To convert iPhone photos to PDF you usually have to deal with HEIC first. Starting with newer iPhones, the Camera app often saves pictures in HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) rather than JPEG. HEIC files are smaller on your phone, but many websites, including OurPDFPal's browser converter, accept JPG, PNG, or WEBP — not HEIC.
Once the photos are in a format a converter can read, you can combine them into a single PDF for a school upload, an insurance claim, or a shared set of signed pages. The work is: get compatible image files, put them in order, choose a page size, and preview the result.
How to tell if your photos are HEIC
Open the Photos app, select a picture, swipe up or open the details, and look at the filename or format. If you copy the photo to a computer, a HEIC file often ends in .HEIC or .HEIF. JPEG files end in .JPG or .JPEG.
You can also check the iPhone setting that controls new photos: go to Settings > Camera > Formats. High Efficiency saves HEIC. Most Compatible saves JPEG. Switching to Most Compatible does not convert pictures you already took; it only changes photos you capture after that.
Turn existing HEIC photos into JPG or PNG
You do not need to change your camera setting just to make one PDF, but you do need copies the converter can read.
- Share sheet: select the photos, tap Share, and send them to Files, Mail, or a computer. Many share destinations automatically offer a more compatible version. If you are asked whether to keep the originals or use most compatible files, choose the compatible option for this task.
- Mac: open the HEIC file in Preview and export it as JPEG or PNG. You can also drag photos out of the Photos app; if a destination cannot use HEIC, macOS often creates a JPEG.
- Windows: a computer without HEIC support may refuse to preview the file. In that case, export JPEGs from the iPhone or iCloud, rather than fighting the codec on the PC.
- Going forward: Settings > Camera > Formats > Most Compatible is the simplest long-term fix if you regularly upload photos to websites that do not mention HEIC.
The OurPDFPal Android app can open HEIC directly in its Image to PDF tool. The website cannot, so browser users should convert to JPG or PNG first.
Create the PDF on the OurPDFPal website
- Open JPG to PDF.
- Upload your JPG, PNG, or WEBP files. You can add up to 30 images, with a total size of 80 MB.
- Drag the thumbnails into the order the pages should appear, or leave Keep upload order selected if you already sorted them.
- Choose a page size: A4 or Letter for documents you will print or submit, or Fit to image if you want each photo to keep its own shape.
- Pick margins (None, Small, or Medium) and orientation (Auto, Portrait, or Landscape).
- Press Create PDF, download it, and open it on your phone or computer.
You get five free conversions a day on the website. Files you upload are deleted automatically after about 15 to 20 minutes, so save the download before you close the tab.
If you are photographing paper rather than saving existing camera-roll pictures, scanning a document to PDF with your phone has lighting and crop tips.
What to check in an iPhone-to-PDF file
- Clarity. Pinch-zoom names, totals, and signatures. A HEIC original can be sharp and the page still look soft if the photo itself was taken in dim light.
- Rotation. iPhones sometimes store a rotation flag that other programs misread. If a page opens sideways, run Rotate PDF and save a corrected copy.
- Page size. A vertical phone photo placed on A4 with no margins usually looks fine. A wide panorama on a portrait page will have large empty bands; use Landscape or Fit to image instead.
- File size. Twelve full-resolution iPhone photos can produce a large PDF. If a portal rejects it, compress the result with Compress PDF or see what to do when a portal says your PDF is too large.
Privacy notes for photos that include IDs or other people
A PDF of a passport, driver's license, or medical page is still a copy of a sensitive document. Send it only through the channel you were asked to use, and avoid group chats. If you need to share the file with one person, password protecting the PDF adds a barrier, and you should send that password by a different method than the file itself.
Uploads to OurPDFPal travel over HTTPS. Even so, do not upload documents that must never leave your device. On Android, several image-to-PDF actions can run on the phone itself.
Live Photos, screenshots, and bursts
A Live Photo is still a still image plus a short clip. The converter needs the still image, exported as JPG or PNG. Burst shots should be culled first; pick the sharpest frame of each page instead of uploading every frame in the burst.
Screenshots of documents are usually already PNG or JPG, so they upload to the website without a HEIC conversion, but a screenshot of a screen is almost always lower quality than exporting the original file or photographing the paper carefully.
If you regularly convert camera-roll pages, creating an album named for the task (for example “Visa copies”) keeps the HEIC-to-JPG exports from getting lost among unrelated pictures.
Frequently asked questions
Can I convert HEIC to PDF on the OurPDFPal website?
Not directly. The website's JPG to PDF tool accepts JPG, PNG, and WEBP. Export or convert the HEIC photos to one of those formats first, then upload them. The Android app can read HEIC files.
Why do websites reject my iPhone photos?
They are often HEIC files. Many upload forms still expect JPEG or PNG. Convert the photos, or set the Camera app to Most Compatible so new pictures are saved as JPEG.
Will converting to PDF reduce the photo quality?
The images are placed onto pages. If you start from a sharp photo and avoid extreme compression later, the PDF should stay readable. A dark, shaky original will not suddenly become clear.
How many iPhone photos can I put in one PDF?
On the website you can combine up to 30 JPG, PNG, or WEBP images at a time, with a total upload size of 80 MB. For a longer set, make more than one PDF and merge those PDFs if needed.
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