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12 ways to use your iPhone 16's Camera Control button for better photos – faster
The iPhone 16 series comes with a physical Camera Control button that you can press to snap a photo or video, tap to display different settings, and slide to adjust the exposure and other elements. But the control can be challenging to operate, especially if you’re used to swiping and tapping the on-screen settings to take a photo.
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I’ve been trying the Camera Control for the past few weeks, using it to shoot photos and videos out and about. There’s definitely a learning curve. You have to figure out how to access each setting and apply the right press or tap to activate it. You also need to understand how adjusting the exposure, depth of field, style, and tone will affect your photo — and which of these elements you should use and when.
I’m still trying to get used to the control to determine whether I prefer it over the standard on-screen camera settings. If you’re struggling with the control as well, here are 12 tips that should make it easier to use.
How to use Camera Control on the iPhone 16
By default, pressing once on the Camera Control opens the Camera app. That’s a quick and easy way to take a photo. But you may find yourself accidentally hitting the control when you don’t want to use the camera. In that case, you can change the action to a double click.
Go to Settings, select Camera, and then tap Camera Control. In the Launch Camera section, check the option for Double Click and then see if double pressing the control works better for you.
Lightly pressing or double pressing the Camera Control with the Camera app open lets you cycle through the different settings and adjust them as you prefer. But as you do this, the onscreen settings in the Camera app disappear due to a Clean Preview option. The idea is to present you with a clear and unobstructed view of your subject. But you might prefer to have access to those on-screen settings to adjust them the usual way. In that case, simply turn off Clean Preview.
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Head to Settings, select Camera, and then tap Camera Control. In the Light Press section, turn off the switch for Clean Preview. The next time you use the Camera Control, notice that the on-screen settings remain visible.
By default, the Camera Control triggers the built-in Camera app. That’s fine. But maybe you’d like to activate a different app. Perhaps you use a third-party camera app that you prefer or would like to take a photo through a social media app like Instagram or Snapchat. No problem.
Again, go to Settings, select Camera, and then tap Camera Control. The bottom section displays a list of camera programs and related apps installed on your iPhone. Tap the one you’d like to use. The next time you press the Camera control, your chosen app will pop up.
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The settings that appear when you press or double-press the control will vary based on the app. On my iPhone, the Obscura camera app gives me access to settings for exposure, zoom, filter, focus, and format. The ProCamera app lets me control the exposure and zoom. And the Halide app provides access to lock, exposure, and focus settings.
With the Camera app open, light pressing the Camera Control once takes you to the last setting you used, such as exposure or depth of field. Light pressing it twice takes you to a list of all the settings — Exposure, Depth of Field, Zoom, Styles, and Tone. After you rest on a specific setting, light pressing the control again lets you adjust that setting. But if you’re having trouble getting your light presses to work properly, you may want to adjust the pressure.
Go to Settings and select Accessibility. In the Physical and Motor section, tap Camera Control. The Camera Control screen offers three levels of pressure — Lighter, Default, and Normal. Initially, I found that even the default option failed to register a lot of my light presses, which is why I changed it to Lighter. Your mileage may vary, so play around with the three levels to see which works best for you.
Light pressing the Camera Control twice displays all the settings you can adjust. But that’s another action that may not always register correctly. In that case, you can modify the pressure.
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Go to Settings, select Accessibility, and tap Camera Control. Swipe to the bottom of the screen to the section for Double Light-Press Speed. Change the level from Default to Slow or Slower to see if the double light presses are more accurate. Switching it from Default to Slow did the trick for me.
Pressing the Camera Control once with the Camera app open takes a still photo. But you can also use the control to shoot a video. Simply press down on the control until the red shutter button appears at the bottom and the timer appears at the top. When you’re done, release the control, and your video is saved to your library.
You use the exposure setting to lighten or darken the scene. The EV, or exposure value, is a number that represents the shutter speed and the aperture to determine how much light reaches the lens. The more light, the brighter the scene; the less light, the darker the scene.
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To access this with the Camera app open, double-press the Camera Control and swipe up on the control until you see Exposure. Press once to adjust the exposure and then slide your finger up and down on the control, moving between -2 EV to darken the scene and 2 EV to lighten the scene. Beyond increasing the exposure to compensate for a low-light scene, consider keeping certain shots darker to make them more interesting or mysterious.
Use the depth of field setting to determine how sharp the surrounding area of a scene is versus the subject of the photo. The higher the depth of field, the more the entire scene is in focus. The lower the depth of field, the more the background or surrounding area is out of focus compared with the subject. Here, you’re actually adjusting the F stop to increase or decrease the aperture of the lens.
In the Camera app, double press the Camera control and then swipe toward the top until you see Depth. Press once and then slide your finger on the control. In a dark environment, you may need to use a lower depth of field to keep the subject of the photo in focus. In a scene with ample light, the depth of field may automatically get set to a higher number. But you might find a photo with a lower depth of field and the background somewhat blurry more interesting than one that’s entirely in focus.
The zoom setting simply zooms in and out of the subject. You’ll need to zoom in to capture a faraway subject or scene and zoom out to capture a larger area. Again, double press the Camera control and swipe until you see Zoom. Press once and slide your finger along the control to zoom in and out.
The styles setting applies a specific color temperature to your photo. You can choose among such styles as stark black & white, muted black & white, ethereal, cozy, quite, dramatic, luminous, natural, vibrant, standard, amber, gold, rose gold, neutral, and cool rose.
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Double press the Camera control and swipe until you see Styles. Press once and slide your finger along the control to see how the different styles affect the look and mood of the photo.
The tone setting controls the amount of shadowing in your photos, another way to lighten or darken the scene. Double press the Camera control and swipe to the bottom until you see Tone. Press once and slide your finger on the control to explore the various levels. Moving from 1 to -1, you can add or subtract shadows in your screen to create a dramatic effect.
Finally, if you decide you just don’t like the Camera Control, you can easily turn it off. Go to Settings, select Accessibility, and tap Camera Control. To disable the ability to adjust the settings by light pressing the control, turn off the switch for Show Adjustments. To disable the Camera Control completely, turn off the switch for Camera Control.
