How to Display Photocards and Instax Photos on Your iPhone Home Screen
Turn your K-pop photocards and instant photos into iPhone Home Screen widgets. Tips for shooting without sleeve glare, cropping in the Photos app, and setting them up with the BiasBoard photo widget app.
The photocard you pulled from an album, the instant photo from a fan event: you keep them safe, but you rarely get to look at them.
Photograph them with your iPhone and put them in a Home Screen widget, and you'll see them every time you unlock your phone. This guide covers how to shoot them cleanly and set them up on your Home Screen.
Step one: photograph your photocards
The standard iPhone Camera is all you need. Light and angle matter far more than gear.
- Shoot in soft, bright light, such as near a window: an overhead lamp tends to reflect off the surface.
- Take the card out of its sleeve or toploader if you can: clear sleeves cause glare. If you can't, tilt slightly until the reflection disappears.
- Shoot straight down from above: angled shots distort the shape. Turning on the Grid in Camera settings helps you line it up.
- Step back a little and zoom in: getting too close distorts the edges and puts your phone's shadow in the shot.
- Skip the flash: it washes out the surface.
Crop out the background in the Photos app
After shooting, open the photo, tap Edit, then the crop tool, and drag the corners to the edges of the card.
Widgets display in square or wide frames. Tall photocards are easier to work with if you leave a little room above and below, so you can adjust the position in the widget later.
Two ways to put them on your Home Screen
There are two main options.
The first is the stock iPhone Photos widget. On iOS 17 or later you can assign an album with only your photocard pictures. However, you can't choose which photo appears or when; it rotates automatically.
The second is a photo widget app, which lets you pick photos one by one and put a different one in each widget. If you want "this card, right here", this is the better fit.
Setting up photocards in BiasBoard
Here's the flow with the BiasBoard photo widget app. No sign-in is required and photos stay on your device.
- 1Open BiasBoard and choose the photo of your photocard
- 2Pick the widget size (Small, Medium, or Large) and the frame color
- 3Touch and hold an empty spot on your Home Screen, tap "Edit" or "+", and add the BiasBoard widget
Display ideas
A few ways to make the most of photocards and instant photos.
- Match the frame to your bias's member color: lining up cards of the same member gives your Home Screen a consistent look.
- Mix Small and Medium widgets: one favorite card large, others small, for a balanced layout.
- Rotate through your collection: carousel (switching photos on the widget) and daily auto-rotation are both available with Premium (one-time purchase).
- Cut out the background: with Premium's background removal, you can display just the person.
Summary
Shoot photocards in bright light from directly above and crop the edges, and they're ready for your Home Screen. The stock Photos widget works at the album level, but if you want to choose each card, a photo widget app like BiasBoard is more convenient. The free plan lets you try one widget (iOS 17 or later).
BiasBoard
Display your bias photos
on your iPhone home screen.
Just pick a photo. Set up idol, K-pop, and fan photos as home screen widgets in seconds. No sign-in required. Free download.