iPhone 16 Pro movies overexposed in Photos app on my Mac mini

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Level 1

18 points

iPhone 16 Pro movies overexposed in Photos app on my Mac mini

Movies I created on an iPhone 16 pro in both the ProRes format and without ProRes look fine on the phone, but when imported into the Mac Mini and using a Studio Display then opened in the Photos app, all the movies are over exposed. The movie initially appears okay for about 1 second then the it blends into an over exposed image that I can't really adjust using any Photo settings to make it normal again. Why is this happening? I never had any issues with prior versions of Photos.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone 16 Pro, iOS 18

Posted on Apr 29, 2025 7:36 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Matti Haveri

Level 7

21,330 points

Apr 29, 2025 10:16 PM in response to Der Schatten

Sounds like the movie is HDR but somehow HDR is not supported for the display (you did not say which Mac mini or macOS you have). I had the same "washed out movie" issue with my old iPad Pro 2016 while my new iPad Air 2022 supports HDR OK (as a workaround I converted HDR to SDR with ffmpeg or Final Cut Pro for that old iPad for a while). You might also check your settings and cables. Or disable HDR in the iPhone for new movies.

Play HDR video on Mac - Apple Support

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4RSS8g5HLU

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Answer 2

Der Schatten Author

Level 1

18 points

May 1, 2025 2:37 PM in response to Der Schatten

Hello everyone, thanks for all the great advice. I actually discovered the problem.

First, Matti, I'm using the most recent Mini with the M4 Pro chip and Sequoia 15.4.1. Good to know.

Second, TheLittles I did try to edit them, but never got to a suitable result. Even more ugly. Now I know why! Read on.

Now the problem and solution: I do lots of Photoshop and Lightroom work and have been playing with the Studio Monitor display preset of "Photography (P3 D65)". When I returned the preset to the default "Apple Display (P3-600)" the problem went away. I didn't try the other multitude of presets, but that's a thought. Soooo - it was the Studio Monitor Preset that somehow wasn't compatible with the video format. Weird.

Any ideas why?

Cheers

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