What a still saves: the picture and its EXIF
In PHOTO, the shutter saves the composed frame as a HEIC file, with the frame lines, guides, figures, look and info strip burned in as set in Overlays. Its EXIF describes the simulated camera and lens; the iPhone's own capture data is not kept.
- Tap PHOTO above the shutter.
- Press the shutter, a volume button, or Camera Control on an iPhone that has it.
- The frame lands in Shots and appears in the corner by the shutter. Hold the corner to open it, or tap it for Shots.
What is in the picture
The still is what the viewfinder shows inside the frame. With Burn guides into captures on, the frame line, guides and stand-in figures are drawn in. With Burn info strip into captures on, the line naming the camera, lens and field of view runs under the frame. Both switches are in Overlays, under Capture, and both start on. An active look is always in the picture, and so is the band where a lens sees wider than the phone.
The file is HEIC. Where a device cannot write HEIC, it is a JPEG instead.
What is in the EXIF
The standard tags describe the camera you simulated, so Lightroom, Bridge or Finder show the setup you framed:
- Make: Cutvey. Model: the camera and its recording mode.
- Lens model: the series, focal length and T-stop.
- Focal length as marked on the lens, and its 35mm equivalent.
- Capture time, with its time zone.
- GPS and the true-north bearing, when location tagging is on.
A record of the whole setup is also written into the file, so Viewfinder can rebuild a shot's details from the file alone. Your notes stay in the app and are not written into that record.
If that didn't work
Photo not saved means the frame did not reach the library; the reason is in smaller type under it. A full device is a common cause. If the shutter does nothing, a take may still be saving, or a LiDAR reading may have frozen the picture: tap the picture to go back to the live view.
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Updated November 2, 2026