How to Use the Continuity Camera on Mac to Capture Photos and Scans

Apple gives its customers some pretty nifty features with its products. And along with the other of Continuity features, the Continuity Camera is one of them. With the Continuity Camera, you can work with an app on your Mac and snap a photo or scan a document on your iPhone and have it instantly appear on your computer.

If this isn’t something you’ve tried yet, we’re here to help! Here’s how to take a photo and scan a document with the Continuity Camera.

Related:

• Scan your homework or documents with iPhone or iPad
• MacBook camera not working or not available? Here are 12 ways to fix it
• How to scan photos / images on a Mac using iPhoto or Photos

Requirements and Supported Apps

There are only a few requirements you’ll need to use the Continuity Camera. And with that, we’ll show you the apps that you can use with it.

Requirements

• Make sure your Mac and iPhone or iPad have both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth turned on.
• Be sure you’re signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID on both devices.
• Check your devices versions. You’ll need to be running macOS Mojave or later and iOS 12 or later.

Supported Apps

There are currently eight apps you can use on your Mac with the Continuity Camera.

1. Finder
2. Mail
3. Messages
4. Notes
5. TextEdit
6. Keynote version 8.2 or later
7. Pages 7.2 or later
8. Numbers 5.2 or later

If you meet the requirements and plan to use one of the supported apps, then let’s move onto how to use the Continuity Camera.

Take a Photo with the Continuity Camera

When you’re working with a document, note, email, or message and you’d like to snap a photo with your iPhone or iPad for that item, it takes only a few minutes.

1. Place your cursor on the spot in your document, note, or other item where you want the photo.
2. Right-click, hold Control and click, or pick File (or Insert depending on the app) from the menu bar.
3. Go to Insert/Import from iPhone or iPad and pick Take Photo in the section for the device you’re using.

4. This will prompt the camera to open on your selected device.
5. Use the shutter button on your device to snap the shot.
6. If you like the photo, select Use Photo. If you don’t, tap Retake to capture a different picture.

And that’s it! The photo you captured should pop right into the app on your Mac.

Take a Photo in Finder

Finder is a little different than an app like Notes or Mail. There’s no document space to insert a photo. But if you want to capture a shot to save in a folder or on your desktop, here’s how to use the Continuity Camera for Finder.

1. If you’re within a folder, click the Actions button (gear icon) in the folder. If you’re on the desktop, right-click or hold Control and click.
2. Go to Import from iPhone or iPad and pick Take Photo in the section for the device you’re using.
3. Follow the same Steps 4 through 6 above to snap the photo on your iPhone or iPad.

Your captured picture will then appear in your folder or on your desktop.

Scan a Document with the Continuity Camera

Scanning a document with the Continuity Camera from your iPhone or iPad is basically the same except you pick a different option in the shortcut menu.

1. Place your cursor on the spot in your app where you want the scan.
2. Right-click, hold Control and click, or pick File (or Insert depending on the app) from the menu bar.
3. Go to Insert/Import from iPhone or iPad and pick Scan Documents in the section for the device you’re using.

4. This will prompt the camera to open on your selected device.
5. Your camera will capture the scan when it’s accurately in the frame.
6. If you like it, select Save. If you don’t, you can tap Cancel and then Discard to delete the scan. Then, follow the same process to rescan the document if you like.

You’ll see your scanned document appear in the app on your Mac.

Scan a Document in Finder

Just like using the Continuity Camera with Finder to take a photo, it works a bit different than an app when scanning documents as well. If you want to scan a document to save in a folder or on your desktop, follow these steps.

1. From within a folder, click the Actions button (gear icon) in the folder. From the desktop, right-click or hold Control and click.
2. Go to Import from iPhone or iPad and pick Scan Documents in the section for the device you’re using.
3. Follow the same Steps 4 through 6 above to scan the document on your iPhone or iPad.

The scanned document will then pop right into your folder or onto your desktop.

Example Uses for the Continuity Camera

It might not seem like it at first if you’ve never used it, but the Continuity Camera can come in quite handy. Here are just some ways you can use this feature with the supported apps.

• Finder: Snap a photo of your pet doing something cute to use as your Mac background.
• Mail: Capture a scan of a written job application for your HR department.
• Messages: Take a photo of your adorable sleeping baby for a faraway relative.
• Notes: Add a scan for a shared note with your business partners.
• Pages: Insert a picture of your product for a brochure you’re creating.
• Numbers: Include the scan of a production report for your finance spreadsheet.

It’s A Handy Continuity Feature

The ability to capture a photo or document scan from your mobile device and have it appear on your computer is a wonderful feature. Whether for business or pleasure, give the Continuity Camera a try and let us know how it goes!

If you run into trouble and the Continuity Camera feature isn’t working, check out our helpful tutorial for troubleshooting assistance.

Sandy Writtenhouse( Contributing Writer )

Sandy worked for many years in the IT industry as a project manager, department manager, and PMO Lead. She then decided to follow her dream and now writes about technology full-time. Sandy holds a Bachelors of Science in Information Technology.

She loves technology– specifically – terrific games and apps for iOS, software that makes your life easier, and productivity tools that you can use every day, in both work and home environments.

Her articles have regularly been featured at MakeUseOf, iDownloadBlog and many other leading tech publications.