Accessing the device camera and capturing a photo is a common feature in Android apps. In this guide, you’ll learn how to launch the camera, save the image using FileProvider, request runtime permissions, and display the captured photo in an ImageView.

Step 1: Add Permissions in AndroidManifest.xml

  <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
    android:maxSdkVersion="28"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>

<application
    android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true"
    ...>

    <!-- FileProvider declaration -->
    <provider
        android:name="androidx.core.content.FileProvider"
        android:authorities="${applicationId}.fileprovider"
        android:exported="false"
        android:grantUriPermissions="true">
        <meta-data
            android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
            android:resource="@xml/file_paths" />
    </provider>

</application>

Also, declare FileProvider inside <application> tag:

<provider
    android:name="androidx.core.content.FileProvider"
    android:authorities="${applicationId}.fileprovider"
    android:exported="false"
    android:grantUriPermissions="true">
    <meta-data
        android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
        android:resource="@xml/file_paths" />
</provider>

Step 2: Create res/xml/file_paths.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<paths xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
    <external-files-path name="my_images" path="Pictures" />
</paths>

Step 3: Design the Layout

activity_main.xml

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:padding="16dp">

    <ImageView
        android:id="@+id/imageView"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="300dp"
        android:scaleType="centerCrop"
        android:background="#ccc" />

    <Button
        android:id="@+id/btnCapture"
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Capture Photo" />

</LinearLayout>

Step 4: MainActivity.java

import android.Manifest;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
import android.graphics.BitmapFactory;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Build;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Environment;
import android.provider.MediaStore;
import android.widget.ImageView;
import android.widget.Toast;
import android.widget.Button;

import androidx.annotation.NonNull;
import androidx.annotation.Nullable;
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;
import androidx.core.app.ActivityCompat;
import androidx.core.content.ContextCompat;
import androidx.core.content.FileProvider;

import com.aliendroid.myapplication.R;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.Locale;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    private static final int REQUEST_IMAGE_CAPTURE = 1;
    private static final int REQUEST_CAMERA_PERMISSION = 100;

    private ImageView imageView;
    private Uri photoURI;
    private File photoFile;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        imageView = findViewById(R.id.imageView);
        Button btnCapture = findViewById(R.id.btnCapture);

        btnCapture.setOnClickListener(v -> {
            if (checkPermissions()) {
                openCamera();
            } else {
                requestPermissions();
            }
        });
    }

    private boolean checkPermissions() {
        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) {
            return ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.CAMERA) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED &&
                    ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.READ_MEDIA_IMAGES) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED;
        } else {
            return ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.CAMERA) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED &&
                    ContextCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED;
        }
    }

    private void requestPermissions() {
        if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) {
            ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(this,
                    new String[]{Manifest.permission.CAMERA, Manifest.permission.READ_MEDIA_IMAGES},
                    REQUEST_CAMERA_PERMISSION);
        } else {
            ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(this,
                    new String[]{Manifest.permission.CAMERA, Manifest.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE},
                    REQUEST_CAMERA_PERMISSION);
        }
    }

    private void openCamera() {
        Intent takePictureIntent = new Intent(MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
        if (takePictureIntent.resolveActivity(getPackageManager()) != null) {
            try {
                photoFile = createImageFile();
                if (photoFile != null) {
                    photoURI = FileProvider.getUriForFile(this, getPackageName() + ".fileprovider", photoFile);
                    takePictureIntent.putExtra(MediaStore.EXTRA_OUTPUT, photoURI);
                    startActivityForResult(takePictureIntent, REQUEST_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
                }
            } catch (IOException ex) {
                ex.printStackTrace();
                Toast.makeText(this, "Error creating image file", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
            }
        }
    }

    private File createImageFile() throws IOException {
        String timeStamp = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyyMMdd_HHmmss", Locale.getDefault()).format(new Date());
        String imageFileName = "JPEG_" + timeStamp + "_";
        File storageDir = getExternalFilesDir(Environment.DIRECTORY_PICTURES);
        return File.createTempFile(imageFileName, ".jpg", storageDir);
    }

    @Override
    public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode,
                                           @NonNull String[] permissions,
                                           @NonNull int[] grantResults) {
        super.onRequestPermissionsResult(requestCode, permissions, grantResults);
        if (requestCode == REQUEST_CAMERA_PERMISSION) {
            boolean granted = true;
            for (int result : grantResults) {
                if (result != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
                    granted = false;
                    break;
                }
            }
            if (granted) {
                openCamera();
            } else {
                Toast.makeText(this, "Permissions are required", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
            }
        }
    }

    @Override
    protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode,
                                    @Nullable Intent data) {
        super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
        if (requestCode == REQUEST_IMAGE_CAPTURE && resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
            if (photoFile != null && photoFile.exists()) {
                imageView.setImageBitmap(BitmapFactory.decodeFile(photoFile.getAbsolutePath()));
            }
        }
    }
}

Summary

This tutorial covers:

• • Requesting runtime camera and storage permissions.
  • Using FileProvider to safely share the photo file URI.
  • Opening the device camera and saving the image to app-specific external storage.
  • Displaying the captured image in an ImageView.