How to edit photos with HDR, HEIC or Live

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Level 1

4 points

How to edit photos with HDR, HEIC or Live

I've just updated my MacAir laptop today to MacOS Sierra 10.12.6. The updates tell me there are no further updates available.

I have over 3000 photos recently taken on my new iPhone 8 with IOS 12.1 during extensive international travel most of which have come up as HDR and Live.

I now have a little white triangle in the corner of my photos with an explanation mark in it saying the photo is unsupported and I need to update my system - which I've done and can't do any further.
I have Photos 2 on my Mac Laptop.

Most of the photos also have a HEIC tag (which when I shared with a friend also came up as unsupported.)

I am unable to edit the HDR and Live photos as the editing icon is grey and won't open.

Please explain in simple language how to edit these photos.

Thanks

Vicky

MacBook Air, iOS 12.1

Posted on Nov 17, 2018 4:11 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

léonie

Level 10

197,153 points

Nov 24, 2018 12:33 PM in response to VickyANZ

To be able to process files in the HEIC format you need at least macOS 10.13 High Sierra or macOS 10.14 Mojave. That would be an upgrade and not an update. You will not see this upgrade in the updates at the AppStore. You have to purchase the upgrade (for free) from the main page of the Mac App Store. Check out this page: Upgrade to macOS High Sierra - Official Apple Support

Is your Mac compatible? See compatible Mac models

All MacBook Airs from mid 2012 or later can even be upgraded to the most recent macOS 10.14 Mojave.This will allow you to edit your Live Photos, Portrait mode photos, and can handle the HEIC format.

If your MBA is too old, you can download the HEIC photos from the iPhone as jpegs, if you change the settings on the iPhone, see this document: Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices - Apple Support

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

197,153 points

Nov 24, 2018 12:52 PM in response to VickyANZ

How vital is it for me to back-up prior to upgrading?

It is essential to have a working backup before trying to upgrade a Mac. The upgrade may fail and you may be left with a useless brick instead of a working computer. Or you may find, that essential software you need does not work well on the upgraded system and you may want to revert to the current system. This requires a working backup.

. I cannot get the built in Time Machine to work.

Do you have an external drive connected that is suitable for Time Machine? You need a drive with enough storage to accommodate at lest 2.5 times the the size of your startup drive. Have you seen this document? See the link:

Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support

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Answer 3

VickyANZ Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 24, 2018 12:38 PM in response to VickyANZ

Thanks for this information. My laptop is compatible but when I tried to back-up prior to upgrading it failed. I cannot get the built in Time Machine to work. I also have Sugar Sync which also failed and iCloud where I can't find half the files I want.

How vital is it for me to back-up prior to upgrading?

And how do I get Time Machine to work?

When I click on it, a message comes as unavailable. When I go to Systems. Time Machine is ticked as Back up automatically. Then I'm asked to select disk. When I click on the internal time machine icon the only option I have is to Cancel or Remove Disk.

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How to edit photos with HDR, HEIC or Live

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