Snapping a quick photo on your iPhone can be tricky. You have to open the Camera app, set the zoom, exposure, and other controls, and then try to take the picture. By then, the subject of your intended photo may be gone. Locking in default camera settings can help, but using Apple’s touch-sensitive Camera Control button is a much better choice.
This curved rectangular button is on right side of phones in the iPhone 16 and Phone 17 lineups, and it aims to help you take pictures faster and easier. By default, clicking the control once opens the Camera app; press it again to snap the photo. Hold down on it slightly, then swipe left and right to zoom in and out. Lightly pressing the control locks the focus and exposure.
In my experience, the Camera Control button requires some trial and error. You’ll need to learn how, when, and where to tap the button to trigger the right features. After trying it, you may be tempted to go back to the standard on-screen controls, or stick with the customizable Action button, but the Camera Control may prove helpful if you can customize it to your needs.
6 iPhone Camera Control Options to Tweak Right Away
Camera Control button on iPhone 17 Pro Max (Credit: Eric Zeman/PCMag)
By default, clicking the Camera Control once opens the built-in iOS Camera app, allowing you to take pictures without fiddling with the screen. However, before you start using this feature, I recommend diving into your phone’s settings and making a few tweaks.
1. Enable Double Click
Navigate to Settings > Camera > Camera Control, where you can choose between a single click or a double click to open the Camera app. The single click is quicker, but if you find yourself triggering Camera Control accidentally, Double Click might work better.
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2. Require Screen On
Do you keep triggering the camera button when the phone screen is turned off? Enable Require Screen On, and you’ll be required to click the control button twice to launch the Camera app when the phone’s screen is locked or dimmed.
3. Set Camera Adjustment Controls
In the Controls section, enable Camera Adjustments, which will let you use the button to adjust the exposure, depth of field, zoom, and other settings. Tap Customize and turn on Light Press and Swipe so you can lightly press the button to select a specific settings. Swipe up and down or right and left to change the levels for a particular setting.
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Next, you can turn specific settings on and off depending on which ones you want to manage through the control button. For example, you may want to turn on exposure, depth, zoom, and cameras if you frequently use those but turn off styles and tone if you never touch them. Here, you’re also able to set the order in which the settings appear by dragging and dropping them from the three-lined hamburger icon to another section of the list.
On the Camera Control settings screen, turn on Lock Focus and Exposure if you want to lock both settings by lightly holding down the button.
4. Remove On-Screen Camera Controls
Enable Clean Preview to remove the on-screen camera controls for an unobstructed view of your subject. You may want to keep this off if you’re still not ready to go all-in on the physical Camera Control button.
5. Enable Visual Intelligence
Apple’s Visual Intelligence uses AI to help the phone identify objects in your photos. If you’d like to use this feature from the Camera Control button, open the Camera Control settings screen, scrolls down to Launch Visual Intelligence, and enable Press and Hold. Now, when you press and hold the button, it launches the feature that will allow you to run a search on or ask questions about the subject or object you see through the camera.
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6. Set Control Speed and Firmness
Select the option for Accessibility to tweak additional options, like setting how firmly or lightly you need to press the control button to activate it or setting how fast you need to double-click or double-light-press it.
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How to Take a Picture and Adjust Settings on the Fly
Now that your default settings are in order, line up a scene that you want to shoot. Press down on the Camera Control, and the Camera app opens. To take a photo, tap the button again. To shoot a video, hold down Camera Control and release it to stop the video recording.
Taking a photo with the default settings. (Credit: Apple/PCMag)
If you need to adjust camera settings further, lightly tap the Camera control twice. Slide your finger up and down on the button (left and right if it’s in landscape mode) to cycle through the exposure, depth of field, zoom, cameras, style, tone, and cameras settings. When you find the setting you wish to change, lightly tap the Camera Control once to access it. Then move your finger up and down to cycle through the options for that setting. Here’s how each one works:
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Exposure
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Use this setting to lighten or darken the scene and move between 2 EV and -2 EV. The exposure value combines shutter speed and aperture to determine how much light will reach the lens. The more light, the brighter the scene and vice versa. Play around with the exposure if a scene is too bright or too dark, or to add a certain aesthetic to the photo. For example, a scene that’s slightly darker may be more interesting than one that’s conventionally bright.
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Depth of Field
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
This setting determines how sharp the background of a scene is compared to the subject of the photo. Make the depth of field (DOF) higher to put more of the scene into focus and lower to make the background out of focus, like in Portrait Mode. You may need a lower DOF to capture a photo in a dark environment, while a scene with ample lighting can be set higher. However, an image with a blurry background may be more appealing than one with the entire scene in focus.
Zoom
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The zoom setting simply zooms in and out of the subject. You may need to zoom in to capture a faraway subject and zoom out to capture a larger area.
Styles
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The styles setting applies a specific color temperature to the photo, such as warm or cold. Here, you can choose among several different styles, including stark black and white, muted black and white, luminous, natural, vibrant, amber, gold, neutral, and more.
Tone
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The tone setting controls the amount of shadowing in your photos, another way to essentially lighten or darken the scene. Moving from 1 to -1, you can add or subtract shadows to create a dramatic effect.
Cameras
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With the Cameras setting, you can quickly move to one of the preset optical zoom levels and even switch from the rear camera to the front camera. Swipe the camera control to move from one zoom level to another. Swipe all the way to the end to switch over to the front-facing camera.
How to Reassign or Disable Camera Control
If, after trying out the Camera Control button, you don’t like using it, there are a few options. To reassign it to a new function, go to Settings > Camera > Camera Control and select Camera to change the app that launches when you press the button. You can set it to open a third-party camera app, QR code scanner, or the Magnifier app. Otherwise, choose None so that Camera Control button does nothing when pressed. You can also open the Accessibility settings and disable Camera Control from there.
(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
About Our Expert
Lance Whitney
Contributor
Experience
I’ve been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I’ve written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including , ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I’ve also written two books for Wiley & Sons—Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn.
I’ve used Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products for years so I’m well versed in that world. I also know the Mac quite well. I’m always working with iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and Android on my various mobile devices. And these days, I write a lot about AI, so that’s become another key area for me.
My wife always jokes about all the tech products we have around the house, but I manage to put them to good use for my articles. I like Lenovo computers, so I own a couple of Lenovo desktops and several laptops. I have three MacBooks and a Mac mini. For my mobile life and work, I use an iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro, and iPad mini as well as an Apple Watch. But since I write about Android, I own several Android phones and tablets. Like any tech person, I have a cabinet full of cables, wires, and assorted mysterious gadgets. And when it’s time to take a break from writing, I have an old Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, both of which I use for exercise and fitness games.
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