• Diyan
• On June 9, 2014

A few days ago, an update was rolled out to Nokia Camera Beta bringing several bug fixes and improvements to the Windows Phone 8.1 app, but now it seems there is more under the hood and it’s connected with Lumia Cyan update and Living Images.

It looks this way – the update is a preparation for Cyan as Nokia Camera Beta now supports Living Images – the augmentation of a regular picture showing a few frames before the picture is taken. Enabling Living Images would allow you to create a short animation effect or you would turn static pictures into living memories. Living Images can be viewed in the camera roll and Nokia Storyteller, shared on Social Networks or send via email.

The full functionality should be enabled after Windows Phone 8.1 + Lumia Cyan update, but now you can have a preview of Living Images, even on a non-PureView Lumia device (we previously reported that the feature would be enabled only for PureView high-end smartphones). To create short animated pictures you need to:

• Install Nokia Camera Beta
• Open the app
• Go to settings -> Choose ‘Use default settings’
• Close and open the app again

Now you’ve (mostly) enabled Living Images on your Lumia Windows Phone 8.1. Use Nokia Camera Beta to capture a photo and the app will automatically save a few frames before you press the shutter button, creating these lovely animated effects. As Living Images and Cyan update are not official yet, you can’t access Living photos from anywhere on the phone, but only through the Nokia Camera Beta’s camera roll. Keep in mind that when you snap a photo, the app creates two additional mp4 files for each scene.

The full Living Images functionality will be unlocked with Lumia Cyan, so be patient and wait for an update in the coming weeks.