Long-exposure photographs can seem amazing if you’ve ever seen creative photographs of rivers or waterfalls with the water blurred to appear smooth. Intentionally blurring moving objects in a landscape produces a sensation of motion that contrasts particularly well with crisp, static features like trees or boulders. You can now accomplish a lot of the same thing with just your iPhone, when before this method required a large DSLR, filters, and a tripod to achieve shutter speeds above a few seconds. In the past, taking pictures at various shutter speeds required a DSLR with filters and a tripod. However, a clever function in the camera of your iPhone may produce these stunning pictures with hardly any work.

To utilize this function, you don’t even need the most recent iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max. Any iPhone released after the iPhone 6 may use it.

Read more: Use Your iPhone to Take the Greatest Pictures You’ve Ever Taken

The method makes advantage of Live Photos, a function that records a few seconds of video when the shutter is fired, converting a still image into a brief animation. The iPhone detects which things are moving, records the movement, and blurs it. Additionally, it can identify stationary objects, like a wall or a rock, and makes an effort to maintain their focus and sharpness. This enables you to take lengthy exposure photos in the intense noon sun without use a filter or tripod. DSLRs, take that.

A sea jetty comparison photograph with and without the long exposure effect
A typical iPhone 11 Pro photo (left) and the identical photo with the long-exposure setting turned on (right).
CNET/Andrew Lanxon
Here’s how to accomplish it.

Recognize the qualities of an excellent long-exposure photograph.
Not everything works as a long-exposure photograph. A photograph of a static automobile will stay, well, motionless, but a close-up of a flower moving in the breeze will merely become a hazy jumble.

A scenario with both moving and static elements is what you need. Since the surrounding rocks will stay solid while the flowing water is blurred, waterfalls are frequently photographed. Any collection of Really, experimenting with water might be a fantastic idea.

An illustration of the long exposure effect from a Disney park
The conventional photo on the left appears to be just another picture from a Disney theme park. However, a long exposure (right) turns it into a dreamy picture that highlights the scene’s movement.
CNET/Andrew Lanxon
You might perhaps try the streets of a busy city. The buildings and roads remain crisp and fixed in the picture due to the long-exposure effect, but the people moving about will seem as ghostly figures, creating a dramatic and atmospheric impression.

Activate Live Photos
It’s crucial to have the Live Photo mode turned on when shooting since it records the movement needed to get a long-exposure picture. It can be found in either the top left (in landscape mode) or the top right of the camera’s screen (in portrait mode). An symbol with two circles encircled by a third dotted circle will be seen. Live Photos is turned on if there isn’t a line through it. Tap the symbol to see the message “Live” display onscreen in a small yellow box if there is a line across it.

An illustration of the iPhone 11’s camera screen’s Live Photos button
Verify that there isn’t a line across this symbol.
Remain calm.
You can take a nice long-exposure photo with the iPhone without a tripod, but you’ll get the best results if you hold the phone as still as possible.

live picture. When shooting, I advise leaning the phone against a wall or other stationary object. I’ve found that holding my breath and folding my elbows in toward my body reduce motion blur while snapping pictures if you have to keep the phone in your hand.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to snap several pictures while holding the position and pressing the shutter button. By doing this, you’ll raise the likelihood that you’ll get at least one picture that’s steady enough to yield a pleasing long exposure.

Make the extended exposure
It’s time to convert your Live image into the real long exposure after you’ve taken it. To begin, use the gallery app and select your image. On the upper left, there is a little symbol stating Live with a tiny arrow pointing down beside it. You may choose to make the picture a long exposure at the bottom, a looping GIF, or a bouncing GIF that plays forwards and backwards by tapping the arrow.

You’ll see how any motion in your photo has been blurred into the desired dreamy look in a matter of seconds. After that, you may enlarge it to make sure it’s still crisp. In case additional pictures you shot of the same scene turned out better, feel free to use the same effect on those as well.

Open the chosen image in your gallery if you’re still on iOS 14 or earlier, and Swipe up. This will open the Effects tab, where you may loop the video’s movements into GIFs. However, you’ll see one named Long Exposure if you swipe to the end of the effects window. Give it a tap. A more modern version of your phone would be a great upgrade, though.

A long exposure effect image of a castle along a lake
I didn’t plan on using a long exposure when I took this picture, but since it was a Live snapshot, I could use the long-exposure option later.
Create long-exposure pictures using already-existing live shots.
Look through your library if you are unable to see auroras in the night sky.

to determine whether you already have any additional pictures that would be suitable for long-exposure photography. You don’t have to utilize the iPhone’s long-exposure tool while you’re shooting, which is a terrific feature. Any Live picture you have taken up to this point can be used with it.

It’s possible that when you took pictures at Havasu Falls in Arizona or Niagara Falls in New York a few years ago, Live Photos was turned on. On any of those photos, you can swipe up to turn on long exposure. You can even go into your Live Photos album in your gallery to see all the shots you’ve got on your phone that can be transformed into long exposures. My advice? Put on a decent podcast, find a comfortable chair, and explore your collection for some beautiful images.