How To Lock Focus & Exposure On iPhone Separately? Quick Easy Steps
First, how to lock focus & exposure on iPhone?
To lock the focus and exposure point, simply tap and hold on to that part of the screen for a few seconds. Release your finger when the yellow box that reads AE/AF Lock appears at the top of the screen. When AE/AF Lock is turned on, that area of the scene is locked in focus.
Please read on for a more thorough explanation of how to lock focus and exposure on an iPhone.
Table of Contents
How To Lock Focus & Exposure On iPhone?
- As usual, launch the Camera app, and point it in the direction of the object you want to capture.
- The area of the screen you want focus and exposure locked onto should be touched and held down.
- The focus and lighting are locked in place when “AE/EF Lock” appears at the bottom of the screen.
The majority of iOS Camera versions have this feature, but depending on the iOS version installed on the iPhone, it may appear slightly differently. Here is how it appears in more recent iterations:
It should be noted that in order to lock the exposure and focus, you must tap and hold the screen until the AE/EF Lock text appears. If you don’t, the settings will adjust as you pan.
Once the lock is in place, you can move the camera freely while maintaining the lighting and depth settings. You can then take a picture right away. To unlock the AE/EF lock, tap somewhere else on the screen once more.
Dramatic results can be obtained from photographs, particularly when lighting is a factor. The left side of the example image up top depicts how the iPhone wanted to automatically set the lighting, and the right side displays the outcome after locking onto the lightbulb.
On the iPhone as well as the iPad and iPod touch, auto-focus and auto-exposure can be combined with zoom. If the iPhone camera doesn’t get some manual controls for exposure and aperture, this is one of those great tricks that can make ordinary iPhone photos look like they were taken by professionals.
How Do Focus & Exposure Controls Work?
In iOS 14, this function was unveiled. Please take the time to read about how locking focus and exposure functions in earlier iOS versions before moving on to the tutorial section.
Focus & Exposure To Older Versions Of IOS
Apple’s Camera app had a combined focus and exposure control in iOS 13 and earlier. That’s not ideal for anyone who wants to take serious photos with their iPhone, which is why some people use third-party apps that offer sophisticated features, such as the highly regarded Halide Camera app.
Before you press the shutter button, the iPhone camera sets the focus and exposure automatically, and face detection evens everything out across up to ten faces. The previous procedure for altering focus and exposure was as follows:
- To view the automatic focus zone and exposure setting, tap the screen.
- Tap the desired location for the focus area (the square with a yellow outline).
- Drag the vertical sun icon up or down next to the focus area to change the exposure.
Tap and hold the focus point until you see “AE/AF Lock” (AE = Automatic Exposure; AF = Automatic Focus). This will lock your manual focus and exposure settings for future shots. By doing this, you can stop these values from modifying themselves whenever you move your iPhone camera.
If you want to capture multiple shots of the same scene, locking focus and exposure is especially helpful. Tap the screen to unlock these values.
Current Focus & Exposure Settings On iPhone
Your manual exposure and focus settings on the iPhone can be locked separately starting with iOS 14 and later. This gives you more control and gives the Camera app a touch of professionalism. An updated exposure compensation control (ECV) is made available with the feature. Changing this value has an impact on all images and videos captured throughout the entire Camera session, but you can choose to keep it after the session is over if you’d prefer.
Thankfully, the helpful vertical sun slider is still available for quickly brightening or darkening an image after AE/AF is locked. However, unlike earlier iOS versions, tapping somewhere else in the camera viewfinder no longer returns your manual exposure adjustment to zero.
You get the best of both worlds — locking the exposure value separately from the focus for an entire Camera session via the new ECV value, plus the ability to adjust exposure for a specific shot with the sun slider, like before, without changing your global ECV value.
The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and newer are supported by the ECV feature. This useful photography feature is not supported by older devices.
Preserve ECV Setting Across Camera Sessions In IOS 14
Since the value automatically resets when you close the Camera app, you can choose to save the setting across camera sessions if you prefer to use ECV.
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and choose the Camera option.
3. Next, tap on Preserve Settings.
4. Finally, turn on the switch for Exposure Adjustment.
Which iPhone Models Support The ECV Feature?
Unfortunately, the ECV feature only works with more recent iPhone models. Check to see if the ECV feature on your iPhone is compatible before purchasing.
The only iPhone models that support this camera feature are the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE (2nd generation), iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.
Final Words
The article concentrated on iPhone exposure and focus lock.
The camera on your iPhone or iPad will typically focus on the area you choose if you tap the screen while using it. Tap on a face to make it focus on that face, or tap on an object to make the camera focus on that object. This is helpful if you plan to frame your shot and the shooting conditions are fixed, i.e., if you plan to stand in the same spot and the lighting doesn’t change.
Do you now understand how to lock focus and exposure on an iPhone after reading this post? If you have any queries about locking focus and exposure on an iPhone, kindly leave a comment. I’ll answer as soon as I can.
I want to thank you for reading, but that’s not the end of it.
