Use Center Stage to keep you centred in the camera frame

Center Stage helps keep people in the frame when using your camera. On Mac and iPad, it helps keep you centred as you move around in video calls. On iPhone, it can also rotate and zoom out automatically when taking a photo.

Use Center Stage on iPhone

The Center Stage front camera on iPhone 17 models and iPhone Air automatically zooms and rotates based on who is in frame when taking photos and keeps you centred in video calls.

Use Center Stage for photos on iPhone

  1. Make sure your device meets the Center Stage system requirements below.

  2. Open the Camera app.

  3. Press the camera chooser buttonnull to switch to the front camera.

    Camera app using the front camera on iPhone
  4. To change settings, tap the Center Stage buttonnull, then turn the following on or off:

    • Auto Zoom: Automatically expands the frame when a face is detected at the edge of the frame.

    • Auto Rotate: Automatically rotates the frame to landscape to include more people in the frame.

If you tap the selfie zoom buttonnull or change aspect ratio buttonnull to manually zoom or rotate the frame, Center Stage turns off. To turn Center Stage back on, tap the Center Stage buttonnull, then turn on Auto Zoom and Auto Rotate.

Use Center Stage for video calls on iPhone

  1. Make sure that your device meets the Center Stage system requirements below.

  2. Open the FaceTime app.

  3. Center Stage is on by default and keeps you in the camera frame. If you want to turn it off, tap the video thumbnail of yourself, tap Camera Effects, then tap Center Stage.

Use Center Stage on Mac

  1. Make sure your device meets the Center Stage system requirements below.

  2. Open your video app, such as FaceTime.

  3. Turn Center Stage on or off:

    • macOS Sonoma 14 or later: From the Video menunull in the menu bar, choose Center Stage.

      Center Stage menu item in the Video menu on Mac
    • macOS Ventura 13 or macOS Monterey 12: Click the Control Centre buttonnull in the menu bar, click Video Effects, then click Center Stage.

When using Center Stage with Continuity Camera, you can also choose which rear camera of your iPhone to use: click the arrow next to Center Stage in the menu, then choose Main or Ultra Wide.

Manual framing adjustment

Instead of having Center Stage keep you centred in the frame, you can zoom, pan and recentre manually. Turn off Center Stage, then move your pointer over the preview in the Video menunull to reveal the controls. Find out more about manual framing adjustments and other video features.

Manual adjustments in the Video menu’s video preview

Use Center Stage on iPad

  1. Make sure your iPad meets the Center Stage system requirements below.

  2. Open your video app, such as FaceTime.

  3. Open Control Centre by swiping down from the top right-hand corner of your screen.

  4. Turn Center Stage on or off:

    1. Tap the [App Name] Controls button at the top of Control Centre. For example, if using FaceTime, tap FaceTime Controls. (In iPadOS 17 or earlier, tap the Video Effects button instead.)

    2. Tap the Center Stage button in the additional controls that appear.

      Center Stage button in Control Centre on iPad

During a FaceTime call, you can instead tap the video thumbnail of yourself, tap the Camera Effects button, then tap the Center Stage buttonnull.

Center Stage system requirements

Center Stage is available when using these devices with a compatible app that supports this feature.

iPhone

  • iPhone 17 using its front-facing camera

  • iPhone Air using its front-facing camera

  • iPhone 17 Pro using its front-facing camera

iPad

  • iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation) or later, or iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation) or later, using its front-facing camera

  • iPad Air (5th generation) or later using its front-facing camera

  • iPad (9th generation) or later using its front-facing camera

  • iPad mini (6th generation) or later using its front-facing camera

Mac

  • Mac using Continuity Camera with iPhone 11 or later (excluding iPhone SE models)

  • MacBook Pro introduced in 2024 or later using its built-in camera

  • MacBook Air introduced in 2025 or later using its built-in camera

  • iMac introduced in 2024 or later using its built-in camera

  • Mac using the built-in camera of an Apple Studio Display

Find out more

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