PSE 25, Apple HEIC, and Flickr

Report · Dec 30, 2024

I’ve been using different versions of Photoshop Elements and an iPhone for about 20 years. Over that time, there’s always been debate about whether to keep files in their native HEIC format or convert them to JPEG. I avoided addressing this issue for years, despite the challenges, and now it seems the general recommendation is to stick with and download to PSE as HEIC. Feel free to correct me if I’m mistaken—especially those of you who are Photoshop pros.

I’ve also used Flickr at times as a platform for sharing files, which integrates with Photoshop Elements 25 under teh "Share" tab. However, when I try uploading HEIC files to Flickr, I encounter error messages. After reaching out to Flickr Support, I was told that HEIC is considered a Raw photo format that isn’t supported by Flickr. They suggested converting my thousands of files to JPEG, but that feels like a major hurdle for sharing content seamlessly through Flickr and PSE 25.

Would appreciate any guidance or best-practices as to:

Is it better to leave Apple Photos in HEIC format or convert them to JPEG for long-term use and compatibility in PSE 25?
For those of you who use PSE 25 and share through Flickr, do you have any advice or workarounds for handling Apple HEIC files?
If there is no good solution, is there another photo sharing platform you use that works well with PSE 25 for others who likely don't have or don't want a subscription to a program/app?

Thanks!

Report · Dec 30, 2024

I have been using Elements regularly since version 3. And I have been using an iPhone since version 6 or 7. In my opinion, there should be absolutely no reason to use .heic files (with a Windows computer) other than to save storage space on your phone.

Jpeg is a universally used format, and reports of its death have been greatly exagerated.
As you note, Flickr does not support .heic files. Nor does Instagram, another widely used sharing site.
I have seen no verifiable evidence that .heic files have any better picture quality than jpeg
.heic files use a different color profile than other formats and it is more difficult to get accurate color prints
while the .heic format is more compressed than jpeg, which is a valid consideration for storage on your phone, computer hard drives are large and cheap so this shouldn't be an important issue for most computers.
I have had nothing but problems using .heic files in the Organizer. Most recently, I have had problems with file orientation not being recognized in the Organizer. All of my jpeg files from my iPhone are correctly oriented. But many of my .heic files are rotated upside down. And when I try to rotate them in the Organizer, they will only rotate 90 degrees. A second 90 degree rotation will return to upside down! Fortunately, these photos can be rotated in the Editor. I have also had issues with .heic thumbnails not displaying correctly. IIRC, this was an issue in Elements 2024 and seems to be fixed in 2025.

2. So, I am not a fan of the .heic format and would encourage you to use jpeg instead. Unfortunately, even though my iPhone is set to transfer photos to my computer as jpegs, the Organizer's APD imports them in their original .heic format. For this reason, if I have a large number of photos to import from my iPhone, I use other programs to save them to my computer, and then Import>From files and folders.

For the .heic photos that are already on your computer, there are a number of conversion methods that are available.

The iMazing Converter is a free utility. The only downside of this program is that you have to send the converted jpegs to a different folder than the original.
You can also use the Elements Editor's File>Process Multiple Files tool which is more flexible, but can only import from a single folder at a time (or from Open Files).
I have also used the Organizer's Instant Fix editor to bulk convert .heic files. The advantage to this method is that the files will be converted to jpeg and placed in a stack with the original. To use this method, you have to make a minor change in one of the editing parameters and the files will be saved with that insignificant change.

3. I personally use SmugMug as a file sharing site. It can handle .heic files and automatically uploads files from my phone. However, it is a subscription service that caters more and more to professionals who want to sell their photos, and the subscription prices continue to increase. It is also a little intimidating to navigate. I just did a quick Google to find that Google Photos also handles .heic files. But I think you now only get 15GB of free storage space there.

It should be easy to use the Organizer with almost any web service provider. The upload mechanism usually has a drag and drop feature, and you can always drag and drop photos from the Organizer to a website.

Hope this helps.

Report · Jan 02, 2025

Greg, that does help. I'm happy to see that as a mega-PSE user you've also found the HEIC use and conversion process trying. Other posts over the years have tried to convince me to keep HEIC format in PSE, but my personal experience has not been pleasant.

Before I really mess up my PSE photos and Catalog, a couple fo0llow-up questions:

(1) Have you found downloading photos from Icloud using "Download Photos" > (click three dots for) "Other Download Options" > "JPEG or MP4/H.264 when possible," to put the files consistently in the PSE Catalog in something other than (and more usable than) HEIC format?

(2) In the PSE Catalog, if I have edited photographs, given them tags or "starred" them, or put them in Albums, if I use one of the converation methods you mention, either PSE or a third-party conversion application, will those features be maintained or is the converstion treated as a new, untouched, un-starred additional photo? I've got so many thousands of photos, I hate imagining starting each over individually.

Thanks for sharing your experience, and happy new year.

Report · Jan 02, 2025

Jim, I don't use iCloud for Windows on the desktop because Apple makes it extremely difficult to save files to anything other than the C drive. I just tried downloading a photo from the iCloud website and it automatically downloaded to my chosen folder in jpeg format.

As for the Metadata, I performed a couple of tests. I placed some keyword and People tags on two .heic photos, starred them, and placed them in an Album. I saved metadata to one of the files (using Ctrl+W). I then converted both to jpeg, using the iMazing Converter utility. None of the metadata was saved in the conversion. I then tried the same experiment, using the PSE Editor's Process Multiple Files. This time, the star ratings were preserved in both photos, and the Organizer import allowed me to import the Tags from both photos. However (as expected), the People tags were converted to Keyword Tags and ended up in the Imported Keyword Tags category. It is fairly easy to convert these tags to People tags (although face recognition will not be preserved until the files go through the FR process on import). Neither photo imported to an Album. Again, depending on how many Albums you have, it would be fairly easy to tag your Albums with a similar Keyword Tag. When the converted heic files are imported into the Organizer with the keyword tag, they can then be easily imported into the Album if necessary. Simply select the keyword tag, press Ctrl+A to select them all and drag to the appropriate Album.

Happy New Year to you too.

Report · Jan 02, 2025

I appreciate your experimentation!

Sounds like my work is cut out for me regardless of path, but at least there are possible options. Will likley try the PSE "Process Multiple Files" along with tags to recreate/get things where they need to be. Wish these programs could just get along!

Thanks, again.

Report · Jan 02, 2025

Unfortunately, there is no universal standard for the metadata involved.

Report · Jan 02, 2025

My only other thought is that your original post was seeking to upload photos to a sharing site. Unless you are intending to upload all of your .heic photos to Flickr (or another sharing site that does not support .heic files), then it doesn't seem like it is necessary to convert your older files to jpeg. Of course, if you are having problems similar to mine, then by all means convert the files. And only download jpegs to your computer from your iPhone in the future.

Report · Jan 05, 2025

Have been playing with the various conversion options. Thanks! Each gets the job done, but have pros and cons based on the faces, tags, and edits it keeps or discards.

A question--is there a way in PSE to search, metadata or otherwise, just for HEIC files. I'd like to do some batch finds and convert in bulk but within PSE (to keep more of the tag information). In the "Find" tab there is a "File Type" of various options, but "HEIC" is not one of them. If I search by "HEIC" in File Name, it pulls files including some JPG or other type files that were converted from HEIC files but kept "HEIC" somewhere in the file name. Do you know of a means to ask PSE in the Organizer to "just show me true current HEIC files," whether in a specific folder, album or all photos? It may be right in front of me, but somehow I'm missing it.

Report · Jan 05, 2025

AFAIK, if you search by any method for .heic files that are hidden in a stack, the Organizer will also display other files within the same stack. Searching by filename (Shift+Ctrl+K) using .heic as your search criteria will also include any filenames that include those characters even if not the file extension. I am going to request that Adobe include the .heic format in the Search by Details (Metadata). But that feature is so old, they may not want to touch it (for fear of breaking it), and I doubt whether it will be included in any dot release of Elements 2025.