How to Switch Photo Shooting Modes on DJI Drone
Peter Leslie
22 May 2026
If the shutter on a DJI drone is firing the wrong way for the kind of photo you are trying to take — one frame when you wanted a sequence on a moving subject, or an instant trip when you wanted to step into the shot yourself — the setting you are looking for is the photo shooting mode inside DJI Fly. It sits as one chip on the camera view, right next to the shutter, and the same chip works on every current DJI drone.
Drones this applies to
DJI Neo 2, DJI Mini 5 Pro, DJI Avata 2, DJI Air 3 Pro, DJI Mavic 4 Pro. The same chip path works on any drone running DJI Fly v1.21.2 or later — only the set of available modes varies very slightly between models. Lightweight bodies such as the DJI Neo 2 ship with Single, Burst, and Timer. Heavier camera platforms also expose AEB exposure bracketing.
Quick guide
To switch photo shooting modes on DJI Drone, go to DJI Fly → Camera view → Photo mode → Shooting mode chip → Single, Burst, Timer, or AEB. Single fires one frame per press, Burst fires a short rapid sequence, Timer counts down before the shutter, and AEB brackets the exposure across three or five frames.
Step-by-step: How to Switch Photo Shooting Modes on DJI Drone
Follow these top to bottom the first time, and the path is muscle memory the second time. The chip and the menu order are identical on every drone in the callout above — the screenshots are taken on a DJI Neo 2.
Switch DJI Fly to photo mode from the camera view
With the drone connected and DJI Fly on the camera view, look at the bottom right of the screen. Tap the Photo / Video toggle so the shutter glyph shows a still-camera icon rather than a record dot — the shooting mode chip only appears once photo mode is live.
Locate the shooting mode chip beside the shutter button
The shooting mode chip sits right next to the round shutter button on the DJI Fly camera view. It carries the name of whichever mode is currently live — Single, Burst, Timer, or AEB on drones that support it. If it reads Single, the drone is on the default one-frame-per-press behaviour.
Tap the shooting mode chip to open the selector
Tap the chip once and DJI Fly slides out a short selector with every shooting mode the connected drone supports. The current selection is highlighted, so you can see at a glance which one the drone is on before you change it.
Pick Single for one frame per shutter press
Tap Single for the default behaviour. Every press of the shutter on the controller or in the app captures exactly one frame. Single is the right mode for landscapes, hero stills, composed architecture shots, and anything where you want full control over the timing of each frame.
Pick Burst for a short rapid-fire sequence on one press
Tap Burst and the drone fires a short sequence of frames on a single shutter press — you do not need to hold the button down. The sequence saves as separate JPEGs to the gallery so you can cherry-pick the sharpest one afterwards. Burst is the right mode for moving subjects where a fraction of a second matters.
Pick Timer for a delayed countdown shutter
Tap Timer and the drone counts down before tripping the shutter. The viewfinder shows the count visually, so you know when the shot is about to fire. Timer is the hands-free mode — used when you want to be in the frame yourself, or when you need the drone perfectly still on the hover before the shutter goes.
Pick AEB to bracket exposure across three or five frames
On drones that expose it — Mini 5 Pro, Air 3 Pro, Mavic 4 Pro — tap AEB. The shutter fires a bracketed sequence at stepped exposure values across three or five frames. Keep the cleanest exposure on its own, or merge the brackets in post to recover detail in scenes that are wider in contrast than one frame can hold. AEB is missing on the lightweight bodies such as the DJI Neo 2.
Close the selector and confirm the chip carries the new mode
Tap outside the selector to close it. Check the shooting mode chip next to the shutter now reads the option you picked — Single, Burst, Timer, or AEB. DJI Fly holds that mode on the chip across the rest of the flight and on the next boot, so a glance at the chip before the first shot saves a wasted frame.
Peter's tip
I default every drone to Single on the first boot of a flying day and only switch to Burst when I can see the subject is going to move — cars on a coast road, kids running, water cresting on a beach. The frame I keep from a four-frame burst is almost always not the one I would have picked on Single, and that is the whole point. AEB I only reach for at the edges of the day when the sky and the foreground are fighting each other for exposure.
Single vs Burst vs Timer vs AEB
Four modes, four very different outcomes. Pick before the flight, not during one.
| Shooting mode | What happens on a shutter press | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Single | One frame per press. Instant shutter, no countdown, no sequence. The default behaviour on every current DJI drone. | Landscapes, composed stills, architecture, hero shots — anything where the moment is yours to pick deliberately frame by frame. |
| Burst | A short rapid sequence per press. The drone fires the burst and stops on its own — separate JPEGs save to the gallery to be picked through afterwards. | Moving subjects where a fraction of a second matters — cars, cyclists, dogs, kids, water. Cherry-pick the sharpest frame in post. |
| Timer | A countdown after the press, then a single frame. The viewfinder shows the count so you can see when the shutter is about to trip. | Hands-free shots — self portraits with the drone on hover, or any frame where the small nudge from pressing the shutter would show up in low light. |
| AEB | A bracketed sequence of three or five frames at stepped exposure values. Available on Mini 5 Pro, Air 3 Pro, and Mavic 4 Pro. | High-contrast scenes — sunsets, interiors with bright windows, snow against deep shade. Either keep the cleanest frame or merge the bracket in post. |
Frequently asked questions
What is the default photo shooting mode on a DJI drone?
Single. Every current DJI drone ships with the shooting mode chip set to Single, which fires one frame per shutter press. Burst, Timer, and AEB are all opt-in from the chip next to the shutter, and DJI Fly remembers the last mode you selected the next time you boot the drone and the app.
Which shooting modes are available on every DJI drone?
Single, Burst, and Timer are present on every current DJI drone in DJI Fly. AEB exposure bracketing is available on the heavier camera platforms — Mini 5 Pro, Air 3 Pro, Mavic 4 Pro — and is missing from the lightweight models such as the DJI Neo 2 where the shutter and sensor are tuned for handheld self-portrait flying rather than high-dynamic-range work.
How many frames does Burst mode capture on a DJI drone?
A short fixed-length sequence per shutter press — the drone fires the burst and stops on its own, you do not need to hold the button down. The whole sequence saves as separate JPEGs to the DJI Fly gallery so drone pilots can scroll through afterwards and keep only the sharpest frame. Use it for moving subjects where one of three or four frames will be cleanly in focus.
How long is the Timer countdown on a DJI drone?
A short fixed countdown after the shutter press, long enough either to step into the frame yourself or to let any nudge on the controller settle before the shot fires. The viewfinder shows the count visually so drone pilots can see when the shutter is about to trip. There is no separate self-timer length option exposed in the DJI Fly preferences.
When should I use Burst instead of Single?
Whenever the subject is moving and one of several frames is going to be sharper than the others. Cars, cyclists, running dogs, kids on a beach, water cresting — anything where the right moment is a fraction of a second wide. Single is the better choice for stationary subjects and composed landscapes where you do not want to fire more frames than you actually intend to keep.
When is AEB the right shooting mode to pick?
Scenes with extreme contrast between the bright and dark parts of the frame — a sunset over a dark foreground, an interior with a bright window, snow against deep shade. AEB fires a bracketed sequence so you can either keep the single best-exposed frame or merge the brackets in post for a clean high-dynamic-range image. Skip AEB for any subject that is moving — the bracket frames will not align.
Does the shooting mode change the photo aspect ratio?
No. The shooting mode chip only changes how many frames the shutter fires per press and whether there is a countdown — every mode reads off the same sensor at the same aspect ratio set in the resolution chip. Aspect ratio is a separate setting in DJI Fly and is not affected by switching between Single, Burst, Timer, or AEB.
Does the drone remember the shooting mode between flights?
Yes. DJI Fly remembers the last shooting mode you selected, so a Burst choice today stays at Burst the next time you boot the drone and the app. Worth a glance at the chip before the first shot of a flight — if you swapped to Timer for a self-portrait session last week, the drone will still be sat on Timer until you change it back to Single.
The shooting mode on a DJI drone is one of those settings where the right answer is subject-driven rather than technical. Pick the mode that matches what is in front of the lens — composed, moving, self-portrait, or high contrast — and the shutter stops fighting the work.
If you want a second opinion on which mode to default to for the kind of work you do, drop the details to peter@hiredronepilot.uk and I will come back to you directly. The video version of this walkthrough is on YouTube and the comments are open.
References
Primary source material for this article is the official DJI user documentation for each drone in the callout and DJI Fly. External links open in a new tab.
- DJI Fly — App download and release notes · The app where the shooting mode chip lives on the camera view across every current DJI drone. Release notes record any menu reshuffles between versions.
- DJI — UK consumer drone product line-up · Per-drone user manuals carry the supported shooting modes and the per-model shutter behaviour for Single, Burst, Timer, and AEB.
- UK Civil Aviation Authority — The Drone and Model Aircraft Code (CAP2320) · The visual-line-of-sight and overflight rules that frame how and where drone pilots can stop to compose a still in the first place.
Peter Leslie
Founder & GVC Drone Pilot
Peter is the founder of HireDronePilot. With thousands of logged commercial flight hours, he writes about drone technology, commercial surveying tactics, and UK aviation compliance.
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