Where does the familiar camera shutter sound on phones and in media come from?
Asked 3/30/2017
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Many phones and TV/movies use a recognizable “camera click” sound when a photo or screenshot is taken. What is the real-world origin of that sound? Was it based on an actual camera mechanism, and if so, what kind of camera made a similar noise? I’ve handled several film SLRs from the 1950s–1970s and they don’t all sound exactly like the version commonly used on phones.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
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From the horse's mouth...
A quote from Jim Reekes, creator of the Mac startup & camera sounds [amongst other things] from his own site -
The Story of Sosumi and the Mac Startup Sound
One of the other sounds I created for the Mac is the one you hear when you take a screen shot (press Cmd-Shift-3). This is also more well-known as the sound you hear when taking a photo on the iPhone and iPad.
It is a recording of my trusty old Canon AE-1 from the late ’70s.
Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user57929
9y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
The familiar “camera click” is meant to imitate the sound people historically associated with taking a picture: the shutter and, on SLRs, often the mirror movement as well.
In other words, yes—real cameras did make similar sounds, though not all cameras sounded the same. Different designs (SLRs, leaf-shutter cameras, motor drives, etc.) had noticeably different signatures.
For Apple specifically, the well-known screenshot/iPhone camera sound has a documented source: sound designer Jim Reekes said it was recorded from his Canon AE-1 from the late 1970s. So at least one very widely recognized version really does come from an actual film camera.
That’s also why electronic-shutter or shutterless devices still play a fake click: users expect audible confirmation that a photo was taken, even when there’s no physical mechanism making the noise.
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