Save a Live Photo as a still image or a short video

What is inside a Live Photo?

How Live Photo files show up after you copy them

Match the files on disk before you pick a tool. The same Live shot can leave the iPhone in more than one shape, depending on USB, AirDrop, iCloud, Mail, or the app you used to share.

Formats and codecs you will actually see

Names on disk and codecs inside the file are not the same thing. A .heic can hold a still, a still plus Live video, or (rarely) a mislabeled movie.

• HEIC / HEIF

  HEIF is the container. HEIC is Apple’s usual still: HEIF plus HEVC image data. A Live HEIC may also carry a short video track in the same file. A .heif name is the same family—treat it like .heic on this site.

• JPEG / JPG

  The still when the camera uses Most Compatible, or after an app flattens a Live Photo. JPEG is easy to attach and print. It does not contain the Live clip unless some other vendor stuffed video into a JPEG (that is not iPhone Live Photo).

• MOV

  QuickTime movie. Most iPhone Live clips export as .mov, often HEVC. On a pair export, this file is the motion. After extraction from a single HEIC, the download keeps the bytes that were already stored—often still .mov.

• MP4

  Some Live segments or mislabeled files are already MP4 (ISOBMFF) inside. The extractor saves the real video type. It does not transcode HEVC into a different codec just to change the extension.

• HEVC vs H.264

  High Efficiency Live clips are usually HEVC (H.265). Older or “most compatible” pipelines may use H.264. HEVC needs a suitable player on Windows; the file can be valid even when the default Movies & TV app shows a codec error.

• Not the same: Android Motion Photo

  Pixel, Samsung, and similar phones often hide a short MP4 inside a JPEG (or HEIC) using Motion Photo metadata. That is a different layout. HEIC.Best Live Video is built for iPhone Live segments in HEIC/HEIF, not for peeling MP4 off a Google or Samsung still.

Jobs these files are for

Pick the output that matches the next place the file has to go—not every Live Photo needs both halves.

• A normal photo for email, forms, or print

  Offices, printers, and many websites still expect JPEG. Convert the HEIC still. The clip is unused for a paper form or a static upload field.

• A clip other phones can play

  Android and Windows gallery apps usually cannot “hold to play” a Live HEIC. Send an extracted MOV/MP4, or the sidecar MOV from a pair, so the other person gets real video.

• Edit the moment in CapCut, Premiere, or similar

  Editors want a video file. Extraction copies the existing clip. That avoids a second generate-from-HEIC encode that would soften the already-short Live take.

• Keep the sound that went with the photo

  Voices, waves, or shutter-room noise sit on the video track. A JPG/PNG/PDF still is silent. Extract or use the pair’s MOV if sound matters.

• A mixed folder of Live and ordinary HEIC

  The Live Video page marks still-only files and skips them during extract. Convert the whole folder to JPG on the JPG page if you need every still, Live or not.

• A PDF of stills for a report or album page

  PDF is for pages, not for motion. Use HEIC to PDF on the stills. Put any extracted clips beside the PDF if the reader also needs to see movement.

• Check EXIF and the still before you decide

  The Viewer shows the still and metadata in the browser. It does not play Live motion. After a look, convert or extract on the matching tool page.

• Lossless-looking still for a layout, not for chat

  PNG keeps a still without JPEG artifacts. Photo HEIC is already compressed, so PNG files run large. Use PNG when a design tool wants it; use JPG for everyday sharing.

Which HEIC.Best tool matches the file

Each page does one job so a download is either a photo or a video, never a mixed ZIP of both.

Still formats on this site: HEIC → PNG · HEIC → PDF

Step-by-step on HEIC.Best

On iPhone, before files ever reach a PC

Some needs are finished in Photos. You only need HEIC.Best after a copy already sits as HEIC, JPEG, or MOV on disk.

• Duplicate as Still Photo

  Photos can make a still copy in the library while the Live original stays. That still may remain HEIC. Convert it later if Windows or a website wants JPG.

• Share options that flatten Live

  Share sheet Options such as Most Compatible often send a JPEG still. Use USB, Files, or iCloud original download when you must keep the motion file.

• Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure

  Loop and Bounce are how Photos plays the same short clip. An extracted MOV is that original take, not an endlessly looping file. Long Exposure is a computed still from the Live frames—export that still if you want the blur effect, not the video page.

• Edited Live Photos and .AAE files

  Crops and filters on iPhone may write a sidecar .AAE. A folder copy can include originals plus the sidecar. HEIC.Best reads the image/video file you upload, not the .AAE instructions.

Playback, size, and what this site does not do

A successful extract can still fail in the default Windows player. That is a codec/player issue, not a missing Live track.

• HEVC MOV on Windows

  If Movies & TV errors on codec, try VLC or another player with HEVC, or the optional HEVC Video Extensions from Microsoft. The file can still be the correct Live clip.

• Why Live files are larger

  You are storing a still plus more than a second of video and audio. That is why a Live HEIC or a HEIC+MOV pair outweighs a single still from the same camera.

• No key-photo picker in the browser

  The still we convert is the still already stored in the HEIC—the key photo at export time. Changing the key photo happens in iPhone Photos before you copy the file.

• No merge of a loose HEIC+MOV pair

  We do not stitch a sidecar MOV back into a Live HEIC, and we do not build a new Live Photo for the Photos app. Keep the pair together if you still use them on Apple devices.

When the result is not what you expected

Related guides and tools

Deeper HEIC topics sit on their own pages so this Live Photo article can stay on stills, clips, and containers.

Frequently asked questions

Is every Live Photo a HEIC plus a MOV?

No. You may have one HEIC that already contains the clip, a HEIC+MOV pair, a JPEG+MOV pair (Most Compatible), or a flattened JPEG/HEIC with no motion left. Check the files on disk before choosing a tool.

Should I use the video page or the JPG page?

Need the short clip (and its sound)? Use HEIC to Live Video, or the sidecar MOV if you already have it. Need a still for email, print, or a website? Use HEIC to JPG. Use both only when you truly need both outputs.

Does extracting Live video reduce quality?

No. HEIC.Best copies the motion bytes already in the HEIC/HEIF file. It does not re-encode the clip the way a “convert everything to MP4” tool would.

Does HEIC to JPG keep the Live animation?

No. JPG, PNG, and PDF are stills. Animation and microphone audio stay on the video file or the embedded Live segment.

I exported Loop or Bounce. Why is the video so short?

Loop and Bounce are playback modes in Photos. The stored clip is still about a second and a half. Extraction gives you that take. Repeat or reverse it in a video editor if you need a longer loop file.

Are my photos uploaded to your servers?

No. Conversion and extraction run locally in your browser on your device.

Can I extract video and convert the still in one step?

Not on one page—by design. Separate tools keep a video download from mixing with a photo ZIP.

Will this extract a Google or Samsung Motion Photo?

No. Those files usually embed MP4 in a JPEG (or vendor HEIC) with different metadata. This tool targets iPhone Live segments inside HEIC/HEIF.

Why does Windows play the still but not the motion?

Explorer treats HEIC as an image. It will not hold-to-play like Photos on iPhone. Extract the clip or open the sidecar MOV. If the MOV exists but will not play, try a player with HEVC support.