How to customize the Samsung Galaxy camera app

When it comes to cameras, there are reasons why some people might prefer a brand over the other, and that reason could be the way the camera’s controls are laid out. For photographers who shoot in the field for events like weddings, being able to quickly access the controls is critical.

This means that instead of diving through layers of menus to adjust the camera’s ISO, they can just spin a dial on the camera itself. The same can also be said for those shooting on a smartphone, where having quick access to certain controls might be important for some users.

The good news is that if you own a Samsung smartphone, the camera app bundled with your phone comes with various modes that you can customize to your liking. This means that if there are certain modes that you tend to use more than others and would prefer to be able to access it quickly, you can, and here’s how.

Customizing your Samsung Galaxy camera app

Change the default aspect ratio

Samsung offers various aspect ratios for you to shoot in. If you shoot a lot of photos for Instagram, then selecting the 3:4 aspect ratio or 1:1 as your default might be a good idea. If you prefer more “traditional” ratios, then select 9:16.

1. Launch the camera app
2. At the top of the app tap on the box with the numbers 3:4 inside of them
3. Tap on the new aspect ratio that you want

Scan documents easily

There are apps out there that can act as a scanner for documents, but the default Samsung camera app actually does a pretty decent job in a pinch. To enable the document scanner:

1. Launch the camera app
2. Tap on the Settings icon
3. Go to Scene optimizer and toggle on “Document scan”
4. Now whenever you point your camera at a document, it should give you an option to scan it instead of just taking a regular photo

Take GIFs in one swipe

Did you know that your Samsung camera app can take GIFs? To enable this feature:

1. Launch the camera app
2. Go to Settings
3. Under “Pictures” tap on Swipe Shutter Button
4. Choose Create GIF
5. Alternatively you can choose “Take burst shot” if you prefer
6. Now whenever you swipe down on the camera’s shutter button, it will take a GIF (or a burst shot)

Organize your camera modes

1. Launch the Samsung camera app
2. At the bottom where it says “Photo”, “Video”, scroll to the left and tap on More
3. Tap and hold any of the modes and drag it down to the bottom
4. Tap Save
5. Now whenever you want to access that mode, you can just scroll to the left for it instead of having to tap “More” every time

If you want to move them around some more, you can just tap the Pencil icon. For example, if you want to shoot with Pro mode enabled every time you launch the camera app, then drag the Pro mode to the front to make it easier to access.