Photo by Have you ever wondered how to make a Live Photo using your Android or iPhone? Do you even know what a Live Photo is? In simple terms, a Live Photo is a picture that moves as if it’s alive. It’s like a video, but not quite. It really just turns a small sample of a video into a moving image, which is great for transforming the background of your phone into something a bit livelier than an ordinary picture.
So, how do you make a Live Photo easily with Android & iPhone? Unfortunately, the Live Photo app is actually exclusive to iPhones. If you’re using an Android, you’ll need to use a different app called Live Wallpapers, which allows you only to set your moving picture up as your wallpaper.
The biggest difference is that when creating a Live Photo on an iPhone, you can share and view it in different photo apps. You don’t get this same luxury with an Android. Still, there is a way to bring your photo to life on Android as background wallpaper.
How To Make A Live Photo With An iPhone
The first step to making a Live Photo on the iPhone is to go into the App Store and download the application. It’s 100% free, which is great news. Unfortunately, nothing is really free and if you want to unlock additional features and more impressive editing tools, you’ll need to purchase the pro version.
The app itself is called intoLive. Once the application is downloaded, launch it and allow it to have access to all the photos in your library. It will immediately show you all the potential files on your camera roll that you can turn into a Live Photo. These files will be organized by type, like videos and bursts.
Keep in mind that you can choose videos of absolutely any length, there’s no limit. But when you’re using the free version of the software, you’re only able to make Live Photos a maximum of five seconds long. The pro version goes up to 30 seconds. But honestly, 30 seconds is a little too long for a Live Photo anyway. Whether the purchase is worth it is up to you.
Once you’ve chosen your picture, the editing page will open up. Now it’s time to use the slider bar at the bottom of the screen to choose which segment of the video you want to be turned into a Live Photo. You’re also able to use the icons found near the slider to change the speed of the video, to add filters, and much more.
The editing features can be very fun. You can turn a 30-second video into a fast blur by increasing the speed. However, many of these features are blocked behind the pro paywall. If you’re not interested in any of the extra features, simply choose the part of the video to turn into the Live Photo and move on to the next step.
Now it’s time to choose how many times you want the Live Photo to repeat. You can have it repeat basically forever on the background of your phone, or it will play once and then stop. Choose whichever you prefer and then save the Live Photo by clicking the big red button on the bottom of the screen.
Your new Live Photo can be found in the photos folder. You can set it as your home screen background. The Live Photo will then play every time you tap and touch it with your finger. If you have it set to repeat multiple times, it will just keep playing.
You can also access the Live Photo in your photos folder at any time to watch yourself. Plus, you can create as many as you want and use whichever Live Photos you’re in the mood for.
How To Make A Live Photo On Android
Making a Live Photo on an Android device is a little similar and a little different. You just need to use a different application. This one is called Live Wallpapers, and it can be downloaded from the Google Play store. Just like the app for iPhone, it’s completely free. However, if you want to use its premium features you’ll have to spend a bit of cash.
The big pitfall with making Live Photos on an Android is that you can’t look at them in your photos and you can’t send them as text messages or post them on social media.
The first step is to download the app. It’s called TurnLive – Live Wallpaper App. Once downloaded, you can launch the application, agree to the terms and services, then tap on the Live Photo icon at the bottom center of the screen.
You’ll need to give the app permission to access your camera and photographs.
After that, you get a few different options. You can shoot your own live wallpaper, you can turn a GIF into a live wallpaper, you can turn a slideshow into a wallpaper. You can also make a panorama into a live wallpaper, and you can even schedule a live wallpaper for a specific date. As you can tell, this app actually gives you a lot of wallpaper choices.
The application is going to show you all the photos you have saved on your device. Pick the one that you want to be turned into a Live Photo. With the free software, you can only create a maximum Live Photo length of five seconds.
Once your video loads, you can choose which frame will be your cover. This is the frame that the wallpaper will stay on when it’s not live and moving. Choose your favorite frame and click next.
Finally, use the slider in the middle to select the segment of the video that will be turned into a Live Photo. Unfortunately, the slider can be a little ornery. You’re probably going to need to fight with it a bit to get the exact part of the video you want. You can move either edge to get the perfect set of frames.
You can also apply filters at this point. There is an icon beneath the slider to give you different filters such as blur, negative, and even super blur. The little lightning icon is for speeding up the Live Photo.
Once you perfected the Live Photo, tap next and choose how many times you want it to repeat. After that, your new Live Photo will be saved and you can find it inside the app under “My Wallpapers.”
To activate the photo, you need to tap the download icon. It will ask to clear your current wallpaper.
Tap “clear,” give the application permission to change whatever settings are necessary, then you’ll have to do it over again, tapping the download icon and hitting “clear.”
At this point, a black screen will appear. Select “Set Wallpaper.” Choose whether you want the new wallpaper to be on your home screen only or both your home screen and lock screen. When you exit the application, your Live Photo will be your new background.
How To Make A GIF Into A Live Photo
If you have an iOS device, you can use the application called GIPHY to turn ordinary GIFs into Live Photos. The first step is to download GIPHY. This lets you find all the best GIFs easily. You can save all your favorite GIFs in an easy-to-find folder for later use.
When turning a GIF into a Live Photo, you’re going to use the same app! It’s all done in the same system, making things that much better. From the home screen on your phone, enter the GIPHY app, tap the GIF you want to be made into a Live Photo, and then hit the icon with the three vertical white dots.
The dots give you two options. You can either save the GIF as a Live Photo full screen or fit to screen. Fit to screen will stretch the image and make it fill up your whole background, which is normally what you want. However, sometimes this can make the image stretched and ugly.
After you’ve saved the image, you have to find it in the photos folder. There will be a Live Photo icon in the left corner. This means the GIF has been properly converted. You can touch the GIF with your finger to test and see if it plays. Next, use the Live Photo however you want, setting it as a wallpaper or sharing it with your friends.
Final Thoughts
Live Photos can be extremely fun. They are easy to make, regardless of what device you have. Be it Android or iPhone, you can make a Live Photo in just a few seconds with the right app. Both devices use paywalls to block you from the premium features. But honestly, these features aren’t really that necessary unless you want to get super creative.
The basic versions of the Live Photo apps do an excellent job of isolating a 5-second clip from a longer video and then posting it as your background on your home screen, lock screen, or both.
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