Flutterexperts

In today’s mobile-first world, integrating camera functionality into your app isn’t just a cool feature — it’s a necessity. Whether you’re building a social app, e-commerce platform, or document scanner, capturing photos natively provides an intuitive and engaging user experience.

That’s where our Custom Camera Component for FlutterFlow comes in. In this blog, we’ll walk through what this component does, how it works, and how you can easily integrate it into your project — no manual camera configuration required.

What is the Custom Camera Component?

The Custom Camera Component is a plug-and-play widget built with Flutter and fully compatible with FlutterFlow. It allows users to take pictures directly from within your app. Once the photo is captured, the component displays the image in a bottom sheet preview, allowing for instant confirmation or further action.

It simplifies camera integration into a single, reusable, and UI-friendly interface.

What Is It?

The Custom Camera Component allows users to:

• Open the device’s camera
• Capture a photo when the “Take Picture” button is tapped
• Display the captured image in a bottom sheet
• Store the image as a base64 string for further use

How It Works — State Management

To manage the photo-capturing flow, two AppState variables are used:

1. makePhoto (Boolean): This is used to trigger the photo capture when set to true.
2. fileBase64 (String): This stores the captured image in base64 format, which can later be used for previewing or uploading.

Make sure both variables are created in your FlutterFlow App State (Settings > App State):

• makePhoto → Boolean (default: false)
• fileBase64 → String

🚀 Key Features

• ✅ One-Tap Access to Camera — Launch the device’s camera with a single tap.
• 🖼 Real-time Image Preview — Shows the captured image immediately in a bottom sheet.
• 🛠 Modular & Reusable — Easily drop this component into any screen or flow.
• ⚡ FlutterFlow Ready — No manual platform code required; just drag, drop, and go.

How It Works

When added to your app, the component renders a button labeled “Take Picture.” Here’s what happens under the hood:

1. User taps “Take Picture” — The component calls the device’s native camera using image_picker or camera package logic.
2. Camera opens — The device camera interface is launched, allowing the user to capture a photo.
3. Image captured — After the user takes the photo, the captured image is saved temporarily.
4. Bottom sheet appears — The image is displayed in a styled bottom sheet, where users can review or confirm the picture.

All of this happens in a smooth, intuitive flow that keeps users engaged and on-task.

📲 Use Cases

The Custom Camera Component is perfect for:

• User profile pictures
• Product listings in a marketplace
• Document or receipt uploads
• Field data capture
• Social sharing apps

Custom Widget Code: CameraPhoto

Here’s the complete code for the camera component:

// Automatic FlutterFlow imports
import '/flutter_flow/flutter_flow_theme.dart';
import '/flutter_flow/flutter_flow_util.dart';
import '/custom_code/widgets/index.dart'; // Imports other custom widgets
import '/flutter_flow/custom_functions.dart'; // Imports custom functions
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'dart:convert';
import 'package:camera/camera.dart';

class CameraPhoto extends StatefulWidget {
  const CameraPhoto({
    Key? key,
    this.width,
    this.height,
  }) : super(key: key);

  final double? width;
  final double? height;

  @override
  _CameraPhotoState createState() => _CameraPhotoState();
}

class _CameraPhotoState extends State<CameraPhoto> {
  CameraController? controller;
  late Future<List<CameraDescription>> _cameras;

  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    _cameras = availableCameras();
  }

  @override
  void didUpdateWidget(covariant CameraPhoto oldWidget) {
    super.didUpdateWidget(oldWidget);
    if (FFAppState().makePhoto) {
      controller!.takePicture().then((file) async {
        Uint8List fileAsBytes = await file.readAsBytes();
        final base64 = base64Encode(fileAsBytes);

        FFAppState().update(() {
          FFAppState().fileBase64 = base64;
          FFAppState().makePhoto = false;
        });
      }).catchError((error) {});
    }
  }

  @override
  void dispose() {
    controller?.dispose();
    super.dispose();
  }

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return FutureBuilder<List<CameraDescription>>(
      future: _cameras,
      builder: (context, snapshot) {
        if (snapshot.connectionState == ConnectionState.done) {
          if (snapshot.hasData && snapshot.data!.isNotEmpty) {
            if (controller == null) {
              controller =
                  CameraController(snapshot.data![0], ResolutionPreset.max);
              controller!.initialize().then((_) {
                if (!mounted) return;
                setState(() {});
              });
            }
            return controller!.value.isInitialized
                ? MaterialApp(home: CameraPreview(controller!))
                : Container();
          } else {
            return const Center(child: Text('No cameras available.'));
          }
        } else {
          return const Center(child: CircularProgressIndicator());
        }
      },
    );
  }
}

Custom Function to Convert base64 to File

When previewing or uploading the image, you’ll need to convert it back to a file. Here’s a helpful custom function for that:

import 'dart:convert';
import '/flutter_flow/uploaded_file.dart';

FFUploadedFile? base64toFile(String base64Img) {
  final bytes = base64Decode(base64Img);
  final file = FFUploadedFile(bytes: bytes);
  return file;
}

How to Use This Component

1. Add CameraPhoto widget to any page.
2. Add a button with an Action to:
    Set App State → makePhoto = true
3. Use a Conditional widget or Bottom Sheet to detect when fileBase64 is updated and show the image using base64toFile(fileBase64).
4. Done! You’ve got a working custom camera integration.

🧩 How to Use in Your FlutterFlow App

1. Add the component to any screen.
2. No additional setup required — no Firebase or platform channels.
3. Customize UI (optional) by changing the button style, icon, or sheet design.

Because it uses standard Flutter widgets and is pre-wired for camera access, there’s no platform-specific setup needed beyond the usual permissions in Android/iOS (which FlutterFlow handles with ease).

Conclusion

Integrating native camera access doesn’t need to be complicated. With this Custom Camera Component, you get a fast, reliable, and visually polished solution that enhances the usability of your app.

Whether you’re building a new FlutterFlow project or improving an existing one, this component makes capturing and previewing images a breeze.

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