When Apple introduced dual cameras with the iPhone 7 Plus, Portrait mode photos were a strong point. Today, portrait mode is a feature that comes with just about every smartphone, regardless of price.




Portrait mode is a great way to click photos of people with a blurred background to simulate the look of a DSLR camera. However, because bokeh is created by software, you may need to edit your photos to achieve the desired look.

Here are some ways to edit portrait mode photos on your iPhone to get the best look.

What is portrait mode on iPhone

When you open the camera app on your iPhone (iPhone 7 Plus or later), several tabs appear at the bottom above the shutter button. One of the tabs would be Portrait. Selecting this mode while clicking photos of people, pets, or objects will add a blur to the background to keep the subject in focus.

portrait mode on iphone

This is similar to natural bokeh or the blurring achieved by clicking an image with a professional camera. A phone's camera cannot naturally produce this level of blur due to limitations in sensor size. So the background blur is artificially created through software to replicate that look.

What Aspects of a Portrait Mode Photo Can You Edit

The default Photos app on the iPhone can set a few settings for a portrait mode photo, such as the extent of background blur (aperture), portrait lighting effects, and the ability to change a portrait mode photo into a normal photo.

How to Change Background Blur on Portrait Mode Photos

If you took a photo in Portrait mode, you can increase or decrease the background blur level according to your preference. Here's how you can do it.

Step 1: Open the Photos app on your iPhone and navigate to the portrait mode photo you want to edit.

Step 2: Tap the Edit button on the top right corner of the screen.


Edit button on iPhone

Step 3: In the upper left corner of the screen, you will see a button with an aperture value like F 4.5. Press it.

aperture for portrait mode

Step 4: This will bring up a slider under the photo. Dragging the slider to the left will decrease background blur. Move it to the right to increase the amount of background blur.

portrait mode slider

The slider can range from F 1.4 to F 16. The higher the value of F (aperture), the greater the amount of background blur.

Step 5: Once you have set the desired aperture value, select Done. The photo will be saved with the new changes.

How to Change Portrait Lighting Effects on Portrait Mode Photos

iPhone offers several Portrait Lighting effects to change the look of your photos. Lighting effects add elements to the background and subject, depending on the effect you choose. Here's how to change portrait lighting effects on your iPhone.

Step 1: Open the Photos app on your iPhone and navigate to the portrait mode photo you want to edit.

Step 2: Tap the Edit button on the top right corner of the screen.

Edit button on iPhone

Step 3: In the upper left corner of the screen, you will see a hexagonal button indicating lighting effects. Press it.

portrait lighting effect

Step 4: You will now see some options at the bottom of the screen which you can scroll through. The default option is Natural Light.

Lighting effects on iPhone

Scroll through the different options to change how your photo looks in portrait mode. You can try all the modes to see which one works for you.

Portrait light effect

Once you have selected the lighting effect, you can also use the slider below to adjust the intensity of the effect.

Portrait Slider

Step 5: Tap Done once you are done editing.

Done button

How to Change a Portrait Mode Photo to a Normal Photo

If you clicked on a portrait mode photo and then decided to remove the background blur because some important things are blurry, you can do that from the Photos app.

This is especially useful if you clicked on a photo with multiple people and some faces were blurred out.

Step 1: Open the Photos app on your iPhone and navigate to the portrait mode photo you want to edit.

Step 2: Tap the Edit button on the top right corner of the screen.

Edit button on iPhone

Step 3: You will see a yellow button with Portrait text on it in the top center. Press it. This will disable portrait mode.


Portrait button

Step 4: Select Done and your photo will be saved without blurring.

Ended

Edit portrait mode photos like a pro

You can tinker with these editing options to change the look of your photos however you want. If you want additional tools and options for clicking better photos, you can also check out the 5 best camera apps for iPhone.


autorelaxed

Advertisement

 
Top