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GIFs have become an integral part of social media posts, emails, and even tech launches. They are an efficient way to share a moving image without the added data of a video. While iOS 11 offers a GIF folder in Photos and supports GIFs, how can you make one from an iPhone in the first place?
Live Photos is a great feature on iPhones that captures three seconds of footage before and after the shutter is pressed, creating a GIF-like image with motion and audio. This makes Live Photos a perfect choice to convert into GIFs. But, how can you do that? While it’s relatively easy to create GIFs on Mac, it’s slightly more challenging on iOS. Luckily, there is a free iOS app from Google that can turn Live Photos into GIFs and make them shareable across any platform. Below is a step-by-step guide to learning how to make a GIF on iPhone.
Live Photos and Motion Stills
To capture Live Photos, you need to activate the “Live” switch located at the top of the Camera app. Once turned on, the Live Photos icon will light up yellow, indicating that Live Photo mode is active. Live Photos can only be captured on iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, or later models.
After taking Live Photos, download an iOS app called Motion Stills from the App Store. This app is free and only takes up approx. 25MB of storage space, making it an ideal choice for your iPhone.
Turning Live Photos into Stabilized GIFs
Open the Motion Stills app and select the Live Photos you want to convert. Motion Stills app stabilizes the short clip by using video stabilization algorithms, which results in a cinematically-stabilized video that appears professionally edited. The app then provides you with different export and sharing options, allowing you to save the GIF to your iPhone’s Photos app or share it with your social network.
Motion Stills also determines the optimal starting point for the video, although it can be manually set by you. Once the file has been exported, go to the iOS 11 Photos app, select the GIF folder, and share your new GIF with your friends and family.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I create a GIF from existing videos on my iPhone?
Yes, you can. One way to do that is to use a third-party app that can convert your video into a GIF, such as Giphy Cam or GIF Maker. You can also use the FilmoraGo app to trim your video, add text, and save it as a GIF.
Is there a limit to the length of a Live Photo that can be converted into a GIF?
The length of a Live Photo that can be converted into a GIF depends on the available storage space on your iPhone. Typically, a ten-second Live Photo would take around 40 MB of storage. If your iPhone has enough space, you can convert longer Live Photos to GIF.