Live Photo to video: how to save it on iPhone or Mac

To turn a Live Photo into a video on iPhone or iPad, open it in Photos, tap the More button (…) and choose Save as Video. A Live Photo already contains a short movie next to its still, so Photos saves that movie as an ordinary video and leaves the Live Photo untouched. Anyone can play it, even without an Apple device.

This guide covers Apple’s way first, what to do when Save as Video isn’t in the menu, the Mac, and when a separate app is worth it.

Save a Live Photo as a video on iPhone or iPad

Apple’s support article and its iPhone User Guide describe the same steps:

1. Open the Photos app. To see only Live Photos, go to Collections › Media Types › Live Photos.
2. Open the Live Photo you want.
3. Tap the More button (…) in the top-right corner.
4. Tap Save as Video.

The new video appears in the Recently Saved album. The Live Photo stays where it was. If you trimmed the Live Photo or muted it in Edit beforehand, those edits are part of what you see when it plays; Apple’s pages don’t say whether every edit carries over to the saved video, so play the result before you delete anything.

When “Save as Video” is missing

Work through these in order:

1. You’re looking in the share sheet. Before iOS 16 the option sat in the share sheet. In iOS 16 it moved to the More (…) menu, as a TidBITS Talk reader reported after a call with Apple Support in September 2022. On iOS 27 it’s still in the … menu at the top right of an open Live Photo.
2. The photo isn’t Live any more. Turning Live off in Edit makes the photo a still of its key photo, and a still has no movie to save. Open it, tap Edit, tap the Live Photo button and turn Live back on.
3. An effect is applied. Photos can play a Live Photo as Loop, Bounce or Long Exposure (tap Live at the top left of an open Live Photo). Apple doesn’t say whether an effect hides Save as Video, but setting the effect back to Live and checking the menu again costs nothing.
4. It isn’t a Live Photo at all. Check for the LIVE label in the corner, or look for it in Media Types › Live Photos.
5. You’re on a Mac. Apple’s Photos for Mac guide has no Save as Video command; see the next section.

Live Photo to video on a Mac

Apple’s Photos for Mac guide (it covers macOS 27) offers two documented ways to get the movie out:

• Export Unmodified Original. Select the Live Photo and choose File › Export › Export Unmodified Original. Apple says a Live Photo “is exported as two separate files: a still-image file and a video file”. The video file is the Live Photo’s movie, without your Photos edits.
• Export GIF fallback. Apple’s GIF page notes that if Export GIF isn’t available for a Live Photo, Export Unmodified Original gives you “a short video” instead.

If your Live Photos sync through iCloud Photos, you can also run Save as Video on your iPhone and pick up the video on the Mac.

When to use Beavery instead

Beavery opens a Live Photo with both of its parts and turns the movie into a video clip, a GIF, a still from any frame or a new Live Photo. It runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac (there’s a native Mac app), and processing happens on the device; your photos and videos aren’t uploaded.

1. Open the Live Photo from the photo picker or Beavery’s Home grid (Live Photos filter).
2. Choose Video as the result type.
3. Keep the whole movie or drag the start and end to any part of it, frame by frame.
4. Export as MOV (the default) or MP4, to Photos, to a folder in Files, or to Messages, AirDrop and other apps with Send to Friends.

By default the selected stretch is copied without re-encoding, so HDR, resolution, frame rate and sound stay as they were. If you need something smaller or more compatible, each result can be set to a different quality (Original, High or Compact), frame rate, size, codec (HEVC or H.264) or SDR. Converting to H.264 gives SDR.

Beavery is most useful when you want to do this on a Mac without the two-file export, when you want MP4 instead of MOV, when you want only part of the movie, or when you want a GIF or a still from the same Live Photo in the same export (batch export needs Pro; your first one is free).

Comparison

Limits and things to know

• The video can’t be longer than the movie. A camera Live Photo records only a moment before and after the shot. To get a longer clip, start from the original video instead. Turning that video into a Live Photo is how you pick any stretch of it.
• The date in Photos. When Beavery saves to Photos, Show as Newest in Photos is on by default: the video appears at the top of your library with the export time as its date, while the capture date inside the file stays the original. Turn the switch off to sort it next to the Live Photo.
• Sound. Beavery keeps the audio by default and copies it as it is; you can mute any result before exporting. If you need a silent, looping file instead, make a GIF from the Live Photo.
• Sending it. A video is the safest way to share the moment with someone who can’t see Live Photos; why a Live Photo stops moving after you send it covers each route.

Questions

Where does the video go after Save as Video?

Apple says the new video appears in the Recently Saved album. The original Live Photo stays in your library and in the Live Photos album.

Why is Save as Video missing on my iPhone?

Since iOS 16 the command is in the More (…) menu, not the share sheet. If it's still not there, check that the photo hasn't been turned into a still with Live off, and set the effect back to Live if Loop, Bounce or Long Exposure is applied.

Can I turn a Live Photo into a video on a Mac?

Photos for Mac has no Save as Video command. Choose File › Export › Export Unmodified Original to get the still and the video as separate files, or use an app such as Beavery, which exports the movie as a MOV or MP4.

Can the video be longer than the Live Photo?

No. The video can only contain what the Live Photo's movie recorded, so it's as long as the whole movie at most.

Does Beavery keep the sound when it turns a Live Photo into a video?

Yes, by default. You can mute any result before exporting, and the audio is copied as it is rather than re-encoded.