Quick answer
On iOS 26, open the picture in Preview, tap the Actions Menu beside the filename, choose Export, and select PDF. Save the exported file with a useful name. This produces a PDF copy without changing the original picture.
Convert one picture to PDF in Preview
- Open the Preview app on your iPhone.
- Open the photo or image you want to convert.
- Tap the Actions Menu button next to the filename.
- Choose Export, then select PDF.
- Save the PDF to the desired folder and give it a descriptive filename.
Preview supports common image formats including HEIC, JPEG, PNG, and TIFF. The page dimensions in the exported PDF follow the image rather than automatically becoming US Letter or A4.
Preview is included with current iOS, so this method does not require a paid converter or a separate app purchase.
Put several pictures into one PDF
First convert one image to PDF. Then use that file as the starting document and insert the remaining pictures as additional pages:
- Open the new PDF in Preview.
- Tap the page count to show page thumbnails. If it is hidden, pinch on the page until the page count appears.
- Touch and hold a thumbnail, then tap Insert from File.
- Select another picture. Repeat for each image you want to add.
- Drag the page thumbnails up or down to put them in the correct order.
Scan paper pages directly into a PDF
If you are photographing a receipt, form, letter, or other paper document, scanning usually produces a cleaner PDF than taking ordinary photos.
- Open Preview and tap Scan Documents.
- Position the page inside the camera view. The iPhone can capture it automatically, or you can switch to Manual.
- Repeat for additional pages.
- Use the thumbnails to crop, rotate, or adjust the appearance.
- Tap Done to create the multipage PDF.
Picture export or document scan?
| Your source | Recommended workflow |
|---|---|
| An existing photo, illustration, or screenshot | Open it in Preview and export as PDF. |
| Several existing pictures | Export the first image, then insert the others from files. |
| A paper form, receipt, or letter | Use Scan Documents for automatic page detection and multipage capture. |
| A PDF that needs images extracted | Use the PDF to PNG Converter. |
Before sending the PDF
- Open the saved file and confirm that every page is present and upright.
- Zoom in to make sure small text remains readable.
- Rename vague files such as
Image.pdfbefore attaching them. - Remove private information that the recipient does not need.
- If the file is unusually large, reduce image dimensions before recreating it or use Preview's compression controls carefully.
What if the PDF contains text I need to copy?
A PDF made from pictures normally contains image pixels, not an embedded text layer. Try the Image to Text OCR tool on an individual page. The PDF to Text Converter is intended for PDFs that already contain selectable text and may return little from image-only scans.
Sources and version notes
This guide was checked on August 23, 2026 and describes the Preview app included with iOS 26.