How to Switch Selfie Orientation on iPhone 17
About This QuickTip
The iPhone 17’s selfie camera now lets you take landscape and portrait selfies without turning your phone. Here’s how it works - with a little help from my LEGO friend in Denmark!
Step by Step
Tap the new orientation button
Open the selfie camera and tap the new button, which will switch to landscape orientation. It's handy when you can't fit everyone in portrait mode.
Take your selfie holding iPhone portrait
Once you've gone into landscape mode, you can take a selfie. Because your phone is still being held portrait, you're not looking off to the side for the camera, you're looking straight ahead, so your eyes are looking at the photo.
Toggle between landscape and portrait
You can toggle between landscape and portrait selfies, zoomed in and zoomed out, using the two buttons on the bottom.
Good to know
- This is made possible because the iPhone 17 has got a square camera sensor. It's looking at a square picture of you the whole time, but it's displaying either a portrait or landscape crop based on what you'd like.
Questions This Answers
How do I take a landscape selfie on iPhone 17 without turning my phone?
In the selfie camera, tap the new button to switch to landscape orientation, then take your selfie whilst still holding your phone portrait.
Why can the iPhone 17 take landscape selfies whilst held upright?
The iPhone 17 has got a square camera sensor, so it's looking at a square picture of you the whole time and displays either a portrait or landscape crop based on what you'd like.
Can I zoom out on the iPhone 17 selfie camera?
Yes. You can toggle between landscape and portrait selfies, zoomed in and zoomed out, using the two buttons on the bottom.
Transcript
Hi, Jacob here, and in this QuickTip video, I’m going to show you how the new selfie camera works on the iPhone 17 series - where you can take landscape and portrait selfies without ever having to turn your phone.
The fact that I’m stood here in the wind, in the cold, squinting at the camera, is because I’ve got a friend that I want to get in the selfie - and I just can’t fit my friend in portrait mode because he’s massive!
So, what I’m going to do is tap this new button, which will switch the landscape orientation. And look - it’s my giant LEGO minifigure friend here in Billund at the LEGO headquarters. Of course, I couldn’t come all this way and not find a way to make a QuickTip about this figure, surely!
So, now I’ve gone into landscape mode, I can take a selfie. And what’s nice here is that because my phone is still being held portrait, I’m not looking off to the side like this for the camera - I’m looking straight ahead. So, my eyes are looking at the photo.
And then, of course, I can toggle between landscape and portrait selfies - zoomed in and zoomed out - using those two buttons on the bottom there.
This is made possible because the iPhone 17 has got a square camera sensor. So actually, it’s looking at a square picture of you the whole time, but it’s displaying either a portrait or landscape crop based on what you’d like.
I’ve only been using it for two weeks, but already this selfie camera feels so good compared to the previous one, and I really like the customisation we’ve got with it.
And so, from me and Billund, that’s it for this QuickTip. But if you want to learn loads more about what your iPhone can do, check out my YouTube channel down below and make sure you subscribe while you’re there.
And now, I’m off to LEGO House - I’ll see you next time.
Technical details: This QuickTip was recorded on an iPhone 17 Pro Max running iOS 26 in October 2025.
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