How to turn on the camera grid and mirrored selfies on an iPad

2 min read · 6 steps · Updated 4 October 2026

Device

iPad

Shown on

iPadOS 26.5 (iPad A16)

App

Settings

Path

Settings › Camera › Grid and Mirror Front Camera

Real screenshots

6 of 6 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

2 official, linked below

The Camera app on an iPad has almost no settings of its own; they are in the Settings app. Two of them change every photo you take: the grid and the mirrored front camera. Both are off in the picture.

The screenshots show iPadOS 26.5 on an iPad (A16), held upright. In landscape the same rows sit in the same order.

Step by step

1. 

   Open Settings

   Tap the grey gear icon on the Home Screen. In the picture it is in the second row; it also sits in the Dock at the bottom.

   Done

2. 

   Tap Camera

   It is in the list on the left, below Apple Intelligence & Siri.

   Done

3. 

   Switch on Grid

   It displays a grid on the camera screen that helps you straighten and compose the shot.

   Done

4. 

   Switch on Mirror Front Camera

   A selfie is then saved as you see it in the camera frame, instead of being flipped afterwards.

   Done

5. 

   Look at Lens Correction

   It is on by default on supported models and adjusts photos from the front camera so they look more natural. Leave it on unless you want the uncorrected picture.

   Done

6. 

   Decide about photos taken in Messages

   Save Captures to Photo Library is on in the picture: photos you take inside the Messages app also go to the Photos app. Switch it off to keep them out of your library.

   Done

Good to know

Preserve Settings near the top of the same page keeps the last camera mode, for example Video, instead of starting in Photo every time.

A crooked photo can still be fixed later with the straighten tool in the Photos app.

In short: Settings, Camera, Grid and Mirror Front Camera.