• Global community
    • Language:
      • Deutsch
      • English
      • Español
      • Français
      • Português
  • 日本語コミュニティ
    Dedicated community for Japanese speakers
  • 한국 커뮤니티
    Dedicated community for Korean speakers
Exit
2

Download HDR photos

New Here ,
Jan 30, 2024 Jan 30, 2024

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

Hallo,

I am having some problems with the download of the photos which I have adjust with HDR option.

When I download them on my Mac, inside a specific folder, the are all without the HDR changes.

How can it be? Can someone help me, please?

 

Thank you,

Francesca from Italy

TOPICS
iOS: iPhone , macOS

Views

65

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines

correct answers 1 Correct answer

Participant , Jan 31, 2024 Jan 31, 2024

Echoing @Jim Wilde in terms of needing additional info to help you in your particular situation, but generally it's good to know/keep in mind that:

 

(1) for the Apple ecosystem, the file format that tends to work the best overall outside Lightroom is AVIF (exported with the HDR setting on, and only in the HDR Rec. 2020 color space); and

 

(2) even with an HDR AVIF, there is very limited and spotty software support for displaying HDR photos outside of Lightroom/Adobe products.

 

If you haven't read it

...

Votes

Translate

Translate
Community Expert ,
Jan 30, 2024 Jan 30, 2024

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

We need some further details. Which app did you use to edit the photos using the HDR option? How did you then "download" the photos to your Mac? What format are the downloaded photos? And then on the Mac what app are you using to view the photos?

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines
Participant ,
Jan 31, 2024 Jan 31, 2024

Copy link to clipboard

Copied

LATEST

Echoing @Jim Wilde in terms of needing additional info to help you in your particular situation, but generally it's good to know/keep in mind that:

 

(1) for the Apple ecosystem, the file format that tends to work the best overall outside Lightroom is AVIF (exported with the HDR setting on, and only in the HDR Rec. 2020 color space); and

 

(2) even with an HDR AVIF, there is very limited and spotty software support for displaying HDR photos outside of Lightroom/Adobe products.

 

If you haven't read it, I highly recommend this site/page for a great overview of the wild and crazy world of HDR file formats and, importantly, support for displaying them: https://gregbenzphotography.com/hdr/ 

 

However, below is a summary as I understand things right now for Apple ecosystem support based on what I have experienced. Hopefully, it gives you a sense of what's possible, and to see if there are good places to start to see if you can view your HDR images outside of Lightroom. It can be really frustrating, since Lightroom does a great job working with, and displaying, HDR content—but the support is incredibly mixed outside of it.

 

First, there's very limited support for viewing HDR photos on MacOS—and none in Apple software on MacOS.

 

- Hardware-wise, you do need a Mac capable of displaying HDR content. If it's displaying in HDR in Lightroom, that means that your display is capable of at least one "stop" of HDR (level of additional brightness, basically). So it sounds like you're OK there, but knowing your particular Mac will help confirm.

 

- As far as I know, no Apple software will display an image in HDR in any file format on a Mac. It won't display HDR in Finder, Preview, Safari, Photos, or anything—even if Lightroom will display HDR content from the same file on the same device. When you open an HDR AVIF in Apple software on a Mac, you should only see what the "SDR preview" shows in Lightroom's HDR editing tools. (I'm not sure if the MacBook Pro 14"/16" with more capable XDR screens might be an exception to that rule with Apple software on MacOS.)

 

- The Google Chrome web browser can open/display AVIFs in HDR on MacOS when you open it directly from the Finder into Chrome, or with HDR AVIFs on websites. This means that HDR images in Lightroom-generated web galleries from your Lightroom albums will work here, because Adobe uses AVIF as the file format for displaying any HDR images in those galleries. (Note, it doesn't display HDR in thumbnail view in Lightroom web galleries - you have to click to have the image full window to see it.)

 

If you have an iPhone, or an iPad Pro 12.9", there is a bit more HDR support in Apple software on iOS—but there is no support in Chrome on iOS.

 

- iPhones have had XDR screens capable of displaying multiple HDR "stops" (levels of additional brightness/contrast) for a while—for example, my iPhone 12 can handle 3 out of the 4 stops Lightroom can handle—and Apple does take advantage of this in some apps.

 

- On iPadOS on the recent 12.9" iPad Pro with XDR screen, the Apple software I describe below should also work. Other iPads will likely not display images in HDR in Apple software on iPadOS. Or in Chrome on iPadOS. So, as far as I know, iPads are pretty much left in the dark—outside of Lightroom.

 

- An HDR AVIF should display in HDR in the Photos app in full screen on a recent-ish iPhone. In the thumbnail view, it won't display in HDR. Like on a Mac, it should look like the "SDR preview" you can view in Lightroom. Once you open it in full screen, however, Photos will adjust the screen brightness so it shows the AVIF in HDR. (Set your screen brightness to about 50% to start with—don't try this at max screen brightness.)

 

- Some other iOS Apple software, like Mail, can also display an HDR AVIF in HDR. For example, if you open an HDR AVIF attachment in full screen, it'll display it in HDR. However, be sure it's actually attached to the email as an AVIF. Apple doesn't particularly like AVIFs and will try hard to convert them to HEIC or JPG depending on how you share/send them. (Sometimes the HEIC conversion keeps it as HDR, sometimes it doesn't.)

 

- Like on desktop MacOS, however, Safari on iOS will not currently display HDR content—AVIF or otherwise. Since other web browsers on iOS/iPadOS currently have to use the same Safari WebKit engine, Chrome will also not display AVIFs in HDR on iOS like it would on desktop MacOS. That means the Lightroom web galleries will not work on iOS.

 

Lightroom, honestly, is the best place to view HDR content until the format/hardware/software compatibility stuff gets worked out over the coming years.

 

Sharing it is just tough, and I personally just choose the method based on my audience and knowing what device they'll be using. I don't work professionally, so it's usually a small group. As I mentioned above, Lightroom web galleries do use AVIF for HDR images. So, that's good for a Mac in Chrome (and a recent enough/good display). And it should display in HDR on other platforms/devices with compatible software + hardware—I can't help ID what works there. But, again, no mobile browser on iOS can view that web gallery in HDR. For iOS, you generally need to get the file into other Apple software like Photos.

 

I may be missing things here, and there may be some other situations where HDR display works—I am definitely happy to be corrected by others—but this is what I've found as I've poked around and tested things in the Apple sphere. Finally, there's some even more limited support for HDR formats that Lightroom can export like JPEG-XL (JXL) and JPG + HDR gain maps. TIFF also theoretically supports HDR, but I haven't seen a non-Adobe program on an Apple system that will actually display it properly. AVIF is really your best bet.

Votes

Translate

Translate

Report

Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
community guidelines