Did you know there is a quick and easy way to convert Live Photos to Loop, Bounce, or Long Exposure on the iPhone? This is a built in feature that is a little hidden but once you learn how to use it, you will love it.
First, a little background. Apple introduced Live Photos when the iPhone 6s was released. Live Photos is a process where the iPhone captures 3 seconds of video around the still image. A deep press on a live photo brings the photo to life by playing the video captured before and after the picture.
With each new version of iOS and each new version of the iPhone, the Live Photos feature has been improved with the addition of several new features. Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure are 3 of these features and they can add so much to a photo.
Here is how to convert a Live Photo to Loop, Bounce, or Long Exposure:
- Make sure that the “Live Photos” feature is enabled on the camera of your iPhone. To verify this, just open the camera app and make sure that the Live Photos button is on. You know that is is on if it is yellow. The Live Photos button is at the top middle of the Camera App (the 3 concentric circles).
- Take a Live Photo.
- Once you have captured a live photo, open it up in the Photos App. Then, simply swipe up on the Live Photo you want to convert to Loop, Bounce, or Long Exposure.
- When you swipe up on the Live Photo, you will see four effects listed: Live, Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure. Simply tap on any effect to apply it to the current photo. Here is a before and after example of one of my photos:
- At any point, you can revert the photo back to it’s original Live Photo effect by following these same steps.
That’s it. Simple as that. Now you know how to convert Live Photos to Loop, Bounce, or Long Exposure. My favorite use of these effects is with waterfall pictures. With a couple swipes and taps, I can change a normal looking picture of a waterfall into a beautiful long exposure waterfall with silky smooth water. For more info on how to take and edit Live Photos, check out this Apple Support Article: Take and Edit Live Photos.
Here are a couple of my favorites photos taken with my iPhone and using the Long Exposure effect:
