Live Photos on iPhones capture a few seconds of motion before and after a shot—creating a mini clip that adds life to your photos. However, these photos might not always meet expectations. I have some tips to improve your Live Photo experience.

1Use a Tripod or Stabilize Your Phone

Stable shots are crucial for high-quality Live Photos. Even the slightest shake or motion may blur the image. To prevent this,use a tripod to keep your phone steadyor place it on a stable surface. When it’s low light, the shutter needs to stay open longer to gather enough light; any movement during this time can distort the appearance.

In situations like concerts or crowded places where a tripod might be impractical, hold your phone with both hands and tuck your elbows into your body to ensure stability.

2Adjust Focus and Exposure

Like regular photos, you can adjust the focus and exposure of your Live Photos. This is useful under diverse lighting conditions or when highlighting a specific subject.

To adjust the focus, tap on the screen, and a yellow box will appear around that area. You can drag this square to change the focus point. Besides the yellow box, you’ll notice a sun icon with a small slider for adjusting exposure; slide up to increase exposure or down to decrease it.

If you tap and hold on the screen, you’ll see a yellowAE/AF LOCKbanner at the top. This locks focus and exposure so you can reposition your camera without losing settings. Then, scroll your finger up or down to adjust the exposure.

3Add Effects to Your Live Photos

you’re able to add effects to your Live Photos. There are four options available: Loop, Bounce, Long Exposure, and Live Off. Here’s what each does.

To use these effects, open your Live Photo in the Photos app. On the top left, you’ll seeLive(two overlapping circles); tap it to open the effects menu. Then, choose the effect you like, and it will apply to your photo.

4Set a Unique Key Photo

The key photo is the static shot that appears in your camera roll before tapping into Live Photos. It’s also the one you’d see if you synced your Live Photos to other devices.

Sometimes, the auto-generated key photo isn’t the best shot. For example, you blinked or made an awkward expression during a Live Photo capture. Or, you might have taken a group photo, and the key photo features someone not looking at the camera. In such cases, you can choose and set another key photo.

To choose a different key photo, open the photo in Photos and tapEditin the upper right. Next, tapLiveat the bottom (the one with three looping circles). Now you’ll see a timeline of all the frames in your Live Photo.

Scroll through to find the frame you want as the key photo. A white dot above it shows the current key photo. Then, tapMake Key Photojust above the keyframe. Once you’re done, tapDonein the right corner. The thumbnail of your Live Photo now shows the new key photo.

If you want, you can also revert to the original key photo. For this, open Live Photo and tap thethree dotsin the upper right corner. From the menu, selectRevert to Original. This action will remove all edits and restore your Live Photo to its initial state.

5Trim Your Live Photos

Sometimes your Live Photos capture moments you wouldn’t want to include. For example, you snapped a beautiful landscape with birds flying through the frame, but someone walked in and ruined the shot. In such cases, you can trim your Live Photo to remove unwanted frames. However, this trimming is only possible at the beginning and end of a Live Photo; you cannot remove frames in the middle.

To trim your Live Photo, open it in Photos and tapEdit. Next, tapLiveat the bottom to access the timeline. At either end of the timeline, you’ll see vertical bars with white arrows; these indicate the start and end points of your Live Photo.

Drag these bars to the frames you want to keep. Anything outside these bars will be trimmed out. Next, tapDonein the upper right corner to save your changes. Your Live Photo will now be trimmed, and the thumbnail will reflect these changes

To restore the original photo with all frames intact, open the image in Photos, tap thethree dots, and selectRevert to Original.

6Turn Your Live Photos Into Videos

Did you know you canconvert Live Photos into videos? This feature is ideal for sharing Live Photos on social media platforms that don’t support its format.

To turn your Live Photo into a video, open it in Photos and tap thethree dots. From the menu, selectSave as Video. This action saves your Live Photo as a video on your camera roll.

7Find the Right Moment

Even with these tips, you might still get dull or uninteresting shots. Since Live Photos capture motion, timing is crucial—you must choose the moment that truly matters. For example, when taking a photo of someone jumping, tap the shutter right before they jump, so the Live Photo captures their preparation and actual leap.

These are some tips and tricks for taking and editing live photos on your iPhone. Remember, Live Photos capture not just the moment, but also the emotions and actions surrounding it. So, try these scenarios and watch your Live Photos come alive.