How to Use iPhone Portrait Mode for Beautiful Blurry-Background Photos

Portrait Mode is a camera feature on iPhone that separates the subject from the background, blurring the background to create a shallow depth-of-field effect — the professional look you see in magazine photographs and formal portraits.

The result is called "bokeh" (boh-keh), where the person or object you are photographing is crisp and sharp while the background becomes a soft blur. This makes subjects stand out dramatically and gives photos a polished, professional feel.

Portrait Mode is available on iPhone 7 Plus and newer models. On iPhone X and newer, it works on both the rear camera and the selfie camera, so you can take Portrait Mode selfies too.

After taking a Portrait Mode photo, you can adjust the blur strength — called "Depth Control" — right in the Photos app. You can make the background more or less blurry after the shot, or remove the blur entirely. The original depth information is saved with the photo.

Portrait Mode also includes several lighting effects: Natural Light (the default), Studio Light (cleaner shadows), Contour Light (dramatic highlights), Stage Light (solid black background), Stage Light Mono, and High Key Mono. Try them all to see which suits the moment.