Edit portraits on iPad
In the Photos app, you can change and adjust the lighting effects, depth of field, and focus point of your portraits.
Change the Portrait Lighting effect
You can apply, change, or remove the Portrait Lighting effects in portraits. You can also edit portraits taken on other devices.
Go to the Photos app
on your iPad.
Tap a portrait photo to open it, then tap
.
Tap
, then drag
to choose a lighting effect.
Natural Light: The face is in sharp focus against a blurred background.
Studio Light: The face is brightly lit, and the photo has an overall clean look.
Contour Light: The face has dramatic shadows with highlights and lowlights.
Stage Light: The face is spotlit against a deep black background.
Stage Light Mono: The effect is like Stage Light, but the photo is in classic black and white.
High-Key Light Mono: Creates a grayscale subject on a white background—iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation or later) and iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation or later) only.
Drag the slider left or right to adjust the intensity of the lighting effect.
Tap Done to save your changes.
Note: To remove Portrait Lighting from a photo, tap , then tap Portrait at the top of the screen.
Blur the background in portraits
On models that support Depth Control, use the Depth Control slider to adjust the level of background blur in your portraits.
![The Edit screen of a Portrait mode photo. A portrait photo is in the center of the screen. On the right side of the screen is a slider to adjust the Depth Adjustment setting. On the left side of the screen are the Portrait, Adjust, Filters, and Crop buttons. The Portrait button is selected.](https://help.apple.com/assets/6758C0F05C38883A170CE6F4/6758C0F55C38883A170CE700/en_US/53a66e5753f58634669ce2fb8646b6db.png)
Go to the Photos app
on your iPad.
Tap a portrait photo to open it, then tap
.
Drag the Depth Control slider to increase or decrease the background blur effect.
A white dot marks the original depth value for the photo.
Tap Done.
Change the focus point of a portrait
On your iPad, you can change the subject (or focus point) in a portrait taken on an iPhone 13 or later, with iOS 16 or later using Depth and Focus Control. When you select a new subject, the depth of field (or blur) automatically adjusts so the new subject appears sharp and in focus. Make sure that the new subject isn’t blurred or too far in the distance.
Go to the Photos app
on your iPad.
Tap a portrait photo to open it, then tap
.
Tap a new subject or focus point in the photo.
Tap Done.