Exporting photos from the MacOS Photos app as .heic

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joni_be_good Author

Level 1

8 points

Exporting photos from the MacOS Photos app as .heic

Hello

I recently decided to upload some photos from my iPhone XR(iOS 17) to my MacBook(MacOS 10.15).

I connected the iPhone with a cable and imported them using the Photos app on the MacBook.

All photos are Live and in the .heic format

When I import them to Photos on the MacBook they appear as expected - Live photos, .heic files

When I try to export them from Photos however is where the problem happens.

If I drag and drop or export one photo it gets exported as .jpeg

If I export unmodified original it get exported as 2 files - a .jpeg and a video file

How do I get the original raw .heic files that I imported in Photos or am I just stuck with viewing them in the Photos app if I want the to be Live photos?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Oct 8, 2023 3:17 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

léonie

Level 10

197,077 points

Oct 8, 2023 7:08 AM in response to joni_be_good

Your Live Photos are a pair of a HEIC file (the high resolution still frame) and a short video clip (the MOV file) with the animation. This is what will be saved, when you export the unmodified original, and you have to save both files, to be able to reimport the Live Photo as a Live Photo and not just a still frame.

Alternately, you could export the LIVE photo as an animated gif (File > Export > Export as GIF) to save the animation, but the GIF will require much more storage than the original pair of a HEIC file and a short video clip. On the other hand, the animated GIFs can be viewed outside Photos, if you want to see the photo alive in other apps.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

197,077 points

Oct 9, 2023 6:48 AM in response to joni_be_good

To be able to export edited photos from your Photos Library as HEIC you would have to upgrade the Mac to macOS 14 Sonoma. The earlier system versions allow only the export as TIFF, JPEG, or PNG, if a photo has been adjusted and you are exporting the edited version.

But it should be possible to keep HEIC files as HEIC and export them this way from Photos, even on Catalina, as long as you transfer the photos from your iPhone without converting them to JPEG, and then export them as "Unmodified Original". Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices - Apple Support

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Answer 3

joni_be_good Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 9, 2023 3:09 AM in response to léonie

Thank you for your reply.

It just seem strange that I can have a .heic file in Finder, airdropped from my iPhone, but at the same time I cannot have the same .heic file if it goes trough the Photos app.

I want to be able to back up my photos in .heic format to an external hdd.

Any workarounds? Should I just not use the Photos app if I want my files in .heic?

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Answer 4

joni_be_good Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 9, 2023 7:02 AM in response to léonie

Unfortunately I have a 2013 MacBook Pro so upgrading to Sonoma is not an option.

I do transfer the photos from my iPhone as .heic without conversion. They are live photos in the Photos app on my Mac. However exporting them as unmodified original still ends up as two files - .jpeg and .mov

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Answer 5

léonie

Level 10

197,077 points

Oct 9, 2023 8:58 AM in response to joni_be_good

YYOu need the two files, the still frame and the video clip, but the still frame should remain a HEIC file, if it is a HEIC on your iPhone. It is strange, that is is converted to JPEG, when you download from the iPhone. That should only happen, when the iPhone is set to "Most Compatible" in the "Settings > Photos > Download to Mac or PC". All my Live Photos have been exported as .HEIC and .MOV pair on Catalina, when I exported them as an unmodified original, not as a JPEG and MOV.

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Exporting photos from the MacOS Photos app as .heic

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