P: Ability to export files in the HEIC/HEIF formats

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Now that HEIC is starting to get some reasonable adoption after iOS 11, it’s great that Lightroom Classic CC can import those files. But it would be even better if it could export them too. For various reasons, I end up exporting from Lightroom to Apple Photos.app, and it seems like a no-brainer for me to use HEIC if Lightroom supported them. (Why not save the extra disk space?)

I know I can export to TIFF or some other lossless format and then use a third-party utility to convert them to HEIC, but that’s too much of a pain. Having native support in the Export workflow would be ideal.

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

I'd love to have Lightroom support for exporting in HEIF, this means beter quality and less required storage space.

[RLBoston]

...and with each lost function I get closer to other editing options!

[michaelk5102444]

Update:  Lightroom is able to handle SOME heir files but not ones from Canon.

[Kay Fisher]

HEIC is the future, JPG is the past.  Please enter the new age and start allowing export as HEIC files.

[Kay Fisher]

My work around for lack of Adobe support was to create a process for batch converting.

Here is a link to a youtube video I did on it.

TTP Convert JPG to HEIC

https://youtu.be/Mjo2L6hD8kc

Respectfully,

Kay Fisher

[FeedbackCommunityMember]

Several years after Apple launches HEIC capture(from iPhone7) and Android manufactures came up with this, cases show HEIC provides much efficient compression compared to JPEG with no worse outlook.

The 10bit color gradient support enables an intermediate container between 8bit JPEG and higher bit depth RAW and TIFF, which is helpful for semi-permanent storage e.g. film scan, Camera Raw export. It had been increasingly supported on multi-platforms across the professional desktop to daily mobile devices, just like the current dominant JPEG.

There's less rationale don't offer users an option to export in the Adobe Camera Raw module. For now, if I want to store a HEIC archive, I have to export 16bit TIFF then convert it to 10bit HEIC with third-party apps. e.g. XNconverter, macOS Automator. However, it adds a further step in my workflow and some tools do 8bit instead of 10bit HEIC.

Currently, both intel offers hardware encode/decode h265 and open-source HEIC modules on market, I personally consider HEIC as an update to JPEG instead of a 'compact RAW' format for capturing only. Thus, I really looking forward to seeing full HEIC input/output compatibility in ACR, LrC, and Ps.

[Michael_GEFFM]

I have following workflow.

- I take my pictures and import them via an usb-c SD card reader to my iPad.

- After changing/developing the pictures I would like to move the pictures directly to apple photos on my ipad ( e.g. to publish them to my friends). Currently this is only possible in the jpeg format and I'm missing an heif export (2-3 times smaller file size ,better quality, changes are stored in the heif container so that I have a kind of versioning). My current workaround is to export as an TIFF and convert it then to an heif format. That's very time consuming and not user friendly.

[russellm8166759]

I would like to second this motion.  Over time, this file format will be adopted more widely--better quality, better bitdepth, and so many other advantages.  If adobe does not lead in this way, it will take longer.  For example, I use LRTimelapes to create time lapse movies.  I can only imagine how much better the movies would be if the final products were made from a 10-16 bit HEIF/HEIC file rather than from the very old JPEG file format.  Better quality, more capabilty, and small form.  Seems like a an easy choice, Adobe.  You can already handle the file format, please give us the option to export in that format as well.

[Steffen1970]

Dear Adobe, when please FINALLY will there be an option to export images to the efficient HEIF format? I thought Adobe is environmentally conscious? Adding a HEIF option would easily save 50% disk space for exported images and thus contribute to a reduced environmental impact... 

[Blake24024526y8lg]

Please add this feature. This is a very basic feature that is the future of photography files. Adobe is falling very far behind the curve and will surely lose business and market leader reputation as a result. Loyal customers should not be forced to wait for years for very basic features to show up in professional software.  

[gapk]

We are now more than 4 years since this request was made.  HEIC export from Lightroom Classic is critically needed to support efficient workflow and stay within the Adobe framework. When ADOBE can we expect this feature?

[TheDigitalDog]

https://iosexample.com/a-plugin-to-allow-lightroom-to-export-heic-files/

As to asking Adobe when they will provide this natively: Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don't know.

[Melissapher]

I so greatly wish I could export from Lightroom to .heic. I'm currently editing all of my images (iPhone and camera) in Lr, but man, the jpgs take up so much more space than the heic files. 

[piotrj98775579]

This is madness, very expensive software with one-year subscription only model (supposedly to speed up software development), and still no basic support for modern image formats after more than **four years**?

Once again, I need some basic functionality that is available in almost all free software, but not in very expensive Adobe products.

Adobe, you are simply pathetic in your business practices.

[cocoua]

the plugin looks great, you jsut need to donload from here:

https://github.com/milch/LRExportHEIC/releases/tag/v1.0.8

Problems are: you must you change the extension after the process and Ph and doesnt recognize the file,

Mediinfo shows the file as heix format (I believe that is HEIC-10bit). Only way I find to open this HEIC in Ph is open it with Preview.app, make some change, undo it and close and then Ph recognizes it as it now is 8-bit HEIC...

after doing so Mediainfo also shows heic file format (8-bit) 

So Ph sems not to be compatbile with 10 bit heic (neither do Lr)

PhotoAI opens it and save it as original heic

[cocoua]

this is my current workflow, I did an App in Automator so I just dreag the Images to that and this creates a copy or just replaces the original (have 2 apps) in the Finder's toolbar , sadly the default HEIC quality with this system is around 80% and this makes  HEIC files a little too much compressed for me...

when compared to the 100% HEIC or 90% from Preview.app the difference is notable

The process is super conveninet as  it takes 1 move converting all the images you want, and the process is in the background, but the quality is so so.

At the end, the best worklfow to me is render to PNG 16-bit fom LR, then open them in Preview.app and export to HEIC ~95% quality, I store this way discarted pics form photoshootings in a nice quality at small disk size. I keep the RAW for the good ones and deleted from disk the discarted.

Another problem is Preview.app is saving HEIC at 8-bit

[artemidis]

I really can't understand why Adobe hasn't implemented this feature already... It's a no-brainer! People have better quality photos that use less space, what's not to like about that? I get that most people will still use JPG but this not an application for most people it's for enthusiasts and I think most of us would at least like the option to export photos as heif! Please Adobe add this feature as soon as possible!

[Ivan29744304qrmm]

I would be so happy if this feautre would be implemented! HEIF is superior to JPG in so many ways, at least give us the optition to use it...

[Ryfe]

Ok, it's 2023

Please add heif / heic exporting to LR/LR Classic.

[brockguntersmith]

As a wildlife photographer I would like to be able to export to .heic format files so that I can have a smaller file sized rendering of my edited RAW files that still retain some measure of editing information/history, extremely high quality image data, and even transparency in the smaller set of cases that require it.

I respectfully request the addition of HEIC/HEIF as an export file format option when using the following functions (specified as: menu->item::dialog box section->data field)

• File->Export::File Settings->Image Format
  • add HEIC/HEIF
• File->Preferences::External Editing->Image Format
  • add HEIC/HEIF

I have attached my own study on file sizes using a small sampling of .ARW files shot on my Sony a1 camera, then exported to JPEG from LrC 12.5 (macos), then converting the .ARW to .HEIC using Apple's "sips" command line utility using the command listed below.

for i in *.ARW; do sips -s format heic -s formatOptions 100 $i --out converted/${i%.ARW}.heic;done

In short, JPEG saved only 37.51% on filesize, while HEIC saved 58.68% and (arguably admittedly) resulted in equal or greater image quality with numerous functional benefits available due to the HEIC file format.

Here is a professional/reputable source of data on just a few of the advantages of providing HEIC (in addition to JPEG which LrC already supports) as an export format for users of Lightroom Classic:

• https://www.adobe.com/ca/creativecloud/file-types/image/comparison/heic-vs-jpeg.html

[brockguntersmith]

My temporary Export to HEIC Workflow on macOS:

1. Create a "Folder Action" script in Automator.app that:

• Watches for new files saved (exported from LrC) into a folder I call "LrC TIF Exported Photos"
• Copies those files to a folder I call "Converted to HEIC from LrC Exported Photo"
• Converts the copies of the TIF files into HEIC file format with no change in dimensions and maximum image quality

2. Create/Use an export preset to export your photos to the "LrC TIF Exported Photos" folder where the Automator.app script is watching for new photos to be created/saved

3. Open up your "Converted to HEIC from LrC Exported Photo" folder to see your shiny new HEIC files.

• optional: gasp at the small file size and yet still absolutley outstanding image quality 

[Ryfe]

Dear @brockguntersmith,

Your post is excellent and super valuable. Thank you.

I do hope the Product Managers from Adobe will read and appreciate how much that is needed and implement HEIC export.

I personnally would even like a "convert and replace" feature as well:

• I have thousands of raw files in hundreds of folders
• I already edited smy raws long ago (some, more than 10 years ago) and i know 100% that I will not edit them ever again
• I would like the feature option to export the selected raw files in HEIC/HEIF and replace the raw files (the HEIF files would then keep the keyword tags and respect the original folder structure)

That would be a killer feature for me

I hope you read us, Adobe

[brockguntersmith]

Updated Automator Folder Action script to convert newly added images to HEIC at whatever quality level you want 👍

I realized that my prior post unfortunately left you with HEIC files that were only created at 80% quality. I am not aware of any way to override that setting when using the built in automator action for converting images. So I went ahead and wrote a more effective shell script that allows you to set the quality level you want and opens the way to change the location where the files get saved and anything else you care to think up. I've tested this as best I can on several of my M1 Macs running macOS Ventura. I'll check and make sure it runs on Sonoma when that finally gets released to the public later on.

## NOTE - this script is written for ZSH which is the default shell in macOS

# set the HEIC compression quality we want to use where 100 is little/no compression and 0 is COMPRESS THE HECK OUT OF IT

# recommended values are 100 if you want no compromise on quality, 90 if you'd like to save a little space, 80 to save quite a bit of space

quality=100

# take the list of files and folders newly added to our watched directory and work on each one in turn

for f in "$@"; do

# check if the file we are currently working on is a file NOT a directory, if so, proceed

if [[ -f $f ]]; then

# Find the file extension, make it lowercase, and test if it is a filetype we want to convert

case "${f:t:e:l}" in

# This can be changed to whatever combination of extension you want to test for

arw|tif|tiff|jpg|jpeg|png|dng)

# This version would save the HEIC file to the same directory as the original file

/usr/bin/sips -s format heic -s formatOptions 100 $f --out ${f%.*}.heic

# This version saves the HEIC files to an HEIC directory one level back

# /usr/bin/sips -s format heic -s formatOptions "$quality" $f --out ${f:h:h}/HEIC/${f:t:r}.heic

# This version saves the HEIC files to directory of your choosing

# /usr/bin/sips -s format heic -s formatOptions "$quality" $f --out "/Users/johnsmith/Pictures/Photos Converted to HEIC/"${f:t:r}.heic

;;

# If the file does not have the proper extension we are looking for, do what you want here

*)

# This prints out (for no one to see) that this file is not what we want

echo "warn: ${f:t} is not a file we can or want to convert to HEIC"

;;

esac

# if the file we were given is a directory, this is not what we want

else

# This prints out (for no one to see) that we don't want to work with directoriesecho "warn: $f is a directory and cannot be converted to an HEIC file"

fi

done

## Useful script informtion

# $f = the filename including full path and extension

# ${f:t} = just the filename without any parent directories

# ${f:t:e} = just the extension from the filename without any parent directories

# ${f:t:e:l} = just the extension from the filename without any parent directories in LOWERCASE

# ${f:t:r} = just the filename without extension or any parent directories

# ${f:h} = the full path to the directory that contains the file

# ${f:h:h} = the full path to the PARENT directory that contains the file

[Hans277969487viw]

Thanks for the community support. I will try them, especially how HDR will be affected.

The boycott for heif in desktop Raw editing should end. When every phone can write .heif, why not my computer? This is so frustrating.

[mpdeboer08]

Hello all, as a Lightroom Classic user for all my editing needs I've been wondering why Adobe is not coming out with Heif/Heic support since Apple has been using it as a standard file size for some years now. JPG might still be the industry standard but it is undeniable with major camera companies such as Canon also offering support for this format that it should at least be an option in Lightroom Classic's export menu.

Is there any limitation that Adobe has in introducing support for this format or has it been aknowledged as a future feature to come in subsequent Lightroom 13.xx releases?

Thanks,

Marc