How to set a timer on your iPhone camera

The timer option on iPhone is a very useful feature, whether you are a photography enthusiast or a professional photographer. By setting specific time intervals, you can have more control over the timing of your shots, ensuring you capture the perfect moment. Similar to the self-timer feature on a digital camera, the iPhone camera's timer tool lets you trigger the shutter after a time you set, giving you more freedom and creativity when taking photos. This feature allows you to plan your shooting time in advance, creating more possibilities for yourself, allowing you to better control the shooting process and achieve better photo effects.

In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about setting a timer on your iPhone camera and taking time-lapse photos.

How to Set a Timer on the iPhone Camera
Although setting a timer on the iPhone camera is a fairly simple process, the exact steps vary depending on which iPhone model you have.

Method 1: On iPhone XS/XR and later
If you have an iPhone XS/XR or later, you can use the Timer option in a hidden menu within the Camera app.

1. To set the timer, open the Camera app on your iPhone.

#2. When the camera opens, make sure you are in Photo or Portrait mode by tapping these modes at the bottom. By default, the Camera app opens in Photo mode, but this may be different if you keep the Camera app's settings.

#3. When you are in photo or portrait mode, tap the up arrow at the top of the screen to open additional options.

#4. These options can also be accessed by sliding the viewfinder up in either mode.

5. From the options that appear at the bottom, click on the "Timer" icon (the one marked with a clock-like symbol).

6. When you click on the "Time" icon, you will see new options appear at the bottom. From here, set the timer by selecting 3 seconds or 10 seconds depending on how fast you want to shoot.

7. The selected timer option will be displayed in the upper right corner to help you ensure you choose correctly.

8. After setting the timer, you can point yourself at the camera. If this is a group selfie, you may want to place your iPhone against a wall or mount it on a tripod.
NOTE: You can disable Live Photos mode on your iPhone by tapping the Live Photos icon (the one marked with concentric circles) if it is highlighted in yellow to take multiple photos in time-lapse mode. This icon is located in the upper right corner or bottom within the hidden menu where you access the Timer option.

9. If Live Photos appear as enabled in the hidden camera menu, select Live Off after tapping the Live Photos icon.

10. When you are ready to shoot, click the shutter button at the bottom.

11. You will now see a countdown appearing in the lower right corner of the screen. If you take a photo with the main (rear) camera, your iPhone's flash will also flash to let you know the count so you can pose at the right time.

12. When the countdown ends, your iPhone will take one or more photos, depending on whether you enabled Live Photos for that photo.

13. After capturing the time-lapse shot, you will see its thumbnail appear in the lower left corner. To see the photo you took, you can click on this thumbnail to see how it looked.

You can repeat these steps to take more time-lapse photos on iPhone.

Case 2: On iPhone X and earlier
The above method works when you have a modern iPhone. If you have an iPhone X, iPhone 8, or earlier, you can easily access the timer option on the iOS Camera.

To take a time-lapse photo on iPhone X or earlier, open the Camera app on iOS. When the camera is open, tap the Photos tab at the bottom to take a time-lapse photo. Timer options are not accessible in other camera modes. In Photo or Portrait mode, tap the timer icon at the top of the screen (the one marked like a clock). Once you do this, you'll see additional options for setting the timer at the top. Here, choose 3 seconds or 10 seconds depending on how long you want your iPhone to take the photo. The timer you set will appear in the upper right corner letting you know the selected time. After setting the timer, you can point yourself at the camera. If this is a group selfie, you may want to place your iPhone against a wall or mount it on a tripod.
Note: You can disable Live Photos mode on your iPhone by tapping the Live Photos icon at the top (the one marked with concentric circles) if it is highlighted in yellow to shoot in time-lapse mode Multiple photos. When you're ready to shoot, tap the shutter button at the bottom. You will now see a countdown appear in the center of the screen. If you take a photo with the main (rear) camera, your iPhone's flash will also flash to let you know the count so you can pose at the right time. When the countdown ends, your iPhone will take one or more photos, depending on whether you enabled Live Photos for that photo.
After capturing a time-lapse shot, you will see its thumbnail appear in the lower left corner. To see the photo you took, you can click on this thumbnail to see how it looked. You can repeat these steps to take more time-lapse photos on your iPhone.

How long can the timer of iPhone camera be set?
When you access the timer options within the Camera app on your iPhone, you'll be given the option to choose between two modes: 3 seconds (3s) and 10 seconds (10s). The first option lets you take a quick selfie with the front or rear camera while you're holding your iPhone. The second option will be useful for clicking group photos or selfies when you have your iPhone mounted on a tripod from a distance.

How to Stop the Timer Inside the Camera
When you tap the Shutter button to take a time-lapse photo, the Camera app displays a countdown timer in the lower right corner of the screen (or the center on older iPhones), or Flash the LED on the back to notify you of remaining time. You can stop the timer at any time during this countdown to prevent the camera app from taking your photo.

To stop the counter midway through a time-lapse shot, tap the "Stop" button at the bottom. This button will appear instead of the shutter button in the camera app.

When you stop time-lapse shooting midway, the screen will return to the state before pressing the shutter button. You can reframe, change the scene, and tap the shutter button again to restart the countdown timer.

How to turn off the timer on your iPhone camera
When you set a timer in the Camera app to take a photo, the Camera app will tell you the next time you want to capture something on your iPhone Keep this setting. This means that if you enabled a timer previously, the selected timer will be reactivated by default whenever you open the camera app again to click another photo. To avoid waiting for the countdown, you need to manually disable the timer on your iPhone so that subsequent clicks are regular photos taken when you click the shutter button.

Method 1: On iPhone XS/XR and later

To turn off the timer on these iPhones, open the Camera app and tap the timer option that shows the previously set time (started with a clock symbol of 3 seconds or 10 seconds). This will open a new menu at the bottom. Select "Close" from here.

The previously configured timer will now be disabled and any photo you click now will be captured when you click the Shutter button.

Method 2: On iPhone Available in 3-second or 10-second clock symbols). From the options that appear at the top, select "Close."

The previously configured timer will now be disabled and any photo you click now will be captured when you click the Shutter button.

FAQ

How many photos can be saved during timed shooting?
Ideally, when you take a photo on your iPhone, the camera app takes a bunch of photos in burst mode when you tap the shutter button. When using Time Lapse, the number of photos taken from your iPhone camera will depend on whether Live Photos is enabled.

Live Photos is a feature in the Camera app that allows your iPhone to capture the moments before and after you press the shutter button, so you can choose the best moment from a series of photos or captured video . While Live Photos capture video with audio during regular shooting, time-lapse shooting in Live Photo mode works differently.

When Live Photos is turned on during a time-lapse shot, your iPhone will only take a single photo. If you turn off Live Photos during a time-lapse shot, your iPhone will take 10 photos in burst mode.

Regardless of whether Live Photos is enabled, all timed photos are saved in your Photo Library, and you can access them by tapping the thumbnail in the lower left corner of the Camera app or opening the Photos app on your iPhone.

What modes can be used with the timer on the camera app?

You can take time-lapse photos on iPhone only if you take still photos of the moment in the iOS Camera app. The timer icon is only accessible when you are in photo mode or portrait mode within the app. You can select these modes by tapping the corresponding mode tab at the bottom or by swiping left or right on the camera viewfinder.

When you take a panorama, you can't use the Timer option, which requires you to manually move your iPhone left and right for long shots.

This also applies to capturing video, as the timer option is not available when you are in video, time-lapse or slow-motion mode in the camera app. Since you can trim unnecessary parts of the video after capturing it, there is no point in adding a timer to capture the video as you can always edit them to remove the beginning part.

The timer option works when taking a photo from any camera on your iPhone, regardless of its location. This means you can take time-lapse photos from the front (selfie) camera, main (wide-angle) lens, ultra-wide-angle lens, and telephoto lens.

Why and when should you use a timer on your camera?
Time-lapse photography comes in handy when you plan to capture a moment, rather than when the moment is right in front of you. The best time to use the Timer option is when taking a group selfie. Since you don't need to time the exact moment, setting a timer will allow others in the frame to be ready to shoot when the countdown reaches zero. You can even use your iPhone's main camera (the one on the back) to take higher-quality photos than your average selfie.

Using time-lapse shooting for group selfies allows you, the photographer, to prepare and get into the frame of the group selfie. You can also prevent camera shake or blurring that can occur when manually clicking these pictures, since you no longer need to press the volume down or shutter button. Since time-lapse shooting doesn't have a live photo capture burst, you'll have up to 10 photos to choose from for the best moment.

You can also use the "Timer" option to take better-looking selfies from the front and rear cameras. Since you no longer need to manually press the shutter button to click a photo, you can point the camera toward you or place it on a stable surface to click selfies and pose at the right time.

Other situations where you might benefit from time-lapse photography is when you want to take long exposure photos or macro photos. In both cases, your iPhone needs to be completely stable and focused on the subject at hand. Using the Timer option in this situation can help eliminate blurring that can occur when taking photos using the volume down or shutter button.

I can't find the timer option on my iOS camera. Why?
When you take a photo in Photo or Portrait mode on your iPhone camera, the Timer option appears. The feature is available on iPhone 5 or later as long as it's running iOS 8 or later. If you can't find this option, here's why:

The timer option is hidden in the camera app. On iPhone XR/XS or newer, you need to tap the up arrow or swipe up on the viewfinder to display the Timer option. Time-lapse shooting is not available when taking panoramic photos in panorama mode. The Timer option is not available when shooting video in any of the following modes (Video, Time-lapse, or Slow-Mo). You can't take time-lapse photos on iPhone 4 or older. Your iPhone has not or cannot be updated to iOS 8 or later.

To take a time-lapse photo on a supported iPhone, make sure you're in Photo or Portrait mode, swipe up on the viewfinder to access the Timer option, and set it to your preferred duration.

That’s all you need to know about setting a timer on the Camera app on your iPhone.

The above is the detailed content of How to set a timer on your iPhone camera. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!