How to Set Up the Depth Effect on an iPhone Contact Poster in iOS 18

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To put the photo subject in front of your name on an iPhone Contact Poster, open Contacts → My Card → Edit, tap your photo or poster, edit or create a photo poster, then open the ••• menu and choose Depth Effect. The option depends on the image and poster layout, so it may not appear for every photo.

What the Contact Poster Depth Effect does

Depth Effect makes a photo poster look layered: iPhone separates a foreground subject—often a person or pet—from the background and lets that subject overlap the name. With the effect off, the name stays in front of the image. It is a poster-layout effect, not a 3D photo or a change to the Lock Screen.

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Contact Posters arrived with iOS 17, so iOS 18 is not the feature’s launch version. Apple describes Contact Posters and their sharing options in its iOS 17 feature overview. These steps describe the iOS 18 interface; Apple may move or rename controls in later releases.

Set up Depth Effect on a new poster

The poster editor is in Contacts, not in Settings → Wallpaper. Apple’s iPhone User Guide documents the My Card and poster-customization route. The specific Depth Effect control is generally reached through the three-dot menu in the poster editor; its placement can vary by software build.

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1. Open Contacts and tap My Card at the top.

2. Tap Edit, then tap the contact photo or poster area.

3. Tap Edit beneath the poster preview, or tap Add to create another poster. If prompted to choose what to customize, select Poster, not Contact Photo.

4. Choose Photo and select an image. Adjust its crop and position; use any available background or filter controls as desired.

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5. Tap the ••• button, usually in the lower-right corner, and tap Depth Effect if it is available. Check the preview: the subject should overlap the name.

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6. Tap Done. Review the poster, tap Continue, and finish any contact-photo prompt. Depending on the screen, tap Update or Done to save.

The three-dot route is also shown in these walkthroughs: 360 Reader’s Contact Poster guide and Make Tech Easier’s setup guide.

Edit an existing Contact Poster

1. Go to Contacts → My Card → Edit.

2. Tap the current photo or poster preview and select the poster in use.

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3. Tap Edit or Customize. If iOS offers Contact Photo and Poster, choose Poster.

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4. Open •••, then turn Depth Effect on or off.

5. Tap Done and confirm the updated poster.

Choose a photo that can layer well

iOS needs to identify a foreground subject and have enough room to place it across the name. Portrait mode is not a stated requirement; a regular photo can work when the subject is clear.

• Prefer a recognizable person or pet, with the head and upper body visible and separated from a relatively simple background.

• Leave room around the subject for cropping, and avoid placing the face or body against the extreme top or bottom edge.

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• Try a different image if bodies overlap in a group shot, the subject blends into the background, the frame is cluttered, or the image is low-resolution or already cropped at the head or shoulders.

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The effect is optional. Keep it off if the cutout looks awkward, the subject obscures the name, or a clean, quickly readable poster matters more than the layered look. A Memoji or monogram may suit a different style, but a photo is the relevant poster type for this photographic subject-over-name effect.

If “Depth Effect” is missing or does not work

1. Try another photo. The selected image may not give iOS a foreground subject it can separate. Start with a clear single-person or pet photo.

2. Reposition the image. Pinch to zoom and drag the subject so it has room to overlap the name. Apple’s guidance for the related Lock Screen Depth Effect notes that not all photos support layering and that layout can interfere; the Lock Screen control is separate, but this illustrates why image and placement matter. See Apple’s Lock Screen Depth Effect guidance.

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3. Check that you are editing a photo poster. If the editor is showing a Memoji, monogram, or another design, switch to Photo and check the More menu again.

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4. Make sure you are in the poster editor. Use Contacts → My Card; changing a Lock Screen wallpaper or the small Contact Photo is not the same as changing the Contact Poster.

5. Toggle the control and inspect the preview. If the option appears but the layer does not change, switch it off, reposition the image, then switch it on again.

6. Save and reopen. Tap Done, leave the editor, and reopen the poster to see whether the saved result differs from the preview.

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7. Restart and update if the control is absent across suitable photos. Restart the iPhone and install the latest iOS 18 update available for the device if you are staying on iOS 18. You can also create a new poster rather than editing the existing one. Reports of inconsistent behavior exist, but they are anecdotal; for example, see this Apple Community report. It does not establish a fix for a particular iOS release.

Contact Photo and Contact Poster are different

Apple treats the photo and poster as related but separately customizable parts of My Card in its iPhone User Guide. This guide covers your own My Card poster; editing another person’s contact card is a different task.

Let other people receive the poster

Saving a poster does not guarantee every person will see it. In the My Card editing flow, check Name & Photo Sharing. Apple documents Contacts Only and Always Ask: the former shares with contacts, while the latter asks before sharing. What appears can also depend on the recipient’s device and software, whether you are contacts, and how you communicate. See Apple’s instructions for customizing and sharing your photo and poster.

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