photos iconBurst Mode refers to when the camera on your iOS device captures a series of photos in rapid succession, at a rate of ten frames per second. It's a great way to shoot an action scene or an unexpected event, since you're always more likely to end up with the picture you were aiming for.

For instance, the picture below was taken when the sun came out momentarily from behind the clouds to throw light on the beautiful yellow ocher leaves of a tree. Burst Mode made it possible to shoot the whole event and then save out the one shot that captured the tree at its most vivid during its brief illumination.

To take a photo in Burst Mode, launch the Camera app from the Lock Screen – if your device is unlocked, select the Camera app from the Home screen or slide the Control Center into view and launch it from there. Once you have a shot in frame, tap and hold the shutter button at the bottom of the Camera interface for the duration of the scene that you're trying to capture.

IMG 2349
Notice the counter increase at the bottom of the frame for as long as you hold down the shutter. This indicates how many shots are being captured in the current burst. Simply take your finger off the shutter when you want to end the burst of shots.

When you take a series of burst photos, they automatically appear in the Photo app under the Album name Bursts. You'll also find them in your main Photo Library as well as the Moments section found in the Photos tab. Here's how to view your burst photos and pick out the best images from them for safe keeping.

How to View Burst Photos

  1. Launch the Photos app.
  2. Tap a collection of burst photos – they appear in the Photos Library as a single picture, but if you look closely, you'll see more images stacked underneath the top thumbnail image.
    taking burst photos 1

  3. Tap Select at the bottom of the screen.
  4. Swipe the film strip-like ribbon of images below the photo to view the other shots in the burst.

taking burst photos 2
Any dots you see below images in a burst indicate that Apple's algorithms think they have the best focus and detail in the set, but of course you may think differently.

How to Save Individual Images in Burst Photos

  1. Tap a stack of burst photos in your Photo Library.
  2. Tap Select in the top-right corner of the screen.
  3. Tap each image in the series that you want to keep.
  4. Tap Done in the top-right corner of the screen.
  5. To keep only the images that you ticked in the burst series, tap Keep Only Favorites. Otherwise, tap Keep everything.

taking burst photos 3

Related Forum: iOS 12

Top Rated Comments

Mac Fly (film) Avatar
93 months ago
Anyone know how to combine several burst photos into one on iOS? The easiest way; preferably an automatic method.

Example photo:

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ColdShadow Avatar
93 months ago
How to turn off this annoying feature permanently??
alot of my photos are saved as burst all the time.I hate it!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac Fly (film) Avatar
93 months ago
How to turn off this annoying feature permanently??
alot of my photos are saved as burst all the time.I hate it!
Use volume button as shutter and press with a click.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RightMACatU Avatar
93 months ago
How to turn off this annoying feature permanently??
alot of my photos are saved as burst all the time.I hate it!
Ahhh this!!! I would double thumb-you-up if I could.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iapplelove Avatar
93 months ago
Burst photo and Live Photo...two things I shut off immediately.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yaxomoxay Avatar
93 months ago
Burst photo and Live Photo...two things I shut off immediately.
Live Photos is actually pretty cool. It’s one of the things I radically changed my mind upon. I captured quite a few nice moments with it, and thanks to the possibility to change the main picture I was gladly happy to find out multiple times that a picture taken on a very slightly different moment was much better than the one I actually took.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
walmart new ornametns

Walmart Black Friday Deals Begin Today With Low Prices on Headphones, TVs, and More

Friday November 14, 2025 7:55 am PST by
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that's also seeing some matching deals in retail locations. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including savings on headphones, TVs, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Here's When Tesla is Expected to Add Support for Apple CarPlay

Sunday November 16, 2025 6:49 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Tesla plans to add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles "in the coming months." This is easily the biggest news for the regular version of CarPlay in years, should Tesla actually follow through with offering the system in its vehicles. As noted by Gurman, this would be a stunning reversal for Tesla and its CEO Elon ...