Most iPhone camera is packed with different modes and settings ranging from Live Photos to panoramic landscape shots to slo-mo video, and so forth. Most times you use the camera the same way, with the settings you like most, every time you take a photo. Yet, your iPhone seems to reset all of those settings every time you relaunch the camera app, this could be strenuous and annoying.
Apple manufacturers hide the ability to preserve your camera settings in the aptly-named “Preserve Settings” menu. Activating it will do what you perhaps want your camera to have done in the first place—preserve the settings you used last time so they are still active the next time you open your camera.
This way, Live Photos can stay turned off until you want them on again, you can also keep Video mode enabled rather than have Camera switch back to Photo by default, and you can keep ProRAW enabled from shot to shot.
To find these settings, go to Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings. Here, you will see a couple of options, scan through the list, and enable the toggles next to options that you will like Camera to remember, and leave alone options that you’d like Camera to reset every time.
What you should know is, this list varies with every iPhone. Some of the settings are particularly available on iOS 15, which is currently in beta testing. Here’s an insight on the full list and how they work:
- Camera Mode: keeps the last used camera mode (Photos, Video, Portrait, etc.).
- Creative Controls: remembers the last used filter, aspect ratio, light, or depth setting.
- Exposure Adjustment: preserves the last used exposure adjustment, and always keeps the exposure adjustment indicator on-screen.
- Night Mode: preserves your last night mode setting (iOS 15).
- Portrait Zoom: keeps the Portrait mode zoom lens, instead of reverting to the default lens (iOS 15).
- Apple ProRAW: keeps ProRAW enabled (iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max)
- Live Photo: preserves your Live Photo setting.
These settings can be tweaked whenever you want. If you find yourself wishing that your camera would always open to Photo mode again, or that you want the filters to reset back to default every time, you can always change your mind using the same reverse process.
