Would you like to take spontaneous photos on your smartphone…
...but you can't open your smartphone camera fast enough?
It's a common problem in smartphone photography. By the time you get through the lock screen and open the camera app, your amazing photo opportunity is gone.
But here's the thing:
Every smartphone has ways to “quick launch” the camera. And with this quick launch feature, you can practically guarantee that you won't miss your future shots.
In this article, I'm going to show you methods to quickly launch the smartphone camera. I'm going to walk you through the technique for a number of popular smartphones - so next time you're out and about, you'll be able to capture every spontaneous shot that are you doing.
Sounds good?
Let's dive right in.
To quickly access your smartphone camera: table of contents
Quickly access the camera on your Google Pixel
Quickly access your iPhone's camera
Quickly access the camera of your Huawei smartphone
Quickly access the camera on your Samsung smartphone
1. Quickly access the camera on your Google Pixel
If you have a Google Pixel (any model), you can easily open your camera:
Just double tap the Power/Lock button.
No matter where you are on your Pixel, the camera opens instantly.
And you'll be ready to take some amazing shots.
If this setting doesn't work on your Pixel, you may need to do some adjustments.
tap
settings
, then
system
, and finally
Languages & Input
.From there you will see the option to activate
Jump to the camera
.And you will be finished.
It's also worth noting that you can quickly switch between the front and rear cameras on your Pixel. Once the camera is open, simply double-twist your wrist - and watch the cameras switch!
I will also mention an additional option:
When using your pixel, you can always access the
camera
icon in your favorites bar. This gives you quick access to the camera app when you're on the home screen.
2. Quickly access your iPhone's camera
All relatively new iPhones have a method to quickly launch your camera from the lock screen:
Just swipe from right to left.
Then your camera will pop up and be ready to go!
You can take photos, but you can't access your photo library. To access old pictures, you must first unlock your iPhone and then open the camera.
One way to quickly access the camera from the home screen:
Place the camera icon in the dock (i.e. the menu that appears at the bottom of the home screen). This way you can just tap on the home screen and -
voila!
–The camera will open.
To put your iPhone camera in the dock, press and hold any icon. All the icons will start to shake. Then drag the camera icon to the dock. Finally, press the home button to disable the shaking icons.
Finally, here is a third method to quickly launch iPhone camera:
On the iPhone XS and XS Max
, swipe down from the top right of the screen. This brings up the control center (regardless of the original screen). In the control center, you can simply tap the camera icon.
On older iPhones
, swipe up from the bottom of the screen. This brings up the control center from any previous screen - and you can then tap the camera icon.
3. Quickly access your Huawei smartphone's camera
Huawei has one feature that is unique to all of the smartphone brands on this list:
You can both launch the camera quickly
and
take a picture.
However, you can only do this when the phone is off - and you're not using an app that works with the volume controls (e.g. Spotify).
To quickly launch the camera and take a picture, all you have to do is
Double-tap the volume down button
.
This will capture a picture of whatever you point your Huawei camera at. And once the camera opens, you're ready to take more shots.
If you can't launch the camera using this shortcut, you probably need to enable the feature in your camera menu.
Related post:
5 tips for smartphone portrait photography
To do this, open this
camera
App on the home screen.Tap
settings
, then
Ultra Snapshot
.
Finally choose
Take a quick snapshot.
Now if you double press the volume up button, the quick launch feature should work.
And you get some outstanding photos.
Related post:
Best iPhone Macro Lenses in 2021
4. Quickly access your Samsung smartphone's camera
Samsung smartphones offer a useful quick launch feature.
On newer Samsung models like the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S8, and Note8, double-tap the power button (which is on the side of the phone).
For older Samsung models like the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S6, and Note5, double-tap
home
Button on the front of the smartphone.
If the quick launch feature doesn't work, you probably need to enable it in the camera settings. From the camera
App, tap
settings
, and then
turn the
Quick Start
Possibility.
How to access your smartphone camera: conclusion
Now that you know how to quickly access your smartphone camera, you should be prepared for any situation.
You can open your camera and take great shots.
author
Jaymes Dempsey
Jaymes Dempsey is a professional macro and wildlife photographer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan; his work is published across the web from Digital Photography School to PetaPixel.
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