How to use the Motion Photo function on the Samsung Galaxy camera

We always want to be the first to have a smartphone in which we can find all kinds of functionalities. So that, in this way, we can make the most of each of the components of the phone, from its speakers, the screen or its camera, as it is in this case. And, for those users who are true lovers of the image and have a Samsung Galaxy in their possession, they are in luck.

You may never have realized it, but for a few years now, Samsung mobile cameras have had a small adjustment or ‘trick’ that reminds us, and a lot, of Apple smartphones. More specifically, to the Live Photo of the iPhone. And it is that, in case you still did not know or you had not fallen, within all the configuration of the native app to take images is the Moving Photos tool, or better known as Motion Photo. But do you know what it is and how it is activated?

use the Motion Photo function on the Samsung Galaxy camera

What mobiles have it

For a few years, the smartphones of the South Korean company began to enjoy some of the novelties that began to reach the cameras of the phones since its appearance on the iPhone 6s in September 2015. But, months later, Samsung surprised everyone also with the inclusion of this characteristic so striking in its day, and that today continues to fascinate many: Motion Photo or Photos in motion.

vídeos cámara lenta móvil

In addition, there is no type of difference, since we are facing a fairly similar function. What does it consist of? That is something that we will get to see in the next section. On the other hand, if you do not know that, if your Galaxy smartphone has this function, the first thing you will have to do is make sure of the version of the customization layer that you have installed on your mobile phone.

This feature came with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge , both of which hit the smartphone market. However, there was a time when there was confusion with the arrival of One UI 2.0, as many believed that they had removed the option to enable or disable this functionality.

But, the reality is that they had only changed where this possibility was. Therefore, this feature is generally built into most Samsung phones. However, the Korean firm ensures that it is yes or yes in these models:

  • Galaxy S21, S21 +, S21 Ultra.
  • S20, S20 +, S20 Ultra.
  • Galaxy Z Flip and Z Flip3.
  • Note10, Note10 +.
  • S10e, S10 and S10 +.
  • Galaxy Z Fold and Z Fold3.
  • Note 9.
  • S9 and S9 +.
  • Note 8.
  • S8 and S8 +.
  • S7 and S7 Edge.

Take animated photos

With the arrival of One UI 2.5 the animated photos or Motion Photo were improved, since they began to add sound . But what does this tool consist of? With it activated, we will achieve that when we take an image with the rear lens of our mobile device, a video of a few seconds is recorded, so if you have that version of the software layer you can also capture the audio.

In addition, as we mentioned before, with the passage of the updates of the software layer of the South Korean company, the place where the button was to be able to enable this functionality in Samsung smartphones was changed.

Foto animada Samsung Galaxy

Therefore, we will explain to you what is the current route that you would have to follow with a Samsung smartphone:

  1. Access your Samsung’s native camera.
  2. Click on the icon that is shaped like a square with an icon inside (like the one that appears in the previous image surrounded in red).

From this moment on, you can start taking animated photos with your phone’s camera . Of course, we cannot forget to enable an extra option that will allow us to reproduce these snapshots. To enable it, follow these steps:

  1. Enter the gallery of your phone.
  2. Click on the three lines at the bottom right of the touch panel.
  3. Select the settings option.
  4. Turn on the Play motion photos switch.

Reproducir Motion Photo Samsung

So, from that moment, once you click on the See animated photo button on an image that you have taken with the Motion Photo function enabled, it will begin to play for a few seconds.

What can you do?

When we take this type of images, the truth is that we also have different possibilities such as editing them as we want. For example, if we have moved our hand a lot when taking a photo and we do not like the snapshot that appears, we can quickly get another new shot from the gallery of our mobile phone .

To do this, we will have to enter the gallery, select the photo and click on View animated photo. Once it has been reproduced, a series of adjustments that we could not see before will appear. Although, the main tool will be thanks to the bar that will appear below the image, since we will have the possibility to slide with our finger over it to find the best moment of the snapshot that we have taken with the Motion Photo .

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE

Once we have decided which exact moment is the one we like the most, we will have to click on the function that will appear at the bottom left with which we can take a screenshot, generating it as a completely new shot.

And that’s not all, since within these possibilities that this tool offers us, we find the option to create an animated GIF quickly and easily. We will only have to click on the GIF option so that the phone creates it by itself. In addition, we will have the option to choose the exact section that we want to appear, as well as the speed (0.5x / 1.0x / 2.0x).

Finally, with the arrow that will appear, we can make it go backwards instead of playing it from beginning to end in the normal way, and we can even make it go forward and backward at the same time, that is, a kind of boomerang . When we finish all these adjustments, we will only have to click on Save video so that the configuration that we have just made is saved correctly.