How to Create a Portrait Watch Face on Your Apple Watch

Nothing refreshes your Apple Watch like choosing a new watch face. And with watchOS 8, you can now set a Portrait watch face.

The Photos watch face has always been a popular choice for anyone looking to truly customize their Apple Watch with a personal moment.

And starting with watchOS 8, Apple is adding a new watch face that showcases the unique Portrait images you snapped with an iPhone.

Let's take a look at how to create a Portrait watch face on your Apple Watch.

What Is a Portrait Photo?

Apple introduced Portrait photos with the iPhone 7. And the feature is now available on most modern iPhone models.

A Portrait photo features a unique depth of field, with the subject of the photo in clear focus and the background blurred. Apple also includes a wide variety of lighting effects that customize the final image.

Adding a Portrait Watch Face to Your Apple Watch

The Portrait watch face allows you to showcase those images on your Apple Watch. The feature will intelligently recognize faces and crop in to highlight the subject. As a fun touch, you can even use the Digital Crown to zoom in on the subject of the photo.

Related: How to Customize Your Apple Watch With Watch Faces

To add the watch face, you'll need to open up the companion Watch app on an iPhone running iOS 15 or later. Select the Face Gallery tab. The Portrait watch face is at the top of the page, tap it.

Image Gallery (4 Images)

On the watch face page, scroll down and select Choose Photos under Content. You'll then see all of your Portrait images. You can choose up to 25 images. Select Add at the top of the page when you're done to return to the main page. It will show the number of photos selected.

To further hone your watch faces, choose a photo to move and scale for a perfect result. You can also pick one of three different spots for the time to appear: behind the image at the top, in front of the image at the top, or in front of the image at the bottom.

After editing your photos, scroll down on the main Portrait watch face page. There are three selections for the style of the clock. Then there are two complication slots. The top one can display the date, or you can turn it off. The bottom complication is open to many more options.

Related: The Best Apple Watch Complications Worth Using

When you're all done, choose Add at the top of the page and that face will appear on your Apple Watch.

The face will rotate photos each time you raise your wrist or tap the screen.

Portrait Watch Face: A New Way to Enjoy the Apple Watch

The Portrait watch face in watchOS 8 is a great way to show off some of your most treasured photos on the Apple Watch.

And the unique new watch face type is far from the only new feature in watchOS 8 that helps improve the overall Apple Watch experience.

About The Author

Brent Dirks (193 Articles Published)

Born and raised in sunny west Texas, Brent graduated from Texas Tech University with a BA in journalism. He's been writing about technology for more than 5 years and enjoys all things Apple, accessories, and security.

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