Every method below is free and built into the phone except the last. They differ in how many taps they take, whether they handle a batch, and how much quality survives.
1. The print trick, which is the fastest
This is the one worth memorising. It works from Photos, Files, Safari, Mail and almost anything else with a share sheet.
- Open Photos and select the photo. For several, tap Select and tap each one.
- Tap the share icon, the square with the arrow.
- Scroll down the share sheet and tap Print.
- On the print screen, pinch outwards on the page preview at the bottom with two fingers, as though zooming into a photo. A long press works too.
- The preview opens full screen. It is now a PDF. Tap share again and choose Save to Files.
You do not need a printer configured. The dialog will say No Printer Selected and the gesture works anyway, because iOS generates the print preview locally before it ever looks for a printer.
2. Through the Files app
If the image is already saved as a file rather than sitting in Photos, this is one tap shorter and produces a cleaner result.
- Open Files and find the image.
- Long press it.
- Tap Create PDF.
The PDF appears in the same folder, next to the original, named the same. Select several images first and you get one PDF containing all of them, in the order Files lists them.
To get a photo into Files in the first place: from Photos, share, then Save to Files. Which means for a single photo this route is longer than the print trick. It wins when the images are already in Files, for example downloaded from Mail or AirDropped.
3. Through the Books app
- Select the photo in Photos, tap share.
- Choose Books.
- Books opens and imports the photo as a PDF into your library.
- To get it out, long press the item in Books, tap Share, then Save to Files.
Two taps to make, four to retrieve. Fine if you only want to read it on the phone, clumsy if you need to send it anywhere. Its one genuine advantage is that Books syncs across your devices without you doing anything.
4. A Shortcut, if you do this weekly
The Shortcuts app can build a one tap version. Open Shortcuts, create a new shortcut, and add these three actions in order.
- Select Photos, with Select Multiple turned on.
- Make PDF.
- Save File, with Ask Where to Save turned on.
Name it, then add it to your home screen or ask Siri for it by name. Turn on Show in Share Sheet in the shortcut's settings and it also appears whenever you share a photo, which makes it the shortest path of all.
The Make PDF action has a Preserve Metadata toggle and nothing else. There is no quality or page size control, so this is convenient rather than precise.
5. With an app
Everything above is a workaround for the fact that iOS has no photo to PDF feature. A dedicated app is the direct version: pick photos, reorder them, pick a page size, export. No pinch gestures, no library to fish things out of.
Which one to use
| Method | Taps | Handles a batch | Page size control | Where the PDF lands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Print trick | 5 | Yes | No | Wherever you share it |
| Files, Create PDF | 3 | Yes | No | Same folder |
| Books | 3 to make, 4 to get out | No | No | Books library |
| Shortcut | 1 after setup | Yes | No | You choose |
| App | 2 | Yes | Yes | You choose |
Short version: print trick for a one off, Files if the image is already a file, a Shortcut if it is a weekly job, an app if it is a daily one.
When it goes wrong
The pinch does nothing
You are probably pinching on the wrong part of the screen. The gesture only works on the page thumbnail at the bottom of the print sheet, not on the options above it. Try a long press on the thumbnail instead, which does the same thing and is easier to land.
The pages are in the wrong order
Photos sorts by capture date, not by the order you tapped. If the order matters, either rename and use Files, or use a tool that shows you the page list before exporting, like the merge page on this site.
The PDF is enormous
Ten full resolution photos will produce a PDF in the tens of megabytes, and plenty of upload forms cap at 5 or 10. iOS gives you no compression control at all, so either send fewer pages or use a tool with a quality setting.
The recipient cannot open it
If they say the file will not open, the odds are you sent HEIC photos rather than a PDF. Check the extension on what you actually attached. If it ends in .heic, see HEIC to PDF.