I’ve been playing with my iPhone camera lately and discovering how much fun and creative it can be. In a previous blog post, I talked about how to use your iPhone camera in burst mode. (You can read it here: bit.ly/Burst_Mode.) It is a great mode to use to freeze motion. But, did you know that the iPhone has another mode that works with motion and is really creative to use: Live Photo mode?
Warning: If you have an iPhone 6 or older, this feature won’t be included. Also, if you tend to postpone installing iOS updates, you may have a problem. Live Photos Mode was introduced with iOS 9.
First of all, unlike Burst mode, Live Photo mode can be turned on and off. The iPhone turns it on, by default. I strongly recommend using a setting in the Settings app to disable this. It will really simplify your life if you get to choose when you shoot in this mode. Otherwise, your storage may fill up fast! Live Photos take up twice as much storage as regular ones do.
The setting I’m referring to is in the Settings app on your iPhone, located on the Home Screen. Tap on it and select Camera. Then, tap on Preserve Settings. Here, you’ll want to turn on Live Photo. According to the app, this will, “Preserve the Live Photo setting, rather than automatically reset to Live Photo turned on.” Huh? This means that in the camera app itself, you can turn off Live Photo, and it will remain off until you turn it back on. If you don’t change this setting, every time you take a photo with Live Photo turned off, the Camera will turn it back on for the next shot you take. I know… clear as mud. You’ll just have to trust me on this. You’ll be glad you did! It gives the control back to you!
OK, with that taken care of, let’s dig into Live Photo Mode in the Camera App.
I taught a quick iPhoneography class, earlier this month, at the Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center. Why was I teaching iPhoneography? Because photographer Chase Jarvis is right. The best camera really is the one you have with you. Whether you’re traveling or hanging around your home town, your mobile phone is usually with you, even when you’ve left your DSLR at home. So, it’s a really good idea to figure out how to use it!
One of the attendees quickly noticed that she was taking multiple photos instead of just one. She asked how to turn that feature off.
Since I’ve had the same problem in the past, I thought I’d write a quick post about Burst Mode: what it is, how to use it, how to avoid it, and what on earth to do when you find that your phone is full of multiple shots of the exact same scene.
First of all, what is Burst Mode and how do you use it?
Recent Comments