If you have not yet set up your tripod, start with the main guide to phone tripod photography. This page answers one question: how far to stand from the camera for a full-body photo, and how high to put the phone. The numbers below are rules of thumb for most phones, so always check your own screen.
How far should you stand from the camera for a full-body photo?
Put the lens at about waist to chest height, keep the phone level, and stand far enough back that you fit in a vertical frame with a little room above your head and below your feet. The table gives a starting point, which you can adjust.
| Lens | About how far to stand | About how high the phone | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1x | 2 to 2.5 m (7 to 8 ft) | 0.9 to 1.2 m (3 to 4 ft) | Natural proportions |
| 0.5x | 1 to 1.5 m (3 to 5 ft) | 0.9 to 1.2 m (3 to 4 ft) | Fits more in, stretches the edges |
Every number is approximate. A taller person needs more distance, and a wider room lets you step back farther. The 1x lens is slightly wider on some iPhone models than on others, so use the screen as the final judge.
If you are working out the pose and framing as well as the distance, the guide to full-body photos of yourself covers both. To find your own distance, set the phone at the height in the table, stand at the near end of the range and take a test photo. If your feet or the top of your head touch the edge, move back one step and try again. Once it fits, mark the spot on the floor so you can return to it.
Why does height matter more than you think?
A camera that is too high looks down on you, which shortens your legs and makes your head look larger. A camera that sits too low and points up does the opposite and stresses the chin. A lens at about waist to chest height, with the phone level, keeps your proportions closest to how you look in person.
Keep the phone level rather than tilted. If it does not fit everything in, step back instead of angling the lens. A level phone also keeps walls and doorframes straight. Turning on Grid and Level in the Settings app under Camera makes any tilt easy to see.
Should you use the 1x or the 0.5x lens?
Use 1x when you can. It gives the most natural proportions and the most detail. The 0.5x lens fits more into the frame from a short distance, which helps in a small space, but it stretches anything near the edges.
If you do use 0.5x, keep your body toward the middle of the frame and keep your hands and feet away from the edges. Straight lines near the edges may bend, so avoid placing doorframes or furniture there. Switch back to 1x as soon as the room allows. Not every iPhone has a 0.5x lens, so if yours does not, use the space tips below instead.
Should you shoot vertical or horizontal?
For a single person, vertical is usually the better fit. It matches your shape and lets the lens sit closer. Horizontal makes sense when the setting matters as much as you, such as a view behind you, and then you will need to stand farther back for the same height.
Decide before you set the height and mark your spot. Changing the orientation changes what fits, so a rotated phone means a new test frame.
What if you are short on space?
Use what the room gives you. A few small changes can add distance without moving the furniture.
- Use a doorway or hallway. Set the phone in a doorway and shoot into the room, or put it at one end of a hallway and stand toward the middle.
- Switch to 0.5x. It fits more in from a short distance, with edge stretch as the price.
- Shoot at an angle. A diagonal across the room is longer than a straight line to the wall.
- Go outside. A yard, a garage or a quiet street often gives the distance a room cannot.
How can the camera fire when you are in frame?
Once the distance is right, the shutter is the last problem. You can use the timer, the Camera Remote app on an Apple Watch or AirPods on supported models. Or you can use an app that fires when it sees you.
ViaCamera is an iPhone app with an AI-BODY mode that takes the photo when it sees you in frame. Tap the shutter once to start and walk to the spot you marked at your chosen distance. It then keeps taking photos each time it sees you in frame, until you tap again to stop, so you can pose without walking back to the phone.
For the other ways to fire the shutter, read the guide to tripod photos without a remote. If you have no tripod, prop your phone at the same height.
