Glossary
AI camera and self-photo glossary
Plain-English definitions of the words used on this site, from auto shutter to model digitals.
- AI camera app
- A camera app that uses machine learning to understand the live camera view, for example to find a face or a person, and acts on it, such as pressing the shutter at the right moment. ViaCamera is an AI camera app: it takes real photos with your iPhone camera rather than generating images.
- ViaCamera features
- AI image generator
- Software that creates new pictures from text prompts or reference photos instead of capturing light through a lens. Apps that make AI headshots or AI portraits are generators, and the result can look like you without being a photo of you. ViaCamera is not an AI image generator: it takes real photos with your iPhone camera.
- What ViaCamera does instead
- AI-BODY
- ViaCamera's body mode. AI-BODY fires the shutter when it sees you in frame, so it suits full-body shots where you stand further from the phone. You set the phone down, choose the mode and step back. Like AI-FACE, it takes a real photo with your iPhone camera.
- The ViaCamera modes
- AI-FACE
- ViaCamera's face mode. AI-FACE watches for your face and fires the shutter when your face is in frame and your eyes are open. It suits portraits and head-and-shoulders shots. If your face is hidden or your eyes are closed, it waits. Like AI-BODY, it takes a real photo with your iPhone camera rather than generating an image.
- The ViaCamera modes
- Auto shutter
- A camera feature that takes the photo when a condition is met, instead of waiting for a button press or a countdown. The condition depends on the app. ViaCamera's auto shutter does not look for smiles or poses: it fires when your face is in frame and your eyes are open, or when it sees you in frame.
- How the auto shutter works
- Bluetooth shutter remote
- A small wireless button that pairs with your phone over Bluetooth and triggers the camera from a distance. It removes the countdown but adds a device to buy, pair and keep with you. An Apple Watch can act as a remote for the iPhone camera too. ViaCamera needs neither: it takes the photo itself.
- ViaCamera compared with a Bluetooth remote and an Apple Watch
- Front and back camera
- The two sides of an iPhone's camera system. The front camera faces you, so you can see yourself on the screen while you pose. The back camera faces away from the screen and includes the iPhone's main lens. ViaCamera works with the front and the back camera, so you can use whichever suits the shot.
- Setting up ViaCamera
- Full-body shot
- A photo that shows a person from head to toe, usually with a little space above and below. Full-body shots are standard for outfit photos, model digitals and travel pictures. Taking one alone means placing the phone several steps away from where you stand, so you cannot reach the shutter button yourself.
- How to take full-body photos of yourself
- Model digitals
- Simple, unretouched photos that models send to agencies and clients to show how they look right now. Digitals usually include a front headshot, a profile, a three-quarter view and full-length shots, in plain clothes against a plain background, with little or no makeup. Requirements vary by agency, so check theirs.
- What model digitals are and what they include
- Phone tripod
- A three-legged stand with a clamp that holds a phone steady at a chosen height and angle. Tabletop tripods are short; full-size ones reach eye level or higher. For photos of yourself, a tripod lets you frame the shot first and then step back. A shelf or a stack of books can do the same job.
- How to take pictures with a phone tripod
- PHOTO mode
- ViaCamera's regular camera mode with a manual shutter. In PHOTO mode nothing fires automatically: you or someone else taps the shutter button, as in any camera app. Use it when you want to choose the exact moment yourself, or when another person is holding the phone for you.
- The ViaCamera modes
- Polaroids (modeling)
- Another name for model digitals, from the days when agencies took instant Polaroid photos. Today 'polaroids' and 'digitals' usually mean the same thing: natural, unedited photos of a model in simple clothing against a plain background. Some agencies still use the word for a specific set of poses, so read their instructions.
- Digitals vs polaroids: what is the difference?
- Self-timer
- A countdown that gives you time to get into the shot before the camera fires. In the iPhone Camera app you tap Timer and choose 3, 5 or 10 seconds; older iOS versions offer 3 or 10. A timer fires when the countdown ends, whether or not you are in place.
- ViaCamera compared with the iPhone self-timer
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