How to record, trim, edit, and share videos on an iPhone or iPad

May 23, 2014

The iPhone and iPad both have a built-in Camera app that not only lets you capture photos, but also does a surprisingly good job at recording video as well. With the Photos app you can even trim and share your videos right from your iPhone or iPad, no computer necessary!

How to record video on your iPhone or iPad

Launch the Camera app on your iPhone or iPad.
Swipe to the right once in order to switch from photo to video mode.
Tap the capture button and start recording.
Remember that you can tap to focus any time while recording. You can also lock the focus if you want by holding down until you see the AE/AF Lock text appear. Just tap the screen again to manually focus if and when you need to.
Tap the capture button again when you are done recording.

How to trim a video on an iPhone or iPad

Launch the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap on the video you'd like to edit.
Drag the left and right anchors in the top bar so the section of video you'd like to keep is within them.
Tap the Trim button in the upper right hand corner.
Tap on either Trim Original or Save as New Clip — the second option preserves the original video and creates a new file for your trimmed version.

How to share videos from an iPhone or iPad

Launch the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap on the video you'd like to share.
Tap on the Share button in the bottom left hand corner.
Tap on the method you'd like to use to share your video. In this example, I'll choose iMessage.
Fill out any info or type a message if necessary and then tap Send — or in some cases Upload or Publish if you're sharing to a service like YouTube.

How to edit videos on your iPhone or iPad

If simply trimming videos isn't doing it for you, there are lots of video editing apps available in the App Store that can help you add filters, adjust, stabilize, add titles and transitions, and lots more. Here are a few that we recommend, and as always, if you found a great video editing app, be sure to share it in the comments!