Guides · Couples

Couple photos without a photographer or a tripod

Updated 12 November 2026 · 5 min read

Two people, one phone. Either one of you takes the photo and is missing from it, or you squeeze into a selfie where the place disappears behind two big faces. Here is how to get the photo of both of you that you actually wanted.

The short answer: prop the phone at chest height three metres away, back camera, 10-second timer with burst, and do something together instead of posing — walk, talk, look at the view. If there is nowhere to prop it, or you are at a table and do not want to ask the waiter, an AI photographer can make the photo of both of you from the place you frame.

The timer shot, done properly

Find the height. A wall, a bench, a bag on a table. Chest height for half body, waist height if you want your whole outfits in.
Leave room for two. Frame it with a gap a bit wider than you think, so nobody's shoulder is cut off.
Lock focus on where you will stand, not on the background.
Burst, not a single frame. One of you starts the timer and walks in; the burst catches the moment you settle, which is usually the good one.

Poses that do not look posed

The walk: start a few steps back, walk toward the phone holding hands, talk to each other.
The look: one of you looks at the camera, the other at them.
The lean: both against a railing or wall, turned slightly toward each other.
The table: across from each other, mid-laugh, glasses in hand.
The view: from behind, both looking out, the place doing the work.

The rule behind all of them: give yourselves something to do. Two people standing still and smiling at a phone always looks like two people standing still and smiling at a phone.

Light that flatters two faces

Side light, from a window or a low sun, is kind to both of you. Avoid having the sun directly behind you, which turns you into two silhouettes, and harsh midday sun, which puts shadows under both sets of eyes. Open shade, under an awning or a tree, is the safe choice.

When you can't prop the phone, or don't want to ask

Dinner, a crowded viewpoint, a boat, a moment that will not wait for a timer. With BackPix you each save a selfie once. Then one of you frames the place and taps, and about a minute later you have photos of the two of you there, made with AI, without asking the waiter or leaving the phone on a wall.

An empty stone wall above a river city at golden hour, framed on a phone — Left: the place, framed on a phone. Right: the photo BackPix made of it, generated with AI from the place and both people's saved selfies.

A couple leaning on the same stone wall above the river — Left: the place, framed on a phone. Right: the photo BackPix made of it, generated with AI from the place and both people's saved selfies.

Add your partner only with their OK: they are in the photo too.

Both of you, in the shot

Frame the place, tap once, and get photos of the two of you right there. Your first shots are free.

See how BackPix works Get the iPhone app BackPix photos are made with AI from selfies you save and the place you frame.