How to turn off the flash on your iPhone, or set it to automatic so your camera only flashes when necessary

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iphone cameraShutterstock

  • It’s easy to turn off the flash on your iPhone, or adjust your flash settings.  
  • You can control the flash using the Flash icon at the top left of the Camera app – you’ll have the option to turn the flash on and off, or set it to auto flash, which will only use flash in low light. 
  • Many photographers tend to turn off the flash, as even in the best of circumstances, it can lead to photos with harsh lighting and unflattering portraits. 
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Your iPhone’s Camera app has a built-in flash for taking photos in low-light situations. 

But like any compact digital camera in which the flash is positioned very close to the lens, you might not love the results you get when you use it. 

That’s why many photographers opt to turn off the flash entirely, using it only when absolutely necessary. Here’s how to control the flash on your iPhone.

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How to turn off the flash on your iPhone 

1. Start the Camera app. 

2. Tap the Flash symbol (which looks like a lightning bolt) at the top left of the screen. 

flash 1Dave Johnson/Business Insider

You should see three options appear:

  • Auto. Tap this to put your camera in auto flash mode. It will fire the flash in low-light situations when the camera thinks it’s needed to take a well-exposed photo. 
  • On. Tap this to force the flash to fire every time you take a photo. The flash will go off in all lighting situations.
  • Off. Tap this to disable the flash. It will never fire, regardless of lighting. 

You might want to experiment a bit to see which setting works best for you, but in general you should set your flash to Auto or Off, and only use the flash when there’s no way to add enough ambient light to a scene to get a good picture. 

Otherwise, your iPhone’s flash may lead to unflattering photos with harsh lighting, shiny skin, and red eyes, as well as unwanted glare and reflections. 

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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Dave Johnson)

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