How to Turn a Live Photo Into a GIF on iPhone and Mac.
Live Photos is a lot of fun. However, they do not work on third party devices. Therefore, if you want to share a Live Photo, the safest option is to convert it to a universally compatible GIF format. Of course it won’t look so cool. But it’s still better than static JPEG.
The following methods should show you what you need to do to convert Live Photo to GIF on iPhone and Mac. We’ll take a closer look at each of them.
Turn Live Photo to GIF Using Shortcuts App on iPhone
The most convenient way to convert Live Photo to GIF on iPhone is to use shortcut. The Shortcuts app built into iOS lets you do this.
You just need to download the corresponding pre-created shortcut from the shortcut app gallery. After that, you can immediately start converting Live Photo to GIF.
Set the shortcut Make GIF
1. Open the Shortcuts app and go to the Gallery tab.
Note. If you can’t find the Shortcuts app on your iPhone, download it from the App Store.
2. Enter make gif in the search box at the top of the screen.
3. Click on the “Make GIF” shortcut in the search results.
4. Click Add Shortcut.
Launch shortcut “Create GIF”
1. Find and tap the Create GIF shortcut. You should find it in the My Shortcuts tab of the Shortcuts app.
2. Select the live photo you want to convert. You should see a preview of the converted image within a few seconds.
3. Click Finish.
You will find GIFs in the Recents album in the Photos app. The original Live Photo must also be intact. You can share or copy the converted image and it should display as a GIF in any application.
Start GIF creation via Share Sheet
If you want to convert your Live Photo to GIF directly through the Photos app, you must first configure the Make GIF shortcut so that it appears on the image sharing sheet.
1. Click the More icon (three dots) on the Create GIF shortcut.
2. Tap the icon with three sliders in the upper right corner of the screen.
3. Click the radio button next to Show on Shared Sheet. Then click Finish.
4. Open the Photos app, tap and hold the GIF you want to convert and tap Share.
5. Click “Make GIF”.
6. Click Finish. The converted image should appear in the Recents album of the Photos app.
Turn Live Photos to GIF Using GIPHY
Besides shortcuts, you can also use the free GIPHY app to convert Live Photo to GIF on iPhone. It’s fast, easy, and even lets you bring images to life with visual effects and stickers. You can also adjust the duration of your GIFs.
1. Download and install GIPHY from the App Store.
2. Open the GIPHY app. You have the option to continue with or without a free GIPHY account.
3. Go to the “Home” tab and click “Create” in the upper right corner of the screen.
4. Select GIF and click the “Recents” album thumbnail in the lower left corner of the screen.
5. Select the live photo you want to convert.
6. Make any changes using the tools at the bottom of the screen and tap the Go icon. You can then share the GIF on social media, copy it to the clipboard, or upload it to GIPHY (if you have a GIPHY account). If you want to save the GIF, click Share GIF and select the Save GIF option.
You will also find additional third-party apps on the App Store that allow you to convert Live Photos to GIF. Feel free to look around.
Turn Live Photos to GIF Using Photos App
The Photos app on iPhone also lets you modify the default Live Photo effect that mimics GIF properties. If you share it with apps like Mail, iOS prompts you to convert the image to GIF. However, this method is not completely reliable, as some applications may receive images in JPEG or MOV format.
1. Open the Photos app and select Live Photo.
2. Tap the Live Broadcast option in the upper left corner of the screen.
3. Select one of the following effects:
- Loop: Loops the image.
- Bounce: Moves the image back and forth.
You can now share the image, and most likely it should be sent in GIF format. If not, use an alternative method to transform the image. You can always change the default picture effect to Live whenever you want.
Turn Live Photos to GIF Using Shortcut on Mac
If you’re using a Mac with macOS 12.0 Monterey or later, you can turn Live Photos into GIFs using the Shortcuts app. The process is basically the same as on the iPhone. Just download the Make GIF shortcut and use it to convert.
Set the shortcut Make GIF
1. Open the Shortcuts app on your Mac.
2. Select “Gallery” in the sidebar and type “make gif” into the search bar in the upper right corner of the window.
3. Select the “Create GIF” shortcut and add it to the Shortcuts application.
Launch shortcut “Create GIF”
1. Open the Shortcuts app and launch the Create GIF shortcut. You should find it under All Shortcuts.
2. Select the live photo you want to convert. You will see the GIF preview immediately.
3. Select “Finish”.
You will find the converted Live Photo in the Recent album of the Photos application.
Turn Live Photos to GIF Using Photos App on Mac
Another way to convert Live Photo to GIF on Mac is by using the export function of the Photos app. This is similar to the method on the iPhone, which involves tinkering with image effects, except that the Mac also provides a dedicated option to save the photo as GIF.
1. Open the Photos app.
2. Select the live photo you want to convert.
3. Click the “Change” button in the upper right corner of the screen.
4. Open the drop-down menu labeled Live and select one of the following:
- Loop: Loops the image.
- Bounce: Moves the image back and forth.
5. Select “Finish”.
6. Open the File menu and choose Export> Export GIF.
7. Select a destination (for example, Desktop) and select “Export”.
You can always revert changes to the original by entering Edit Mode in Photos and setting the default effect to Live.
Live Photo to GIF Made Easy
The above instructions should help you to convert Live Photo to GIF on iPhone and Mac easily. Choose the method that works best for you and you should be fine. However, if any of the resulting GIFs seems too large in terms of file size, be sure to check out these GIF compression and optimization tools to mitigate them.
How to Turn a Live Photo Into a GIF on iPhone and Mac
How to Turn a Live Photo Into a GIF on iPhone and Mac