Live Photo came out with the iPhone 6s back in 2015. Although Apple gave a lot of prominence to this format, in my case it is a function that I have always deactivated on the iPhone . Of course, with the Photos app they make more sense as it is an image with an animation that is activated by default, giving a very attractive result. But this is not the only reason I have reconciled with Live Photos. It was the fault of one of the effects that can be applied to this type of memory.
What is and how to take a Live Photo
More often than you think, I have seen people around me taking “living photos” with their iPhones. Without realizing that they have Live Photos activated and the particularities that they imply. Because Live Photos are actually a small video that also records sound . Activate them by pressing the button with concentric circles on the top right of the camera.
Each Live Photo records 1.5 seconds before pressing the camera button and 1.5 seconds after. That is, when we press the camera button we will have told you what to record before and after that moment. So if you plan to take a Live Photo, keep in mind that it will be heard and seen before and after the photo is taken.
Live Photo with the long exposure effect activated, conceals the people at the entrance of the store.
Its operation can be difficult to understand at first. But when you do several and look at the results on the reel, you get used to it . Because it is a recording of 3 seconds in total around the moment we press the button, we must keep the camera still or focused on the objective before moving it away. While this is happening, we will see a yellow sign with the word “LIVE” that tells us when the photo (and the accompanying sound) is being recorded.
For this reason, it is common to find images in this format that suddenly look away from the lens , thinking that it is a normal photo.
Long exposure, one of Live Photo’s almost unknown settings
For several versions, Live Photo have three additional effects that are displayed in a menu in the image on the reel. They are looping, bouncing, and long exposure. The first two are quite simple to explain, one plays the recording constantly while the other when it reaches the end it begins to play in reverse.
It is the third effect that I have just rediscovered and that I am liking the most. During the reopening of Apple Puerta del Sol, I took a couple of photos in Live format to see if I could use them in the published articles (in the end I only used one of them, which is in this article).
Fonts are also good objects to draw with this effect.
When we apply it, we manage to blur people in motion , focusing attention on the subject of the photo: the building. I find it very useful to take photos of buildings without people getting in the way and taking center stage. Of course, it is better the more movement there is. If it just coincides with the walking people staying still, the effect loses its grace.
How to use the photographic styles in the new iPhone 13 to be more creative in our photos
The next step is to use it on a busy street where there is one person completely still and others moving next to you. Another very cool example is fonts. If we take a Live Photo, the long exposure achieves a “snowy” effect, similar to that obtained by some photographers in large waterfalls in the middle of nature.
