How to turn off the flash on your iPhone, or set it to automatic so your camera only flashes when ne

Publish date: 2024-01-16

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Your iPhone's Camera app has a built-in flash for taking photos in low-light situations. 

But like any compact digital camera in which the flash is positioned very close to the lens, you might not love the results you get when you use it. 

That's why many photographers opt to turn off the flash entirely, using it only when absolutely necessary. Here's how to control the flash on your iPhone.

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How to turn off the flash on your iPhone 

1. Start the Camera app. 

2. Tap the Flash symbol (which looks like a lightning bolt) at the top left of the screen. 

Turn the flash off on your iPhone camera by tapping Off – it will turn yellow. Dave Johnson/Business Insider

You should see three options appear:

You might want to experiment a bit to see which setting works best for you, but in general you should set your flash to Auto or Off, and only use the flash when there's no way to add enough ambient light to a scene to get a good picture. 

Otherwise, your iPhone's flash may lead to unflattering photos with harsh lighting, shiny skin, and red eyes, as well as unwanted glare and reflections. 

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Dave Johnson Freelance Writer Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider. Read more Read less

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