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Photos / How to make long-exposure photos with Live Photos

Guide

How to make long-exposure photos with Live Photos

By Con, founder of Music Wide Selfie · Updated 22 October 2026

Short answerTake a Live Photo while holding the phone very still (a stand is best), open it in Photos, tap the Live button and choose Long Exposure. Moving water and lights blur while still parts stay sharp.

Best subjects

  • Waterfalls, rivers and waves.
  • Traffic light trails at night.
  • Crowds moving through a still scene.

Steps

  1. Turn on Live Photo (the circles icon).
  2. Keep the phone completely still.
  3. Take the photo.
  4. In Photos, choose Long Exposure from the Live menu.

Other effects

Loop and Bounce make short animations from the same Live Photo.

Questions

Why is everything blurry?

The phone moved. Use a stand.

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