This iOS Trick Makes Selfies So Much Better

Taking a selfie on iPhone is very easy. But by default, the resulting image can be… confusing because it’s upside down. Here’s how to get a more natural shot.

Selfies can be very tricky little things that need to be handled well. Your phone’s camera never seems to capture what you see well, sometimes it makes it downright intimidating. But don’t worry, it’s not your fault. It’s about the configuration of your iPhone. Explanation.

iOS 15 introduces a number of new photo and video features, such as ProRes for the iPhone 13 Pro and an improved version of QuickTake, but the key to the perfect selfie really exists with iOS 14. The front camera mirror is a small feature, sure, but it makes a big difference.

Here’s what you need to know about this option and how you can use it to enhance your selfies.

What does front camera mirroring actually do?

You may have already seen this setting in your camera settings and wondered what it could be used for. When you activate it and switch to the front camera, it takes a picture of your mirror image instead of flipping everything around like a camera usually does. Some people don’t like this flip because the picture you take doesn’t match what you see in the viewfinder.

It doesn’t change the selfie much, but I prefer the more familiar upside-down version of the face I see in the mirror. Just keep in mind that for others who can’t see your face in the mirror, these selfies may seem a bit odd because it’s an upside-down version of what they’re used to seeing.

How to use the front camera mirroring feature on your iPhone

On a device running iOS 14 or later, front camera mirroring is disabled by default. Here’s how to activate it:

1. Open “Settings”on your iPhone.
2. Select Camera from the list of options.
3. Turn on Front Camera Mirroring (on iPhone X S, iPhone X R and later) or Selfie Mirroring (iPhone X and earlier).

Then return to the Camera app, turn your device in front of you and take a selfie. The saved image will look like you see it in the mirror, not upside down as usual. Note that the front camera automatically flips the viewfinder, so this setting only affects the image saved in your photo library.

Of course, you can follow the same instructions to disable “Front Camera Mirroring”and return to the default operation.