The Long Exposure Photo Trick with iPhone

The iPhone camera appears simple. Just tap and shoot. But it has a few tricks up its sleeve.

One of my favorites is Long Exposure. This function is different than Night Mode, which automatically turns on when the ambient lighting is low. Long Exposure is an option available through another interesting iPhone feature called Live Photos. And it can be used for creating the effect of soft flowing water, but without the need for a tripod.

First, a little back story.

When landscape photographers encounter a scene with a river, for example, a couple of things typically run through their minds. Should I freeze the action of the water preserving its detail, or should I go for a softer, flowing look? Freezing the water is easy. A normal shutter speed will usually do the trick.

The soft, streaming effect is more challenging. In traditional photography, you need a long shutter speed, somewhere in the neighborhood of a second. Sounds simple, but it involves mounting the camera on a tripod and adding a dark filter or two to create that long exposure. The results are beautiful and worth the effort.

The iPhone can capture a similar effect, but without the tripod and filters. When you enable Live Photos, the phone starts recording images before you actually take a picture. This is a…