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Relighting, on iPhone and iPad

Move the light
after the shot.

A Portrait photo carries the depth your iPhone measured when it took it. Rake reads that depth, works out the shape of the scene, and lets you place lights that wrap around your subject and cast real shadows.

iPhone & iPad iOS 17 Free

Download on the App Store

On your device, with no network calls of its own
A tabby cat on a tiled step, relit by a warm, low light from the upper left that catches the ear and one side of the face and leaves the rest of the scene in shadow
ONE WARM LIGHT, PLACED AFTERWARDS
The same cat photo as it was taken, in flat daylight, shown by holding Compare
AS SHOT
The relit photo, with the key light marked K in the corner and the fill and rim marked F and R
RELIT
The controls open under the photo: four looks, the key, fill and rim lights, and the Power, Depth and Size sliders
THE CONTROLS

How it works

Real depth, so real shadows

A filter brightens pixels. Rake lights a surface: it knows how far away every part of the picture is, so the light falls off, wraps around a face and is blocked by whatever stands in its way.

I

Start from a look

Rembrandt, Butterfly, Split and Softbox — four classic portrait setups, placed around your subject in one tap. A look is a starting point; change any light and it is yours.

II

Three lights, like a studio

The key makes the shadows. The fill lifts them. The rim sits behind your subject and draws a bright edge along hair and shoulders.

III

Move them with your finger

Drag a light across the photo. Pinch to pull it toward you, or push it back behind your subject.

IV

Shape every light

Power in stops, how far in front or behind it sits, its size — small for crisp shadows, large for soft ones — its warmth, and whether it casts shadows at all.

V

See the difference

Hold Compare to see the photo as it was taken. Share saves or sends the relit photo at its full resolution.

VI

Any photo, too

Portrait photos relight most faithfully. Any other photo gets its depth estimated on your device; the light is convincing and the shadows are less exact.

On the bigger screen

Room for the photo

On iPad the photo gets the screen, and the controls fold away when you want to judge the whole picture. Turn it on its side and they move to the left, out of the light's way.

Rake on iPad with the controls folded away and the relit cat photo filling the screen
THE CONTROLS FOLDED AWAY
Rake on iPad held on its side, with the looks, lights and sliders in a column on the left and the photo on the right
ON ITS SIDE, CONTROLS ON THE LEFT

New to lighting? A short guide opens the first time you relight a photo and explains every light and control. The support page answers the rest, including how to keep a photo's depth when you AirDrop it.

Your photos stay yours

Photos come in through the system picker, one at a time, and are relit in memory on your device. Nothing is uploaded, because there is nowhere to upload to: no accounts, no analytics, no advertising and no networking code. Free, with no credits, purchases or subscription.

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