Remotely controlling the shutter on your iPhone's camera lets you include yourself in the photo while avoiding the limitations of a selfie. For example, it allows you to take a picture of a wider scene with you included in the frame, which is ideal for landscape shots or group photos. If your ‌iPhone‌ is on a tripod, taking the shot remotely also reduces the risk of camera shake. Here's how to do it.

iphone12protriplelenscamera
There are more ways than one to take a picture on your ‌iPhone‌ remotely. If you have an Apple Watch, you can open the Camera Remote app that comes included.

How to Control Your iPhone's Camera With Apple Watch

  1. Launch the Camera Remote app on your wrist.
  2. Position your ‌iPhone‌ to frame the shot you want to take.
  3. Tap the Shutter button on your Apple Watch screen.

camera remote
By default, the shot is taken after three seconds to give you time to move into position, but you can disable the time and control other settings including flash, Live Photo, and HDR by tapping the ellipsis (three dots) button. The menu that this calls up also lets you switch between the front and rear ‌iPhone‌ camera.

If you don't have an Apple Watch, don't worry. You can also use Voice Control to remotely control the camera on your ‌iPhone‌. That's because you can trigger the camera shutter with the volume buttons, which can also be controlled with your voice. Here's how it works.

How to Use Voice Control to Take a Photo

settings

  1. Launch the Settings app.
  2. Tap Accessibility.
  3. Tap Voice Control.
  4. Turn on the switch next to Voice Control so it's in the green ON position. (You should see a little microphone icon in the top-left corner of your screen indicating that Voice Control is active.)
  5. Next, launch the Camera app and line up your shot.
  6. When you're ready, say "Turn up the volume," to activate the camera's shutter and take the picture.
  7. When you're finished, you can disable Voice Control by toggling the switch again in Settings.

How to Take a Picture Remotely With Siri

If you're familiar with the Shortcuts app, you can find a shortcut in the Gallery called "Say Cheese" that lets you use Siri to control your ‌iPhone‌'s camera remotely.

siri
Once you've added it to your active shortcuts and given it permission to access your camera and microphone, you'll be able to take photos remotely simply by saying "Hey ‌Siri‌, say cheese."

Top Rated Comments

ozziegn Avatar
50 months ago
I just tried the "say cheese" command with Siri on my 12 Pro Max and it pretty much sucks just like anything else that involves using Siri. I tried it and it takes like ten seconds to think about what it needs to do then another five seconds to execute the command. This sucks. I love my iPhones to death but Siri has never, ever impressed me to say the least. I rarely use any sort of voice command stuff but when I do, I use Google which does the job 98% of the time. Unlike Siri which might do the job 2% of the time...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
haruhiko Avatar
50 months ago
Useful tips esp. for the voice control trick.
Anyway I just use the camera remote app on my Apple Watch. It’s one of the most handy and underrated feature of the Watch.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LeadingHeat Avatar
50 months ago

Is that a typo? Seems like it should be “Take a picture” instead.
You can take a picture by pressing the volume rocker buttons when the camera is open. So with voice control, you can navigate around the iOS interface with just your voice. I haven’t tested it but I’m sure you could also “choose” the white circle icon (to take a picture normally) using voice control, but the volume button is easier to access.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LeadingHeat Avatar
50 months ago
I love Siri Shortcuts. There are so many useful things I have built out with it. Automations, HomeKit, and just other useful tasks. Definitely going to make one for this camera shortcut! Thank you for this post!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
techfreak23 Avatar
50 months ago
Probably one of the best Apple Watch features, especially during a pandemic. I’ve been using it since the Apple Watch first came out, but I recently used it this weekend in Tahoe with my tripod for the group pictures. Made it so everyone was in the shots and we didn’t have to ask random strangers to touch our phones. I did forget it in the hotel for one part of the trip, so I had to find spots where I could prop my phone. Those photos obviously didn’t come out as great.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
manu chao Avatar
50 months ago

Thanks for sharing, very helpful ... but as with any camera, you need a tripod and how many iPhone users have tripods? or a secure place, object or such to keep the phone stable and safe, that's typically the hardest part.
With a phone you just have to get creative and lots of everyday objects become tripods. When I tried out these commands, the closest object useable as a tripod was an (Oxford) shoe. Wedged the phone into it perpendicular to the axis of the shoe, pointing towards the heel. It had the advantage of providing some safety (ie, if the phone slipped out of its position, it would slide into the shoe and not fall to the ground) and allowed some tilting to adjust the 'aiming angle'. Your mileage might vary depending on your particular shoe.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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