What the heck is HEIC?

I've been living vicariously through all of you who are traveling this summer.

Tower Bridge - London

You are posting great photos from some spectacular far away locations. Truly, the best camera for travel is the one in your pocket. When I am enjoying time away from home with family and friends, I don't lug my professional cameras with me. I use my iPhone.

Cue record scratch.

Pasadena City Hall (Also known as Pawnee City Hall on Parks and Rec)

Unless you have changed the settings, your iPhone is storing your photos in HEIC. When share your photos with friends who have windows or android devices or want to get your images printed you've got a compatibility problem.

You see, Apple chose HEIC (High Efficiency Image Format) as their default for iPhones and iPads in 2017. Photos in this format are great quality and take up much less space on your device - sometimes as much as half of the more-compatible and well-known JPEG. This is great news if you plan to leave your photos on your devices forever.

However, if you've been paying attention lately, I want you to PRINT YOUR PHOTOS! If you try to get your HEIC photos printed or make a book of your vacation images you are going to have some trouble. What's a loyal apple customer to do?

Kilauea Lighthouse, Kauai

I've got your back. Follow these simple steps to get the camera in your iPhone or iPad to save your photos in JPEG. You only need to do this once

1. Go to “Settings”
2. Scroll WAY down to “Camera”
3. Tap “Formats”
4. Select “Most Compatible”

Warmest,

Lisa