An online system maintains connections among users of that system and allows them to share media information with one another. If multiple socially connected users are viewing the same event and are located in the vicinity of one another, a social camera application executing on each client device of the socially connected users allows these users to capture media information of that event, and a higher quality media content of the event can be generated from the multiple captures of the event. For example, a target user begins a social camera experience and invites other socially connected users in the vicinity to join that experience. These users upload their captures of the event to the online system, which are combined to create a social camera media item of the event with better quality than any of the individual captures taken by a user within the group.