How to Convert a Photo to PDF from iPhone and iPad

Nov 25, 2017 - 20 Comments

How to convert photo to PDF on iOS

You can convert any photo on your iPhone or iPad into a PDF file if need be. Typically this would be necessary for compatibility purposes only, since the default file type of a photo in iOS is a JPEG and already widely compatible. Nonetheless if you need to convert a photo into a PDF in iOS, this tutorial will show you exactly how to do it.

We’ll demonstrate how to convert a photo into a PDF file on an iPhone or iPad.

This method will convert a photo into a PDF file for sharing over email, messages, or uploading to iCloud, this uses a variation of the hidden Save As PDF trick in iOS.

How to Convert a Photo to PDF to Share from iPhone or iPad

You can convert a photo to a PDF to share it from iOS, or save it to iCloud Drive. This uses the trick for saving as a PDF using a secret iOS gesture or you can use the 3D Touch method instead, either way you will convert a photo to a PDF file:

  1. Open the Photos app and choose the picture you want to convert to a PDF
  2. Tap on the Sharing button and then choose “Print” from the sharing option action menu
  3. Converting a photo to PDF on iOS

  4. At the Printer Options screen, use a spreading gesture on the photo preview to access the secret Save PDF option
  5. Converting a photo to PDF on iOS

  6. Choose to share the converted photo as PDF via Message, Mail, placing it into Notes or another app, or choose “Add To iCloud Drive” to save the converted photo as PDF to iCloud
  7. Converting a photo to PDF on iOS

This will save a photo or picture as a PDF file, which can then be saved locally, shared, uploaded to iCloud Drive, or used for whatever other purposes.

Remember that the default file type of iOS photos is a JPEG which is widely compatible with virtually any scenario, so if you’re just looking to exchange and share pictures there’s no reason to convert a photo to PDF first. However, sometimes some web forms, printers, digitization handlers, or documentation requests require a PDF file, and there are obviously myriad circumstances where a PDF is necessary as well.

So, now you know how to convert photos to PDF directly on the iPhone or iPad. Easy, right? Happy Converting!

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Posted by: Paul Horowitz in iPad, iPhone, Tips & Tricks

20 Comments

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  1. Pearl Yadav says:

    It is great

  2. Michael says:

    On ios 13 print no longer allows a second share button. This is no longer possible

  3. Dave says:

    Agree so easy

    Do we know how to add password to the saved PDF document??

  4. Mauricio Pedroza says:

    Wow, you literally just saved me hours of scanning…it’s been years and you’re still helping people out.

    Thanks!!!

  5. Kelly says:

    David,
    I’ve heard average in common usage for mean, median or mode and Oxford at least backs me up on this…

    “a number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, in particular the mode, median, or (most commonly) the mean, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the values in the set by their number.”

    So, maybe don’t continue the two year old cycle of being a*holes just because you want “average” to only refer to the Mean?

  6. David says:

    Curmudgeon,

    Before you belittle someone else for supposed stupidity, you should get one of your “facts” straight. Average IQ doesn’t mean that half of the people are higher and the other half are lower. That would be MEDIAN IQ.

    The average IQ of three people could be 100, as follows: 80 (person A), 110 (person B) and 110 (person C).

  7. Linette Navarro-Perez says:

    THIS WAS GREAT!! I am not as savvy on the computer as my younger counter parts or my own children. This was simple to understand and follow. Thanks so much. :)

  8. Jaime says:

    Amazing tip! Thank you so much. I can’t believe how much time you saved me :)

  9. Mehmet says:

    Can anyone explain what a spreading gesture is folks i just roam my fingers on the screen and nothing happens

  10. Kate says:

    Great info! How do I prevent this feature from cropping my photos? I find that almost all my photos are cropped…

  11. CoolTip says:

    Thanks for this post! It works on my iPhone 7

  12. dlroche says:

    Is there a way to edit these files?

  13. Previous Jeter says:

    Worked fine for me🤷‍♂️

  14. Makensi Caldwell says:

    Actually I have to agree with comments by Richard. The instructions given at the top weren’t working on my iPad. I was looking for comments section so I could say it didn’t work and found the useful additional notes by Richard, from which I was able to convert my photo to PDF.

  15. Stacey says:

    Richard Warner, your ‘go by name’ is very appropriate.

  16. Lance says:

    Nice tip, but I think iOS dependent.
    Not for my iPhone 5 under 10.3.3 in any case :(

  17. Ammar says:

    3. You can just use 3D touch instead…

  18. Richard "Dick" Warner says:

    Once again, you left out several necessary details, at least for it to work on my iPhone 6 (IOS 11.1.1.2):
    1. After selecting the photo and pressing the “Share” button, I must scroll horizontally through the Share Options to find the “Print” button.
    2. After using the “spread” gesture on the the Printer Options page, I must press another “Share” button to get the screen shown in your step 4.
    3. On my iPhone, that page, the Icon labelled “Add to iCloud Drive” is replaced by a folder Icon labelled “Save to Files”

    • Curmudgeon says:

      This works great as described, and the instructions as written worked fine for me and I was able to immediately convert a photo to PDF file by following the instructions. I use iPhone and iPad successfully, every day.

      I think Little Richard might have other problems. I think maybe Little Richard has a hard time reading the articles and following instructions, which you know, some people have a hard time with that. Keep in mind the average IQ is 100, that means half of the people are lower than 100, and half are higher. 100 is not particularly high, Koko the Gorilla had an IQ of 90 for example, and that was a gorilla. We can assume a lot about Little Richard by his inability to follow directions. iPad and iPhone may be too advanced for low IQ folks, though I think Koko the Gorilla could use an iPad and convert a PDF if given the chance. I think Koko is smarter than the Confused Commenter.

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