The sole purpose of taking pictures is to create memories you can look back on to relive moments that pass by. Live Photos gives this a whole new meaning by allowing you to create three-second long photos. You can turn Live Photos on and off with just a quick tap, edit them, convert them into GIFs to post or send, and even use them as a wallpaper.

Let’s take a quick look at how to do each of these things.

What Are Live Photos?

Apple released Live Photos in 2016 along with the iPhone 6S, and the feature has been popular ever since. Live Photos on iOS allows you to record 1.5 seconds before and after taking a photo. As far as you’re concerned, you just snapped a photo, but when you view it in the Photos app later you can enjoy a little video clip either side.

Live Photos offer an effortless way to bring your photo library to life and help you capture dynamic memories more effectively.

How to Take Live Photos on an iPhone

The process is almost the same as taking a typical picture. Here’s how you can take your own Live Photo on your iPhone:

  1. Open the Camera app.
  2. Tap on Photo to make sure your camera is on Photo Mode.
  3. You will see an icon with concentric circles and a diagonal slash on it. Tap on it. You will notice that the icon has turned yellow, and a pop-up saying Live appears on the top of your screen for a few seconds.
  4. This means that Live Photo mode is now turned on.
  5. All you need to do is hit the shutter button to snap a Live Photo.

If you change your mind, just hit the button again to turn Live Photos off.

How to Edit Live Photos on an iPhone

Editing a Live Photo is quite an easy process. You can begin by changing the key photo on your Live Photo; this means you can choose a particular frame from the three-second Live Photo as your still image. Here are the steps you need to follow to change key photo:

  1. In the Photos app, open the Live Photo you want to change the key photo for.
  2. Tap Edit.
  3. From the list of editing icons at the bottom, select the Live Photos icon, with the concentric circles.
  4. Scroll along the slide bar that appears and bring it to the frame you want to set as a key photo.
  5. Tap on Make Key Photo. The option appears as a dialog box right above the sliding bar.
  6. Press Done.

You can also change the way your iPhone processes the Live Photo, turning it into a long exposure photo or even a reversing video:

  1. In the Photos app, open the Live Photo you want to send.
  2. Tap on Live.
  3. Choose from any one of the options: Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure.

As well as this, you can make regular image edits to your Live Photo that you can with a typical image. Just press Edit as mentioned above, and you can crop, rotate, fine-tune, add filters and alter the orientation of the image the way you like it.

How to Convert Live Photos to GIFs

Turning Live Photos into GIFs is one of the best ways to share them to social media. You can also turn Live Photos into videos, if you prefer.

Before you begin, make sure that you have the Shortcuts app downloaded. Once this is done, follow these steps to turn a photo into a GIF:

  1. Open Shortcuts.
  2. Go to the Gallery tab and search for Convert Photos to GIF.
  3. Select it and tap Add Shortcut.
  4. Go back to the My Shortcuts tab and select the shortcut.
  5. You can choose up to 21 Live Photos at a time to convert to GIFs without encountering an error. Once finished with your selection, tap Add at the top right of your screen.
  6. You’ll be shown a preview of your GIF. Tap on the Share button to save the GIF to your library or send it to any other social media app or contact.

How to Share Live Photos

Sharing Live Photos is about the same as sharing typical photos. Follow these steps:

  1. In the Photos app, select all the Live Photos you want to share or send to someone.
  2. Press the Share button.
  3. Choose the contact or social media app you want to send your Live Photo to.

If you send a Live Photo to an Android user, the recipient will only be able to view a still image. In fact, the Live Photo often does not send at all.

How to Use a Live Photo as an iPhone Wallpaper

You can choose from any of the iPhone’s default Live Wallpapers or pick a Live Photo from your own photo album to use as a background. Follow these steps to set a Live Photo as a wallpaper on your iPhone:

  1. Open Settings and go to Wallpaper.
  2. Tap on Choose a New Wallpaper.
  3. If you want to choose from one of the iPhone’s pre-existing live wallpapers, tap Live from the three albums at the top. If you want to use your own Live Photo, scroll down and select the album named Live Photos.
  4. Choose the photo you want and press Set. You can choose to set it for your Lock Screen, Home Screen, or Both.

Another method to do this is directly from the Live Photo you’ve taken. Here are the steps you need to follow:

  1. Open the Live Photo you want to set as your wallpaper.
  2. Tap on the Share button.
  3. Scroll down and select Use as Wallpaper, and that’s pretty much about it.

Master Live Photos With These Quick Tips

Live Photos record 1.5 seconds before and after the camera shutter is pressed, creating a 3-second long video. You can turn on Live Photos when taking a picture with a single tap and can share and edit it exactly the same way as you would a normal picture.

You can also convert your photos into a GIF to post on social media or send it to a device that doesn’t support Live Photos. Furthermore, Live Photos can be set as wallpapers to help you envision a certain moment right on your Home Screen.