Your Apple Watch can make taking iPhone photos much simpler!
Wondering how to use Apple Watch as a remote for iPhone’s camera? Read on!
One of the most loved features of the iPhone is its camera. As a matter of fact, rarely a year goes by without Apple adding some kind of big hardware or software upgrade to the iPhone’s cameras.
And it’s little reason why they do this. Digital photography is as ubiquitous as it is popular. When we’re not snapping pictures of our food, we’re taking selfies to post to the Gram or one of the dozens of other apps that spur us to share out best images.
But did you know that if you have an Apple Watch, it can be much easier to take photos with an iPhone? Group photos especially?
That’s because the Apple Watch can act as a remote shutter control for the iPhone. It can also work as a viewfinder. That is, your Apple Watch will display what the iPhone’s camera is seeing.
Here’s what you need to know – and how to use these cool new features.
What You Need
Before we get started, you’ll need a few things if you want to use an Apple Watch as an iPhone camera remote:
- An iPhone running the latest version of iOS (so iOS 14 or higher).
- An Apple Watch running the latest version of watchOS (so watchOS 7 or higher)
- You’ll also need to make sure that Bluetooth is enabled on both the Apple Watch and iPhone
Finally, though this isn’t strictly required, some kind of tripod with the iPhone will be useful. This is because if you are using your Apple Watch as a remote for the iPhone’s camera, the iPhone is probably out of your reach – like how it is when you are taking a non-selfie picture (ie: not arm’s length) with yourself in the shot too.
Tripods help keep the iPhone stable and secure and allow you to frame a shot much more easily.
Got all that? Good!
Use Apple Watch As A Remote For The iPhone’s Camera
If you’re ready to use the Apple Watch as a remote for the iPhone’s camera, first make sure your iPhone is set up for the picture to be taken (ideally on a tripod) and then open the camera app so you see the shot on the camera app’s screen.
- Now open up the Camera app on your Apple Watch. Your Apple Watch’s Camera app should now mirror what your iPhone’s camera is seeing.
- Tap on the Apple Watch’s screen to focus the iPhone’s camera on that area of the image.
- Below the live thumbnail mirroring your iPhone’s camera on your Apple Watch is a white button with “3” labeled on it. This is the remote shutter button. Tap it to begin the timer countdown. When it gets to zero it will take the picture.
And that’s it! You’ve just taken a picture with the iPhone’s Camera using the Apple Watch as the remote.
You’ll also now see that a small thumbnail has appeared next to the white shutter button on the Apple Watch. This is the picture you just took. You can tap on it to see it enlarged on your Apple Watch’s display.
Change iPhone Camera Settings From Your Apple Watch
You can also change the iPhone’s Camera app setting right from your Apple Watch. Here’s how:
First, make sure your iPhone is set up for the picture to be taken (ideally on a tripod), and then open the camera app so you see the shot on the camera app’s screen.
- Now open up the Camera app on your Apple Watch. Your Apple Watch’s Camera app should now mirror what your iPhone’s camera is seeing.
- Now tap the three dots next to the shutter button on the Apple Watch’s Camera app.
- In the settings screen that appears in the Apple Watch’s Camera app you can toggle the “3 sec” switch OFF (white) so a photo is taken without the three-second countdown.
- Under “CAMERA” you can tap to with to the front or rear iPhone camera.
- Under “FLASH” you can tap to set it to auto, on, or off.
- Under “LIVE PHOTO” you can tap to set it to auto, on, or off.
- Under “HDR” you can tap to set it to on or off.
And those are the iPhone camera settings you can control from your Apple Watch!
Check out How To Make A FaceTime Call On Your Apple Watch, too!
