In this video, I delve into the fascinating world of Portrait Mode on iOS 17, showing you how to re-focus your older photos using this incredible feature. Don’t think it’s limited to just iPhone 15; I’ll prove that Portrait Mode is a game-changer for portrait photography on various Apple devices. Join me as I demonstrate how to effortlessly change the focus and breathe new life into your cherished photos.
Play Video
In iOS 17 you can now go back to old Portrait Mode photographs (even taken before you update your phone) and you can change the focus mode on those images – which means that you can save pictures that didn’t work or you can create new exciting compositions using existing photographs.
Here I’ve got a photo that I took earlier in the year when I was in Boston, and it’s a Portrait Mode photo.
So when I press Edit you get that Orange Box around my face which shows that that’s the part of the image to focus on.
Of course I can change how much background blur there is by using that slider at the bottom, just like I could always do, but what’s brand new now in iOS 17 is if I tap on the background of my photo the focus will shift.
So now my face is blurred and the background is in focus instead.
I can change this to any part of my image, and as I tap around I can get the perfect shot.
This is really useful if perhaps you wear glasses or have hair that wasn’t quite in focus in the original photograph, because now you can zoom in and you can go to the edge of that area and make that in focus and that portrait mode effect will look far clearer than it did before.
And this is another cool cool thing in iOS 17 that makes your phone better than ever.
All of my content is completely free to watch. However, to create these videos I require a steady stream of caffeine!
If you've found this #QuickTip helpful then please do consider buying me a coffee. Thank you.