How to take progress photos on iPhone
iPhone cameras are great at making photos look nice, which is the opposite of what a progress photo needs. Here’s how to keep them honest and private.
Short answer
Use the rear camera’s 1× lens in Photo mode (not Portrait), turn off filters, prop the phone at chest height and use the 3- or 10-second timer. To keep photos out of iCloud Photos and Memories, take them in a dedicated app like ProgressLens or move them to the Hidden album.
Camera settings
- Photo mode, 1×. Not 0.5× (wide distortion) or Portrait (background blur, smoothing).
- No filter or Photographic Style changes between check-ins.
- Lock focus and exposure by long-pressing on your body in the frame.
- Timer: tap the arrow at the top, then the timer icon, choose 3 s or 10 s.
Keep them out of your library
Photos taken with the Camera app go into your library, sync to iCloud Photos if it’s on, and can show up in Memories, Featured Photos and widgets. You can move them to the Hidden album (locked with Face ID), or take them inside an app that stores them separately. ProgressLens saves check-ins in its own storage, not in Photos. On iOS 18 and later you can also long-press an app icon and choose Require Face ID.
Using an iPad
An iPad propped on a shelf gives you a large screen to check your position, which helps with the ghost overlay. ProgressLens runs on iPad too.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do progress photos in ProgressLens go to iCloud?
No. They stay in the app. Create a backup ZIP in Settings → Data & backup if you want a copy in Files or iCloud Drive.
How do I hide progress photos on iPhone?
In Photos, select them and choose Hide. The Hidden album is locked by Face ID by default on recent iOS versions.