How to Zoom in on Long Exposure Photos on Your IPhone
Long exposure photography allows you to take really amazing shots if you want to capture light trails, starry skies, or exaggerated movement in your shots. While your iPhone won’t give you the same long-exposure tools as a DSLR, there are several ways to take a long-exposure photo, either with the Camera app or a third-party option.
Use the default Camera app for long exposure shots.
There are a few tricks in the stock Camera app on your iPhone, and long exposure photography is one of them. For daytime shots, iOS has a long exposure effect that, while not a true long exposure image, works well (think portrait mode versus actual camera bokeh).
To use the long exposure effect , you need to enable Live Photo in the camera app. To do this, open the Camera app and tap the circles icon in the top right corner. Live Photo is enabled if the icon is yellow. Now take a picture and then open it in the Photos app. Tap the Live button in the top left corner and select Long Exposure , which combines different frames taken during Live Photography to create a long exposure effect.
Besides not being a true long exposure, this method is a bit tedious. You don’t have the ability to quickly view your shots and need to go into the Photos app and process each image individually.
Whether you want to capture light trails or try your hand at astrophotography, you’ll need an iPhone with night mode. iPhone 11 and newer models (excluding iPhone SE) support this feature and it is automatically enabled in the Camera app in low light conditions.
However, to maximize Night Mode for long exposures, you’ll need to place your iPhone on a tripod or keep it on a stable surface. When iOS detects that your iPhone is completely still, the night mode toggle automatically shows you the option to take long exposure shots up to 30 seconds, up from the usual maximum of 10 seconds.
These shots may not be as good as those taken with a DSLR, but they are quite impressive for a phone camera.
Use Third Party Applications for Long Exposure Photos
Even in 2023, the stock Camera app on your iPhone doesn’t give you much control over your photos. If you want granular control over everything, you should try a third-party camera app like Slow Shutter Cam ($2), Specter ($5), or Pro Cam 8 ($10).
A slow shutter camera is designed for long exposure photography. If that’s all you want from a camera app, this is a pocket-friendly option that does a great job of taking those kinds of photos.
Specter is also focused on long exposure shots, but uses artificial intelligence to help you take better photos. The app can even remove crowds from your photos so you can focus on the subject or background, rather than people you don’t know.
On the other hand, Pro Cam 8 is a complete camera app that can also take long exposure photos. If you’re looking for a manual camera app that lets you control shutter speed, ISO, exposure levels, and more, then Pro Cam 8 might be a good option for you.