“It took you and how many gallons of water to figure that out?"
(I had to ask how to disable Live Photos from re-enabling constantly on the spouse’s phone, it was crazy-making.)

“It is a common source of frustration, but it is typically a matter of counter-intuitive settings rather than a software bug. By default, iOS is programmed to reset the camera to Live Photo: On every time you close the app.

To stop this, you must tell the phone to "remember" your choice to keep it off.

How to Fix It:

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down and tap Camera.
3. Tap Preserve Settings.
4. Toggle the switch for Live Photo to On.

Why this is confusing

The labeling in this menu is the primary cause of the issue. By turning this setting On, you aren't turning on Live Photos; you are turning on the memory of the camera.

If the toggle is Off: The camera ignores what you did last and defaults back to "Live Photo: On" every time.

If the toggle is On: The camera will stay in whatever state you last left it. If you turn Live Photo off in the camera app once, it will stay off until you manually turn it back on"