How to take photos remotely on iPhone using just your voice

Thanks to how smart our smartphones have become over the years, taking a picture of yourself has become very convenient. Front cameras and selfies have made taking a picture of you or your group easy no matter where you are. That said, there’s something about a picture taken from afar.

Apart from a better picture quality on the rear camera on most phones, better framing and composition are some of the perks of taking a conventional solo/group picture instead of a selfie. However, to take such a picture, most people resort to setting a timer (and running to make it in the frame in said time) or using an Apple Watch/other remote shutter. These work, but are inconvenient, and cost money, respectively.

ALSO READ: iPhone photography tips to level up your Instagram game

If you happen to have an Apple iPhone though, you can make use of a handy feature that eliminates both these approaches. Voice Control allows you to simply say a trigger word, following which your iPhone will take a picture. This means you can take all the time in the world to set up your frame and pose, and simply say the trigger word when ready to take the photo.

How to take pictures with Voice Control on iPhones

To use the feature, you must first set it up. To do this, head to the Settings app and navigate to Accessibility > Voice Control and enable Voice Control using the toggle on the screen. Depending on which version of iOS you’re running you may even see an option to ‘Set Up Voice Control’ instead.

Next, go to Commands, and choose ‘Create new command’. Here, enter your trigger word in the text box, and then tap on Action and choose Run Custom Gesture. You should now see a large black area, where you can draw any command. Tap the bottom-middle portion of your screen (where the camera shutter button usually appears) and you can save the gesture.

Tips for better pictures and easier capturing

Depending on how far your smartphone will be during a picture, you may have to speak or shout your trigger word. To avoid any embarrassing moments in public spaces, make sure it’s not a weird word, or one that may get you in trouble (like “shoot”). It is also a good idea to make sure its not a commonly used word either (like “Go” or “Now”), which would lead to unwanted triggers in everyday life.

ALSO READ: How to hide your personal pictures on an iPhone

You can also leverage the feature to take burst pictures instead of one picture. To do this, head back to the Commands section, and instead of simply tapping where the shutter button would be, make the burst gesture (swipe left from the capture button position and hold). Hold the burst gesture for about 4-5 seconds, as that amount of time should give you plenty of options in your burst which you can then choose from.

If you’re feeling even more productive, you can also set separate custom trigger words and their corresponding gestures to switch between camera modes (like “ultrawide” or “5 times zoom”) so you can take different kinds of pictures, all without running back to your phone!