Bring your photo library to life by learning about Live Photos and how to use them on your iPhone.

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.

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.

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

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

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:

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

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.

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:

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

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.

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:

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

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.

With iOS 9, the iPhone can now take "Live Photos", but how can you do this on your Android phone or tablet?

Hiba is a Staff Writer for MUO. Along with pursuing a degree in Medicine, she has an uncanny interest in everything technology and a strong desire to hone her skills and consistently expand her knowledge.

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