15 Taking Photos and Video with Your iPhone

The iPhone’s cameras and Camera app capture high-quality photos and video. Because you’ll likely have your iPhone with you at all times, it’s handy to take photos with it whenever and wherever you are. And you can shoot video just as easily.

Whether you’ve taken photos and video on your iPhone or added them from another source, the Photos app enables you to edit, view, organize, and share your photos. (To learn how to use the Photos app with the great photos and video you take, see Chapter 16, “Viewing and Editing Photos and Video with the Photos App.”) You’ll likely find that taking and working with photos and videos are among the most useful things your iPhone can do.

Getting Started

Each generation of iPhone has had different and more sophisticated photo and video capabilities and features than the previous versions. All current versions sport high-quality cameras; in fact, there’s a camera on each side of the iPhone. One takes photos of what you’re looking at (the back-facing cameras, located on the backside of the phones), whereas the other takes photos of what the screen is facing (the front-facing camera, which is usually for taking selfies or having FaceTime conversations, located on the face of the phone).

All current generations of iPhone have a flash; can zoom; take burst, panoramic, and time-lapse photos; and have other features you expect from a high-quality digital camera. They also can take Live Photos, which capture a small amount of video (about 3 seconds) along with the photo; when you view a Live Photo, you can hold on the screen to see its video.

The iPhone 7 and later models have automatic image stabilization, more resolution, and other enhancements to enable them to take even higher quality photos and video with both the back-facing and front-facing cameras.

From there, the differences between the models become greater as additional cameras have been added to the backside of the phone. The following list describes the major photographic features of various groups of iPhone models that can run iOS 13:

• SE, 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 8, and Xr—These models have one camera on the back. While they lack some of the features of more advanced models, they are more than capable of taking excellent photos and video in many different situations.

• 7 Plus, 8 Plus, X, Xs, and Xs Max—These models have two cameras on the back. With these models, you can use Telephoto zoom; this capability enables you to have much greater magnification than models with a single camera. These models also enable you to use Portrait mode in which the subject is in very sharp focus and the background is a soft blur.

• 11—The 11 also has two cameras but doesn’t have the Telephoto zoom capability of other models with two or three cameras. Instead, it supports the Ultra Wide mode, which is analogous to using a wide-angle lens. It also has Night mode, which enables it to take photos in dark conditions without the use of the flash. The 11 also provides Portrait mode.

• 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max—These models have three cameras on the back and support all options that are currently available including Telephoto zoom, Ultra Wide mode, Night mode, and Portrait mode.

There are sections in this chapter that correspond to each of these groups. At the beginning of each of these sections, you see which iPhone models the section applies to; if you don’t have a model in the listed group, you can skip over that section.

Be aware that there are differences even among the models in the same group, so you might see some minor differences between what you see on your phone and the figures in this chapter. However, you can still follow the steps that apply for the group associated with your iPhone.

Regardless of the model, the iPhone’s photo and video capabilities have been increasingly tied into iCloud. For example, you can store your entire photo library under your iCloud account; this offers many benefits, including backing up all your photos and making it easy to access your photos from any iCloud-enabled device. Therefore, I’ve assumed you are using iCloud and have configured it to work with photos as described in Chapter 4, “Setting Up and Using an Apple ID, iCloud, and Other Online Accounts.” Like differences in iPhone camera capabilities, if you don’t use iCloud with your photos, some of the information in this chapter doesn’t apply to you and what you see on your phone might look different than what you see in this chapter.

Lastly, the Camera app’s settings can change how it works. See the Go Further sidebar, “Camera Settings,” at the end of this chapter for an overview of the more important settings that you might want to configure.

Using the Camera App to Take Photos and Video with Your iPhone

You use the Camera app to take photos and video with your iPhone. This app has a number of controls and features. Some features are easy to spot, whereas others aren’t so obvious. By the end of this chapter, you’ll know how to use these features to take great photos and video with your iPhone.

The general process for capturing photos or video follows:

1. Choose the type of photo or video you want to capture.

2. Set the options for the type of photo or video you selected.

3. Take the photos or video.

4. View and edit the photos or video you captured using the Photos app.

   

The information you need to accomplish steps 1 through 3 of this process is provided in tables and tasks throughout this chapter. The details for step 4 are provided in Chapter 16.

The first step in taking photos or video is to choose the type of photo or video that you want to capture. You do this by swiping to the left or right on the selection bar just above the large Shutter icon at the bottom of the Camera app’s screen, as shown in the previous figure. The option shown in yellow at the center of the screen just above the Shutter icon is the current type of photo or video you’re capturing. The options available in the Camera app are explained in the following table.

Types of Photo and Video iPhones Can Capture

After you choose the type of photo or video you want to take, there are options you can select to adjust how that photo or video is captured (the options available to you depend on the type of photo or video you’re taking and the specific model of iPhone you’re using). When you select options, the icons you see on the screen change to reflect your selection. For example, when you choose a self-timed photo, the Self-timer icon changes to show the time delay you’ve selected. Not all options are available at the same time. For example, you can’t set the flash and HDR to go on at the same time because you can’t take HDR images with the flash. If you use a model that has Smart HDR, you don’t turn it off or on for specific photos; it works automatically if it’s enabled.

The following table describes the icons and tools available on the Camera app’s screen. Remember that the specific icons and tools you see depend on the type of photo or video you’re capturing and the model of iPhone you’re using. These icons can also appear in different places depending on the model you’re using. For example, on an iPhone 11 Pro, they’re shown on a toolbar just above the Shutter button, whereas on an iPhone Xs, they appear at the top of the screen. (In the table, iPhone 11 refers to the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max models.)

Photo and Video Options and Icons

Taking Photos

Taking photos with your iPhone is fun and easy, but that doesn’t mean you’re limited in your photographic achievements. As you read in the previous section, the iPhone’s photographic tools are extensive, so you’ll be amazed at the photos you can take. Following are tasks dedicated to some very useful types of photos. After you understand how to take these types of photos, you’re able to take advantage of all the photo types your iPhone supports.

Taking Photos

Models: All
You can use the Camera app to capture photos by performing the following steps:

On the Home screen, tap Camera.

To capture a horizontal photo, rotate your iPhone so that it’s horizontal; of course, you can use either orientation to take photos just as you can with any other camera.

Swipe up or down (right or left if the phone is vertical) on the selection bar until PHOTO is in the center and in yellow.

If you want to change the camera you’re using, tap Change Camera. When you change the camera, the image briefly freezes, and then the view changes to the other camera. The front-facing camera (the one facing you when you look at the screen) has fewer features than the back-facing camera has. These steps show taking a photo with the back-facing camera.

Set the Flash, HDR, Live, Self-timer, and other options you want to use for the photo; see the previous table for an explanation of these options. (You won’t see options that don’t apply to your model—for example, the HDR option doesn’t appear on models that have Smart HDR.)

Frame the image by moving and adjusting the iPhone’s distance and angle to the object you’re photographing; if you have the Grid turned on, you can use its lines to help you frame the image the way you want it. When you stop moving the phone, the Camera app indicates the part of the image that is used to set focus, brightness, and exposure with the yellow box. If this is the most important part of the image, you’re good to go. If not, you can set this point manually by tapping where you want the focus to be (see step 9).

Zoom in by unpinching on the image. The camera zooms in on the subject. If you’re using a model that doesn’t have telephoto capabilities, the Zoom slider appears. If you’re using a model with telephoto capabilities, you don’t see this slider; instead you see the current zoom level in the Zoom level icon (not shown in the figure but shown on figures in the next section).

Unpinch on the image (all models) or drag the slider (nontelephoto models only) toward the + to zoom in or pinch on the image or drag the slider toward the – to zoom out to change the level of zoom until it’s what you want to use.

Tap the screen to manually set the area of the image to be used for setting the focus and exposure. The yellow focus box appears where you tapped.

To change the exposure, swipe up on the sun icon to increase the brightness or down to decrease it.

Continue making adjustments in the framing of the image, the zoom, focus point, and brightness until it’s the image you want to take.

Tap the Shutter icon on the screen, either Volume button on the side of the iPhone, or press the center button on the EarPods. The Camera app captures the photo, and the shutter closes briefly while the photo is recorded. When the shutter opens again, you’re ready to take the next photo.

You can repeat these steps to keep taking photos, or, if you want to view the photos you’ve taken, tap the thumbnail to see the photo you most recently captured.

Use the photo-viewing tools to view the photo (see Chapter 16 for the details).

If you don’t want to keep the photo, tap the Trash Can, and then tap Delete Photo.

Edit the photo by tapping Edit and using the resulting editing tools to make changes to the picture (see Chapter 16 for the details).

Tap Back (<). You move back into the Camera app and can take more photos.

Taking Photos with Telephoto Zoom

Models: 7 Plus, 8 Plus, X, Xs, Xs Max, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max

To take photos with iPhones that support Optical and Telephoto zoom, perform the following steps:

Select the PHOTO mode, set up the image you want to capture, choose the options (such as flash or Live), frame the image, and set the exposure as described in the previous steps.

To zoom in at 2x using the optical zoom, tap the Zoom Level icon; on an iPhone 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max, tap 2 on the Zoom Level icon. The magnification level changes to 2x using the iPhone’s Optical zoom.

Touch and hold on the Zoom Level icon. The Digital Zoom slider appears. On iPhone 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max models, this slider looks like a dial, but works in the same way as the slider that you see in the figures.

Drag the Digital Zoom slider to the left to increase the level of magnification or to the right to decrease it. As you drag, the amount of magnification is shown in the Zoom Level icon, and, of course, you see the magnified image on the screen. When you’ve set the magnification level and lift your finger from the screen, the slider disappears.

Tap the Shutter icon to take the photo or video.

Taking Portrait Photos

Models: 7 Plus, 8 Plus, X, Xs, Xs Max, 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max

The Portrait mode captures the subject in sharp focus and blurs the background. You can also apply various lighting effects and set the depth level. Use these steps to take portrait photos:

Swipe on the Selection bar until you reach PORTRAIT mode.

Make sure the subjects are inside the yellow frames; the frames indicate where the image will be sharply focused. Once the subjects are recognized and captured inside the frame, the frame automatically stays on the subjects even if they move. If you’re too close to the subjects, you see a message indicating you should move farther away.

Touch and hold on the Lighting icon. The Portrait Lighting Effect slider appears.

Swipe the Portrait Lighting Effect slider up or down (left or right if you are holding the phone vertically) to change the lighting effect applied to the image. In some cases, such as STAGE LIGHT, you see a focus area that shows where the light will be focused; you can use this to set up the image you want to capture.

To capture the image with the current depth, tap the Shutter icon; to change the depth level, proceed to the next step.

To manually set the depth level, tap the Depth Level icon. The Depth Level slider appears.

Swipe the Depth Level slider down (or left) to increase the depth or up (or right) to decrease it.

Tap the Shutter icon to take the photo.

Taking Panoramic Photos

Models: All

The Camera app can take panoramic photos, which is ideal for landscape photography, by capturing a series of images as you pan the camera across a scene, and then “stitching” those images together into one panoramic image. To take a panoramic photo, perform the following steps:

Open the Camera app.

Swipe on the selection bar until PANO is selected. On the screen, you see a bar representing the entire image that contains a smaller box representing the current part of the image that will be captured.

If you’re using a model that has telephoto capabilities, you can zoom the image to 2x by tapping the Zoom Level icon (except 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max). On iPhone 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max models, tap 2 to set the magnification to 2x or .5 to use the Ultra Wide mode.

Tap the Shutter icon. The app begins capturing the image.

Slowly sweep the iPhone to the right while keeping the arrow centered on the line on the screen. If you move the phone too fast, you see a message on the screen telling you to slow down. If the arrow goes too far above or below the line, you see a message telling you to move the phone to better align the arrow with the line. The better you keep the tip of the arrow aligned with the line, the more consistent the centerline of the resulting image will be.

When you’ve moved to the “end” of the image you’re capturing or the limit of what you can capture in the photo, tap the Shutter icon. You move back to the starting point and the panoramic photo is created. You can tap the panoramic image’s thumbnail to view, delete, or edit it just as you can with other types of photos.

Taking Wide Angle Photos

Models: 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max

The Ultra Wide mode is similar to using a wide-angle lens on a traditional camera. Here’s how to use this option:

Open the Camera app.

Select the type of photo you want to take and configure its options. (Ultra Wide is not available for all types.)

Tap .5. The magnification is decreased to .5x, which shows more of the image you’re capturing. If that’s the level you want to use, skip to step 6.

To adjust the level of magnification, touch and hold on 0.5x. The Zoom Level slider appears.

Swipe to the right to increase the magnification or to the left to decrease it.

When the photo is what you want, tap the Shutter icon.

Taking Photos with Night Mode

Models: 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max

The Night mode captures photos under low lighting conditions without using the flash. The resulting photos have better color and other properties that tend to be damaged by the bright light of the flash. You can change the amount of time that is used; the longer the time, the better quality of photo you capture, but you also have to hold the camera still longer.

Night mode is active automatically when the phone’s sensors determine the light is low. When active, you can use the automatic setting or adjust it. Here’s how to use Night mode:

Open the Camera app.

Select the type of photo you want to take and configure its options; if it is very dark, you might not be able to see the image super clearly, but the Camera app attempts to present a usable image. If the conditions warrant, Night mode becomes active, and you see its icon in yellow and the current setting (for example, 1s) is indicated. If light levels are low, Night mode becomes available, but it isn’t active. In this case, you see the Night mode icon in white at the top of the screen and on the toolbar.

If Night mode is active and you want to use the current setting, tap the Shutter icon and skip to step 7. To manually activate or adjust Night mode, move to step 4.

Tap Night mode at the top of the screen or on the toolbar. The Night mode slider appears.

Swipe on the slider to the left to increase the effect or to the right to decrease it. The greater the time, the better the image will be, but you will also have to hold the phone steady for longer.

When you have set the amount of time, tap the Shutter icon to take the photo. The camera starts taking the photo. The image goes dark and slowly lightens.

Hold the phone steady until the process is complete; when it is, you return to the normal Camera screen and can preview the photo or take more photos as you normally can.

Taking Video

You can capture video as easily as you can still images. Here’s how.

Open the Camera app.

To capture horizontal video, rotate the iPhone so that it’s horizontal; of course, you can use either orientation to take video just as you can with any other video camera.

Swipe on the selection bar until VIDEO is selected.

Choose the back-facing or front-facing camera, configure the flash, or zoom in, just like setting up a still image. (The Self-timer, Filter, and HDR modes are not available when taking video.)

Tap on the screen where you want to focus.

If needed, adjust the exposure by sliding the “sun” icon up or down just like a still photo (not shown on the figure).

Tap the Shutter icon to start recording. You hear the start/stop recording tone, and the app starts capturing video; you see the timer on the screen showing how long you’ve been recording.

Take still images while you take video by tapping the white Shutter icon. (If the Live Photos preference is enabled, the photos you take are Live Photos. If not, you take static images.)

Stop recording by tapping the red Shutter icon again. Also, like still images, you can then tap the video’s thumbnail to preview it as well as any still images you took while taking the video. You can use the Photos app’s video tools to view or edit the clip.

Taking Photos and Video from the Lock Screen

Because it’s likely to be with you constantly, your iPhone is a great camera of opportunity. You can use its Quick Access feature to quickly take photos when your iPhone is asleep/locked. Here’s how:

When the iPhone is locked, press the Side button, tap the screen, touch the Touch ID/Home button, or lift your phone up (if you have a model that supports the Raise to Wake feature, and you have it enabled). The Lock screen appears.

Swipe to the left (all models) or press the Camera icon (X models). The Camera app opens.

Use the Camera app to take the photo or video as described in the previous tasks. You can only view the most recent photos or videos you captured from within the Camera app when your iPhone is locked; you have to unlock the phone to work with the rest of your photos.

Taking Photos and Video from the Home Screen

The Quick Access menu offers a selection of photos and video commands that you can choose right from a Home screen.

Touch and hold on Camera until the Quick Actions menu opens.

Tap the type of photo or video you want to take. The Camera app opens and is set up for the type you selected.

Use the Camera app to capture the photo or video (not shown in the figures).

>>>Go Further: Scanning QR Codes

QR (Quick Response) codes provide information about or enable you to take action on objects to which they are attached or associated. A QR scanner reads these codes and presents the information they contain. For example, rental cars sometimes have a QR code sticker on a window; when you scan this code, you get information about the car. Or displays in a museum might have a QR code that you can scan to get more information.

QR codes also enable you to take action, such as scanning the QR code for a Wi-Fi network and then joining it, or scanning the code for an email address and then creating an email.

The Camera app can scan QR codes. To do so, choose the PHOTO mode and focus on the QR code. The code is recognized and scanned. After the code is scanned, you’re prompted to take action on it—for example, to move to the related website.