, 2025 7:43 am PDT by
Apple's Vision Pro headset has left many early adopters expressing dissatisfaction over its weight, limited use cases, and sparse software ecosystem, according to a new article from The Wall Street Journal. In the year following the device's launch, user feedback suggests that it has failed to meet expectations for comfort, software support, and social acceptance. In interviews conducted by T...
microsoft copilot plus pc

Microsoft Says 'We're Faster Than a Mac' in Latest Windows PC Ad

Thursday May 15, 2025 12:29 pm PDT by
Microsoft today shared a new ad on YouTube with the tagline "we're faster than a Mac." In the video, Microsoft says the top-end Windows PCs with Copilot+ branding are up to 58% faster than the previous-generation MacBook Air with the M3 chip, based on Cinebench 2024 multi-core CPU benchmark results. The ad is citing old figures that were reported on all the way back in May 2024, so take that ...