Camera Controls

Some of the camera controls are available as gestures.

Swipe, Pinch, and Touch and Hold

Swipe sideways to switch between “GIF”, “Video”, and “Photo”. You don’t need to tap the button below.

Pinch to zoom. In “Snap”, only the background zooms and the avatar stays the size you appear at. To zoom the avatar too, turn on “Avatar Zoom” in the menu.

Tap to set focus and brightness on that spot, and touch and hold to lock them. While the frame is showing, drag up or down to adjust the brightness. The avatar gets the same adjustment.

Tip

The volume buttons also take a shot. On iPhone 16 and later, a light press on Camera Control brings up the “Zoom” and “Exposure” sliders. On Android devices with a camera button, you can also take a shot with it.

Shooting Settings in the Menu

The menu to the right of the shutter also has these settings:

• “Flash”: Keeps the back camera’s light on. It doesn’t turn on with the front camera
• “Timer”: Each tap switches between off, 3 seconds, and 10 seconds
• “Grid”: Shows guide lines for composition
• “Level”: Shows a line for the tilt of the device. When the device is level, the line joins up and changes color
• “Depth”: Blurs what’s out of focus. Choose the aperture on the dial
• “Distance”: Choose how far away the avatar stands in “Snap”, from ×0.5 to ×3 on the dial. Move it back to fit its hands and body in the shot, or closer to show its face larger

“Depth” appears in these cases. It doesn’t appear with the front camera in “Snap”.

• The back camera in “Snap”: On supported iPhone models, it finds subjects such as people and pets and blurs the background. It doesn’t appear on Android
• “AR Camera”: On an iPhone with LiDAR and on Android devices that can measure depth, it blurs what’s behind the avatar
• “Studio”: Works on every device

Palm Shutter

Turn on “Palm Shutter” in the menu to take a shot by showing your palm from a distance. Face your palm toward the front camera and hold still until the ring fills. After a countdown, a photo is taken or a video starts recording. The countdown follows the timer and lasts 3 seconds even when the timer is off.

It appears while the front camera is tracking your hands (in “Snap” and “Studio”). It isn’t available while “Precise Face Tracking” is on. Show your palm where the front camera can see both your face and your hand.

Stabilization

On iPhone, “Stabilization” under “Advanced” in settings reduces shake in videos and GIFs taken with the back camera in “Snap” and in “AR Camera”. The view is slightly narrower while it’s on.

Shooting in Landscape

The screen stays upright, but when you hold the device sideways, photos and videos come out in landscape. Only the icons rotate, so you can keep shooting the way you’re holding it.

Can’t Find Your Photos

Shooting alone doesn’t save anything to your device. To save, tap “Save”. The “Library” you open with the button at the top left shows only what you shot in this app.

On iPhone, the library needs full access to your photos. Tap “Allow Full Access”, and what you shoot from then on appears there. While full access is allowed, your shots are also gathered in a VCam Camera album in the Photos app.

On Android, photos and GIFs are saved to “Pictures/VCam Camera”, and videos to “Movies/VCam Camera”.

Opening from Siri or Control Center

Use “Open Camera” in Siri, the Shortcuts app, or Control Center to open VCam Camera in the capture mode you choose. Use “Make a GIF” to open it ready to make a GIF.

On Android, touch and hold the app icon on the Home screen to open it in “Snap”, “AR Camera”, “Studio”, or “Make a GIF”. Add the tile to Quick Settings to open it in “Snap” from there.