How to Use the iPhone Camera

This article explains how to use the default Camera app on recent iPhone models. Read the note in each section to see if your iPhone supports each feature.

Switch Cameras on Your iPhone

All recent iPhone models have two cameras:

• The front-facing camera is for taking selfies, using FaceTime, and similar tasks.
• The back-facing camera is more feature-packed and is for taking photos and videos of other subjects.

It's easy to change between the two cameras on your iPhone so that you can take selfies, record video, or perform some other task. Just tap the circular arrow.

Switch Lenses on Your iPhone Camera

All iPhones since the iPhone 4 have a front and a back camera. With the iPhone 11, Apple introduced additional lenses.

• The iPhone 11 features a wide-angle and an ultra-wide-angle lens on the back of the device.
• The iPhone 11 Pro has a third telephoto lens on the back, making a total of four lenses, including the front-facing camera.
• The iPhone 12 offers the same arrangement between the standard and Pro models.

If you have one of these models, you can switch between lenses by selecting one of three circles above the Photo tab in the Camera app:

• .5 refers to the new ultra-wide lens.
• 1x selects the standard wide lens.
• 2 refers to the new telephoto lens.

Zoom In With Your iPhone Camera

The iPhone camera can zoom in and out to capture the photo you want. It's similar to how you zoom up on web pages and pictures.

With the camera open and viewing something, pinch two fingers together to zoom out, or drag your fingers away from each other to zoom up.

Another way to use your iPhone's digital zoom feature is to pinch either direction to reveal a zoom bar at the bottom of the screen. Drag the bar to the left to see more of the picture or to the right to zoom closer.

Use the iPhone Camera Flash

The iPhone camera picks up details in low light. Still, you can get great low-light photos with the built-in camera flash. Recent models of the iPhone include multiple flashes, which deliver better, more natural colors.

In the Camera app, the camera flash icon is the lightning bolt at the top of the screen. Tap it to reveal these options:

• Flash Auto: Uses the flash only when needed to take a good picture, as determined by the iPhone camera.
• On: The flash is used for every picture.
• Off: This is the default setting for the camera. The phone doesn't produce a flash, regardless of the lighting conditions.

Use Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting on an iPhone

Some iPhone models have a dual-camera system on the back that delivers high-quality photos that apply lighting techniques and depth-of-field effects.

Use HDR Photos

High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos deliver better-looking, more detailed images by taking multiple exposures of the same scene and combining them.

Your phone gives you some control over HDR photos. Tap Settings > Camera, and then do the following:

• Move the Smart HDR slider to on/green to use HDR photos for all the pictures you take.
• Move the Keep Normal Photo slider to on/green to keep a non-HDR copy of your photos (this isn't necessary, but some photographers prefer it).

Apply the Camera Focus on an iPhone

Tap an object or person to apply the camera's focus to a particular part of a scene. A square appears on the screen to indicate the part of the image on which the camera is focused.

The focus feature automatically adjusts exposure and white balance to deliver the best-looking photo, but you can also control this. Tap the screen to display the focus square, then swipe up and down to adjust the brightness.

Take Panoramic Photos on an iPhone

Want to capture an immersive vista that's more detailed and spectacular than the standard image size offered by iPhone photos? Use the iPhone's panoramic photo option. Even though it doesn't have a panoramic lens, iPhone uses software to stitch together multiple images.

1. From the Camera app, swipe through the text below the viewfinder to select Pano.

2. Tap the button used to take photos.

3. Follow the on-screen directions and move the iPhone slowly and steadily across the subject you want to capture in the panorama, following the line you see on the screen.

4. Tap Done when you're finished to save the panoramic photo to your Photos app.

The photo will look small on your iPhone since the screen isn't big enough to show the full-size image. Share the image to a device with a larger screen to see the full-size photo.

Use Burst Mode on an iPhone

If you want to capture several photos quickly, like when photographing action, use burst mode. Instead of snapping a picture every time you press the button, it takes up to 10 every second.

When you take photos using burst mode, tap and hold the shutter button. As it captures images, the on-screen count rapidly rises.

When finished, go to the Photos app to review your burst mode photos and delete any you don't want.

Apply Photo Filters on an iPhone

Some popular photo apps apply stylish effects and filters to photos to make images look cool (hello, Instagram!). The iPhone's Camera app has a set of filters that you can apply without using another app.

Access the iPhone camera filters by selecting the three interlocking circles from the corner of the Camera app. Scroll through the filters to see how each looks, then use your camera as you normally would.

The camera will save any image you take a picture of with the filter you selected.

Take Live Photos on an iPhone

Apple's Live Photos format combines animation and audio to create fun, engaging snapshots. You can also apply filters that loop the animations or bounce the action back and forth.

Capture Square Format Photos

Your iPhone can take Instagram-style square photos instead of the rectangular photos the Camera app captures typically.

To switch to square mode, swipe the words beneath the viewfinder until Square is selected. Then, use the camera as you usually would.

Use a Grid to Compose Better Photos

Want some help taking better-looking photos? Turn on the grid feature built into the Camera app to get on-screen composition assistance.

Enabling a grid in the Camera app puts a grid on the screen while you're taking pictures. It breaks the image up into squares to help in composing photos.

To turn it on, open the Settings app and tap Camera > Grid.

Use AE/AF Lock

The Camera app also includes an AE/AF lock feature to lock in your current auto-exposure or autofocus settings.

To find this setting in the Camera app, tap and hold on the screen until AE/AF Lock appears at the top. Tap the screen once anywhere to turn it off.

Scan QR Codes With an iPhone

Modern iPhones don't need a separate app to scan QR codes. No matter where you see one, use the built-in Camera app to read QR codes.

To do this, view the code on your camera and tap the banner that explains where it goes. You'll immediately complete the QR code's action.

Record Video on an iPhone

Besides being a great still camera, the iPhone is also a terrific video camera. Recent models can capture ultra-high-resolution 4K footage, slow-motion video, and more.

To take a video on an iPhone, open the Camera app, slide to Video, and use the red button to start and stop the recording.

Some still photography features, like HDR photos and panorama, don't work when recording video, though the camera flash does. You can also take still images while recording the video.

You can use the phone's built-in video editor, the Apple iMovie app, or third-party apps to edit videos taken with the iPhone camera.

Record Slow-Motion Video

Slow-motion video is another significant improvement delivered by the iPhone 5S, along with burst mode. Rather than taking videos that run at 30 frames per second (fps), more recent models can capture slow-motion videos at 120 fps or 240 fps on some models. This effect can add drama and detail to your videos.

To record slow-motion videos, swipe the row of options below the viewfinder to Slo-Mo, and then proceed as you usually would.

Record Time-Lapse Video

Slow-motion isn't the only neat video effect built into the iOS Camera app. There's also a time-lapse video feature.

To record time-lapse video on your iPhone, open the Camera app, then swipe the text below the viewfinder until you reach Time-Lapse. Record as usual to make the video.