AR Portrait: using the iPhone LiDAR sensor for creative portraits

01What LiDAR adds to a portrait

LiDAR measures distance. It scans the scene, detects planes and surfaces, and tells the app where the subject stands compared with the background. With this information DSLR Camera can place virtual elements between the two: in front of the landscape, behind the person.

The classic example is a place name that appears to stand behind your subject on a beach, with the person overlapping the letters naturally.

02Place text and stickers in the scene

Open AR Portrait, frame your subject and add an element: a text or a graphic. Move it in the scene until the depth looks right, adjust its opacity, and adjust the blur of the background. The integrated 3D editor lets you work on the composition before you save.

Because the elements live in the scene, you can change your position and recompose, instead of rebuilding a mask afterwards.

03Get a clean result

Leave some distance between the subject and the background: depth separation is what makes the effect convincing. Choose short words and bold shapes, which remain readable when partly covered. Even light helps the sensor and the segmentation.

AR Portrait requires an iPhone or iPad with a LiDAR sensor. On other devices you can still work on depth with Portrait PRO and its adjustable blur.

Discover the other creative tools in the DSLR Camera overview.

Start with a simple depth scene

On a supported LiDAR device, choose one person in front of a background that is visibly separated in space. Begin in even light and add one virtual element. Move slightly and inspect whether depth placement remains plausible before building a complex scene.

Compare hair, glasses and thin edges in the saved image. Reflective or transparent surfaces and complex outlines are useful stress cases, not guaranteed successes. If depth separation looks wrong, simplify the composition or use a normal portrait. Owning an iPhone or iPad alone does not imply LiDAR support.