How can I stop MacOS Photos from automatically brightening videos?

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Level 1

36 points

How can I stop MacOS Photos from automatically brightening videos?

When I open a video (I notice this seems to happen only with videos shot with my iPhone 12 mini), there is a momentary adjustment which blows out the image. The thumbnails appear normal and correct, and the adjustment happens within a second or two of opening the video.

How can I stop Photos from doing this?

I've attached a side by side comparison of two screen shots, one made the instant I opened the video in MacOS Photos, and one after a second had passed.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Mac Pro

Posted on Jan 12, 2023 7:19 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

léonie

Level 10

197,159 points

Jan 13, 2023 12:00 AM in response to KevinGarnett

Your video might be a HDR Video. And there might be a mismatch between your video and the HDR capabilities of the display you are using. Are you viewing the video on an external display or the internal display?

Try to change the HRD settings for the Display you are using and see, if it will prevent the burnt out high-lights.:

Choose Apple menu  > System Settings (or System Preferences) > Display for High Dynamic Range. If it is enabled, turn it off, if it is not enabled , turn it on.

See this support document for more details: Play HDR video on Mac – Apple Support (UK)

Or have you a filter enabled for the camera on your iPhone? You can check this on your Mac, when you open the edit pane for your video and check the filter tab.

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Answer 2

KevinGarnett Author

Level 1

36 points

Jan 12, 2023 8:58 PM in response to KevinGarnett

I have another piece of information. I scoured through the Photos Library package in the Finder to retrieve the original .mov file and copied it to the desktop. Opening the .mov file in Quicklook or the QuickTime Player only plays the extreme-bright version, but opening the file in the third-party VLC Player reveals the original, well-balanced colors from the camera.

What this suggests is that the MacOS is making these horrible adjustments, and non-Apple software fixes the issue. There has to be a way to turn it off, I would think?

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