Turn off Live Photos

Live photos were introduced to iPhone photography with iPhone 6s. Live photos will capture sound and movement a second and a half before and after a photo is taken. It does this by adding a short video clip to the beginning and the end of the photo.

It is an interesting effect that can add life and even sound to a normal photo.

However, it isn’t always desirable for everyone who wants to record life events with simple photography. And depending on your subject, Live Photo might not add nothing to a photo.

Live Photos
Top: On
Bottom: Off

Turn Live Photo on and off

You can turn off Live Photos for any picture that you take by tapping the Live Photo icon on the top center of your Camera app screen.

The button is yellow when Live Photos is on.
The Live Photo button is white with a slash when it is turned off.

However, instead of turning it on/off for every photo, there is a setting that will have the Camera app “remember” your preferred setting. With this setting, you can still take Live Photos but it will remember and preserve the last live photo setting you have.

It’s a good approach if you simply prefer to normally have Live Photo turn off.

The steps are below:

Step-by-Step

Turn off the Live Photo with these actions:

Open the Camera app.
Tap the yellow Live Photo icon so it is off (white with a slash through it) This is the setting you want to preserve.
Open the Settings app.
Scroll down to find and tap the Camera settings.
Tap Preserve Settings.
Tap the Live Photo slider so it is Green. (Green is on)

Note: This does not disable the live photo. It preserves the last setting you used. You can tap the Live Photo icon at any time to enable a live photo.

Summary

As awesome as Live Photos might be for some types of photos, you may just prefer to turn off Live Photos for the majority of your pictures. The Step-by-step above shows you how.

Setup

See Step-by-step above

Requirements

Requires IOS: 10+

Works on iPhone and iPad

Additional Information

The Senior Tech Club recommends the following additional resources for members that wish to pursue additional and/or advanced information on this recipe:

iPhone User Guide – Photos App

iPhone User Guide – Camera App

Senior Tech Club Recipes and Nuggets on the Camera and Photos apps:

	Number	Title
	450	The Basics of iPhone Photography – Let’s Point and Shoot
	451	Beyond Point and Shoot with iPhone Photography
	N1	Read QR Codes with your iPhone
	N21	Quickly Launch the Camera App to Capture the Kodak Moment
	N25	Get More Photo Information
	N24	Camera Grid Helps with Rule of Thirds Composition
	N28	Create a Brag Book with Photo Favorites
	452	Organizing your Photos with Albums
	N26	Tips and Tools for Finding Photos
	N29	Show your Photos with a Slideshow
	N27	Add Text or Drawing to a Photo
	N30	Turn off Live Photos
	453	Crop & Edit Photos with the Photos App
	454	Share Photos with iCloud Photo Sharing
	N22	Seven Ways to Release the Camera Shutter
	N23	A Tour of the Camera App
	N38	Organizing your Photos with Albums
	N39	How to Scan a QR Code in a Photo using Google Lens
	N57	How to Trim an iPhone or iPad Video
	N53	How to Set Up and Use the iCloud Photo Library
	N58	How to View and Manage Burst Photos
		LIVE! #14 – Taking Better iPhone Photos – Part 1 Camera Basics
		LIVE! #15 – Taking Better iPhone Photos – Part 2 Beyond Point & Click
		LIVE! #16 – Taking Better iPhone Photos – Part 3 Get Creative with Advanced Modes
	N69	How to Delete Photos on your iPhone or iPad
	N70	How to Order Photo Prints using the Walgreens app
	N71	Reduce Sleep Inhibiting Blue Light with Night Shift
	N72	How to Take a Screenshot on your iPhone
	N28	Create a Brag Book with Photo Favorites
	N23	A Tour of the Camera App – Older iPhones