To add a photo calendar widget on iPhone, install an app that draws a month grid over your own photo, open it once, then touch and hold the Home Screen, tap Edit, tap Add Widget, pick the app and a size, and tap Done. The catch is the first part: neither of Apple's own widgets does this. The Calendar widget shows dates on a plain background, and the Photos widget shows a picture with no dates. This guide covers both the no-app workaround and the one-widget way, and which size to choose.
Why the built-in widgets can't do it
| Widget | Shows a month grid | Shows your photo | Turns the month by itself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Calendar | Yes (the small Month widget) | No | Yes |
| Apple Photos | No | Yes, a featured photo it picks | No dates at all |
| A photo calendar app's widget | Yes | Yes, the one you chose for that month | Depends on the app |
Apple's Calendar widget is clean and accurate, and if all you want is dates and upcoming events, it's the right choice. It just has no option for a picture. The Photos widget is the reverse: it shows a photo chosen from your library, with no dates or grid. So "a calendar with my photo on it" means either placing the two side by side or using an app built for the job.
Option 1: Put the Calendar and Photos widgets side by side (no app)
- Touch and hold an empty area of the Home Screen until the apps jiggle.
- Tap Edit in the top corner, then Add Widget.
- Search for Calendar, choose the small month view, and tap Add Widget.
- Repeat for Photos with the small size, and drag it next to the calendar.
- Tap Done.
This costs nothing and stays accurate. The drawbacks: the photo is picked by the Photos app rather than by you, it changes on its own schedule, and the two widgets never look like one calendar page.
Option 2: One widget that combines your photo and the month
This is what we built the widget in Photo Calendar to do. You design each month in the app (it reads when each photo was taken, sorts a year into twelve months and suggests a cover for each), and the widget shows the current month's page exactly as you designed it, with your photo, the date grid, your date marks and the colors that match the photo. Here's how to set it up:
- Install Photo Calendar and open it once. iOS only lists an app's widgets after the app has been opened.
- Let it build the year from your library, or pick a photo for this month yourself. Next month is prepared at the same time.
- Go to the Home Screen, touch and hold an empty area, tap Edit, then Add Widget.
- Search for Photo Calendar and swipe to the size you want (see the table below).
- Tap Add Widget, drag it into place and tap Done. Tapping the widget later opens that month in the app.
After that, there's nothing to maintain. The today marker moves at midnight, and on the 1st the widget turns to the next month's page by itself. The widget is part of the free version. Premium adds things that live elsewhere, like the Lock Screen wallpaper, the full-year print PDF and HD export.
Which widget size to choose
| Size | What Photo Calendar shows | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Small (2×2 icons) | The month's cover photo and the month name | A tidy corner, a widget stack |
| Medium (4×2) | The cover photo next to the date grid | The most useful everyday size |
| Large (4×4) | The whole calendar page, photo and grid | A Home Screen page that's mostly calendar |
| Extra large (iPad) | The whole page, or photo beside the grid in landscape | An iPad on a stand in the kitchen |
A few things make the widget look better: choose landscape photos for the medium size, since a portrait shot gets cropped to a strip; for the large size, pick a photo whose subject sits in the part of the layout the grid doesn't cover; and if your Home Screen uses tinted icons, remember iOS tints widgets too, so the photo loses its color in that mode.
What about the Lock Screen?
Lock Screen widgets are small and tinted to match the clock, so no app can show a full-color photo calendar there as a widget. The way to get one on the Lock Screen is the wallpaper: save the month as an image at your screen's resolution and set it as your Lock Screen, then swap it on the 1st. Photo Calendar renders that wallpaper for you as a Premium feature. For the full walkthrough, including printing the year for a wall, see how to make a photo calendar on iPhone.
Frequently asked questions
Can the iPhone Calendar widget show a photo?
No. Apple's Calendar widget shows the date, a month grid or your upcoming events on a plain background, and there is no option to add a picture. The Photos widget shows a photo but no dates. To get a month grid and your own photo in one widget, you need a third-party app that draws both, or you can place the two built-in widgets next to each other.
How do I add a widget to my iPhone Home Screen?
Touch and hold an empty area of the Home Screen until the apps jiggle, tap Edit in the top corner, then Add Widget. Search for the app, swipe through the sizes, tap Add Widget, drag it where you want it and tap Done. The app has to be installed and opened at least once before its widgets appear in the list.
Can I put a photo calendar on my iPhone Lock Screen?
Not as a widget. Lock Screen widgets are small and tinted, so they can't show a full-colour photo. The way to get a photo calendar on the Lock Screen is to set the month as your wallpaper. Photo Calendar can render the month at your screen's resolution as a Lock Screen wallpaper (a Premium feature), and you change it on the 1st.
Is there a free photo calendar widget?
Yes. Photo Calendar is free to download and its Home Screen widget is free. It shows the current month page you designed in the app, with your photo and the date grid, in small, medium and large sizes on iPhone, moves the today marker at midnight and turns to the next month on the 1st by itself.
Your photo and the month, in one widget
Photo Calendar sorts your year into twelve months and keeps this month's page on your Home Screen, turning it on the 1st by itself.
Download Photo Calendar on the App Store →Related: How to Make a Photo Calendar on iPhone · How to Make a Pet Memory Book. Questions? Email us.