The iPhone’s Live Photos feature captures three seconds of video, with one and a half seconds recorded before and after the shutter clicks.
However, these files aren’t very easy to share with other apps. Most won’t accept them as videos at all.
But there are a couple of ways to get around that. The first is to convert a live photo into a video with a third-party shortcut.
Save as Video
Live Photos on iPhone and iPad add life to your photos by capturing a 3-second video of the moment you are taking. It includes one and half seconds of footage before the shutter clicks and 1 and half seconds after the shutter clicks, which is called the key photo.
iOS 13 and later let you export a single Live Photo as a video file or stitch together multiple Live Photos to create a video. This is a very useful feature and should have been introduced from the start.
Prior to iOS 13 and iPadOS, you needed to download a third-party app such as Convert LivePhotos to Video to convert your live photos into video files. With iOS 13, Apple made this process easier by adding a single-click option in the Photos app.
Save as GIF
If you’ve ever shot a Live Photo on your iPhone, you know that it usually captures a moment in a more interesting way than a still photo can. Whether you’re shooting the silly moments before a posed group selfie, the minute details of a gorgeous macro image, or the last seconds of a fading sunset, Live Photos are a fun option.
If, however, you want to share that’moving picture’ with someone else and not just a still photo, you can make your Live Photo into a GIF. Unlike videos, which consume more storage space and take longer to render, GIFs are small and easy to send over messaging apps or social media.
You can turn a Live Photo into a GIF using the native iOS Photos app or through a third-party app like Lively. Alternatively, you can create a looping video of your Live Photo and use that to post it on Instagram or other platforms.
Save as Still Photo
Apple’s Live Photo feature is a fun way to add life to your photos by capturing a 3-second short video instead of a still image. Though this feature can be useful, it takes up a lot of storage space on your iPhone.
If you have a bunch of live photos that you don’t want to share as a full Live Photo, you can easily convert them to a still photo using the Photos app. This will save a big chunk of space on your device, plus it’ll keep the Live version of the photo intact.
To get started, find a live photo that you want to save as a still picture. Then, tap the Edit button in the top right corner.
Share
Live Photos are a great way to share a short video of a memorable moment. They’re a bit like GIFs, only with movement and energy.
They’re also much less consuming on your iPhone and iCloud storage than a regular photo. But, there are a few things you should know before saving a Live Photo as a video.
One is that it doesn’t delete the original still image, but instead adds a video file to your photo gallery. This can cause your iPhone or iCloud storage to fill up quickly.
Another is that if you share a Live Photo via email, it’s sent as an ordinary photo and the recipient won’t be able to view the moving version of your Live Photo.
However, if you share a Live Photo as a video on your iPhone or iPad, it will be converted to a video and shared automatically with the recipient. This makes sharing easier and more accessible.