Guide

How to take a panorama with an iPhone and share it as an immersive view

Open Camera, switch to Pano, hold the phone upright and turn slowly in place. Then share it in an app that lets viewers look around in it, such as OradaOl, instead of as a flat photo.

Step by step: shooting in Pano mode

Open the Camera app and swipe to Pano. It is at the far end of the mode list.
Hold the phone upright (portrait). Do not turn it sideways. Holding it upright gives the panorama more height.
Press the shutter and turn. Keep the arrow on the horizontal line and turn your body slowly and steadily around your own axis. Turn yourself, not just the phone.
Tap again to finish. You can stop whenever you have turned far enough. The panorama is saved to your photo library.

Common mistakes

Turning too fast. The iPhone asks you to slow down, and visible seams can appear.
Letting the arrow drift off the line. The horizon becomes wavy and the top and bottom of the panorama are cropped.
Moving subjects. People or cars passing by can appear twice or only partly. Choose a calm moment.
Swinging the phone at arm’s length. Keep the phone close to your body so the centre stays fixed and the stitching stays clean.
Low light. You can shoot at night, but the image may blur while you turn. Pick a well-lit place and turn even more slowly.

Is iPhone Pano mode a full 360° sphere?

No. Pano mode produces a horizontal strip that wraps around you. You can look around, but the area directly above your head and below your feet is not included.

If you want a full sphere that includes the sky and the ground, you need a dual-lens 360° camera, such as an Insta360 or a Ricoh Theta. These capture every direction in a single shot and export an equirectangular (2:1) image.

Sharing it as an immersive view

If you post a Pano mode panorama to Instagram or send it in a typical chat app, it is shown as a flat image, often cropped. To let people look around in it, use an app built for panoramas.

OradaOl is a free social network for 360° panoramas, on iPhone, Apple Vision Pro and the web. Panoramas from the iPhone Camera app’s Pano mode can be imported in seconds.

Install OradaOl from the App Store, or open the web app at oradaol.app/app.
Sign in with Apple, Google or email.
Choose your panorama from your photo library and publish it. Faces are blurred automatically on your device before upload, and you can add a location and ambient sound.

Viewers on a phone turn it or drag to look around. On Apple Vision Pro, the panorama surrounds them at true scale. In the web app, it is shown in 360° in the browser.

Ideas for better panoramas

Return to the same spot in different seasons and link the panoramas with Time Gate to show how the place changes.
Pin the places you shoot with Marks and publish them as a Route.
Record the ambient sound of the moment so viewers hear the place as well as see it.
Choose a spot with something interesting in every direction, since viewers can look all the way around.

Download on the App Store Try it on the web

FAQ

How do I take a 360° photo with an iPhone?

Open the Camera app, switch to Pano, hold the phone upright, press the shutter and turn slowly in place, keeping the arrow on the line. Tap again to finish. The result is a horizontal panorama, not a full sphere.

Should I hold the phone horizontally for a panorama?

No. Hold it upright (portrait) and turn your body around your own axis.

Can I take a panorama with the front camera?

No. Pano mode uses the rear camera.

Where can I share an iPhone panorama so people can look around?

In an app that shows panoramas immersively, such as OradaOl, which is free on iPhone, Apple Vision Pro and the web.

More guides

Updated: 2026-10-27