About the Camera features on your iPhone

Learn about Photographic Styles, QuickTake, the Ultra Wide camera, and other camera features on your iPhone.

Lock in your look with Photographic Styles

With Photographic Styles on iPhone 13 models, you can personalize the look of your images in the Camera app. Choose a preset — Rich Contrast, Vibrant, Warm, or Cool — and if you want, fine-tune it even further by adjusting the Tone and Warmth settings. Set your style once to use your preferred style setting every time you take a photo in Photo mode.

Set up a Photographic Style

When you open the Camera app for the first time, tap Set Up to choose your Photographic Style. Swipe through the different styles and tap Use [Style Name] on the preset that you like.

Make sure to set your style before you start taking photos — you can't add your Photographic Style to a photo after you've already taken it.

Capture close-ups with macro photos and video

iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max introduce macro photography, using the new Ultra Wide camera with advanced lens and auto-focus system for stunning close-ups with sharp focus as close as 2 centimeters. iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max can also shoot macro videos, including slow-motion and time-lapse.

Shooting macro in Photo and Video modes is automatic — just move your iPhone close to the subject and the camera will automatically switch to the Ultra Wide camera if it's not selected, while maintaining your framing. To shoot macro slow-motion or time-lapse videos, select the Ultra Wide camera (.5x) and move close to the subject.

You might see the Camera app transition to the Ultra Wide camera as you move your iPhone close to or away from a subject. You can turn off automatic macro switching by going to Settings > Camera, then turning off Auto Macro. To shoot macro photos and videos after turning off automatic macro switching, select the Ultra Wide camera (.5x) and move close to the subject.

Grab a video with QuickTake

You can use QuickTake to record videos without switching out of photo mode. QuickTake is available on iPhone XS, iPhone XR, and later.

Hold the shutter to take a video

When you open the Camera app, you see the default photo mode. Tap the Shutter button to take a photo. Then tap the arrow to adjust options, like flash, Live Photos, timer, and more.

If you want to capture a QuickTake video, just press and hold the Shutter button .* Release the button to stop recording.

With iOS 14 and later, you can hold one of the Volume buttons to capture a QuickTake video. If you have Use Volume Up for Burst enabled, you can use the Volume down button to capture a QuickTake video.

Slide to the right to lock recording

To keep recording video without having to hold the button, slide the Shutter button  to the right, then release it. When video recording is locked, a Shutter button appears to the right. Tap the Shutter button  to take a still photo during video recording. When you're ready to stop recording, tap the record button.

Slide to the left for burst mode

Slide the Shutter button  to the left and hold it to take a burst of photos, then release it to stop.

With iOS 14 and later, you can capture photos in burst mode by pressing the Volume up button. Just go to Settings > Camera and turn on Use Volume Up for Burst.

* To take videos with customizable resolution, stereo audio, and audio zoom, switch to Video mode.

Automatically apply a tailored look to your photos

With Scene Detection, available on iPhone 12 models and later, the camera intelligently detects what you're taking a photo of and applies a tailored look to bring out the best qualities in the scene. To turn this feature off, go to Settings > Camera, and turn off Scene Detection.

Adjust your focus and exposure

Before you take a photo, the camera automatically sets the focus and exposure, and face detection balances the exposure across many faces. You can use Exposure Compensation Control to precisely set and lock the exposure for upcoming shots.

Just tap the arrow, then tap and adjust your exposure level. The exposure locks until the next time you open the Camera app.

Exposure Compensation Control is available on iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and later with iOS 14 or later.

Take a mirrored selfie

With iOS 14 and later, you can take a mirrored selfie that captures the shot as you see it in the camera frame. To turn Mirror Front Camera on, go to Settings > Camera, then turn on the setting.

The Mirror Front Camera for photo and video is available on iPhone XS, iPhone XR, and later. If you have an iPhone 6s to iPhone X, the setting is called Mirror Front Photos and captures photos only.

Capture photos even faster

You can use Prioritize Faster Shooting to modify how images are processed, allowing you to capture more photos when you rapidly tap the Shutter button . To turn this off, go to Settings > Camera, and turn off Prioritize Faster Shooting.

Prioritize Faster Shooting is available on iPhone XS, iPhone XR, and later with iOS 14 or later.

Enhance your selfies and Ultra Wide photos

With Lens Correction, when you take a selfie with the front-facing camera or a photo with the Ultra Wide (0.5x) lens, it automatically enhances the photos to make them appear more natural. To turn this off, go to Settings > Camera, and turn off Lens Correction.

Lens Correction is available on iPhone 12 models and later.

Do more with the camera on your iPhone

  • Need to capture photos in low-lighting conditions? Learn how to use Night Mode on supported iPhone models.
  • Use Live Photo to capture moments with movement and sound.

Published Date: