Imported iPhone photos are incorrectly exposed

[cohn17]

When I import photos taken on my iPhone, they appear overexposed, which makes it difficult to edit them correctly. The overexposure effect appears and disappears as I manipulate the photo.

[Hangman]

Hi @cohn17,

1. Which file format are you using JPEG, HEIF, Pro RAW?
2. If Pro RAW which RAW Engine are you using, Apple (Core Image Raw) or Serif Labs?
3. Do you have Hardware Acceleration enabled or disabled?
4. Which version of Affinity Photo are you using?
5. Which version of macOS are you running?
6. Can you upload a screen recording so we can see the issue first-hand?
7. Can you upload a sample file exhibiting the issue?

[cohn17]

Hi, @Hangman,

Thanks for your response.

1. The photos are in the native iPhone 15 HEIF format, and I import them to Affinity Photo by hitting Command-Return.
2. N/A
3. I don't know--how do I determine this? Mine is a 2023 model, if that helps.
4. Affinity Photo 1.10.8
5. Sonoma 14.6.1
6. I'm attaching two files: one with the file as it should look (IMG_9606), and one with the exposure problem (IMG_9605)--except that I realize it is not simply the exposure, but even the background mat color goes from black (correct) to gray (incorrect).
7. IMG_8751.

Best regards,

Paul

 

[Hangman]

Hi @cohn17,

Many thanks for your reply...

Sorry to be a pain but could you zip the original HEIF file and upload the zip file? The forum applies its own file compression and uploads the file as a JPG so we won't be working with the original file and may end up seeing different results...

[cohn17]

Hi, I can't figure out how to zip a file out of iPhotos. I am sharing the link, which I think will give you the uncompressed file.

 

https://share.icloud.com/photos/08dXqSkyA-s7tuycEFm-0ejvA

[Hangman]

Hi @cohn17,

Apologies for the delay in replying... I think the problem may be that using:

• Cmd Enter opens the file as an RGBA/16 - sRGB IEC61966-2.1 Tiff file with No Camera Date
• Opening the file directly from the Finder opens it as an RGB/8 - Dispaly P3 with Camera Data

So Cmd Enter is converting the file to a narrower colour gamut and for some reason converting it to RGBA/16 which would likely explain the colour difference you're seeing, however, I don't think you'll be able to open the HEIC file directly in 1.10.8...

[cohn17]

Thanks. And you are right, Apple doesn’t allow users to access photos in the Apple Photos folder directly from Finder. Do you know of a workaround?

[Hangman]

Probably export the photos directly from Apple Photos as JPEG, PNG or TIFF files which you can do in Batches if you have loads and then open the exported files in Affinity Photo...

[cohn17]

I exported a photo from Apple Photos as a JPEG, opened it, and the same thing happened. Then I tried exporting it as a HEIC and as a TIFF: no difference. And again, it's not only lightening the photo, but it's lightening the entire window (the black background turns gray). I'm baffled.

[Ldina]

@cohn17 Opening iPhone images (HEIC or DNG) is pretty confusing as it now stands. I've spent the last few weeks trying to figure out how I can edit my iPhone 16 Pro images in Affinity. Some of the issues are probably on Apple's end, some on Affinity's end (at least I believe so).

Depending on how you export an image from Apple Photos, you might get a 8, 16 or 32 bit file, with sRGB or P3 profiles. Affinity doesn't open Apple HEIC files unless you convert them first using Apple Preview or Colorsync, but you are back to who knows what bit depth and profile. 

Apple RAW DNG files are saved using either JPEG Lossless Compression (the original DNG spec), but the files are quite large (75-100 MB). They are most compatible. Apple also allows you to compress with JPEG-XL Lossless or Lossy Compression, which saves a lot of space on your iPhone and/or iCloud. If you Export Unmodified Original from Apple Photos, and save to another file folder, you can open the files with all 3 compression methods. They will open in the Develop Persona, but only the DNG files shot using the original JPEG Lossless compression (the biggest files) will allow you to develop using RAW Layer (Linked or Embedded). I like to use RAW Layer Linked to keep my AfPhoto files small, but that requires using the biggest DNG files with Jpeg Lossless compression. And they come in quite light, as you have noticed. 

If editing HEIC files, you can try saving or exporting from Preview or Colorsync to HEIC, but that doesn't always work for me and Affinity won't open them. What does work is to first open the HEIC in Preview, then Export to PNG 16 bit. Big files again. These open in Affinity in the Photo Persona as 32 bit Linear P3 files. If you have an EDR monitor, and you open the 32 bit Preview Panel, and check Enable EDR, the files will display properly. These PNG files exported from Preview apparently expect you to be using an HDR/EDR monitor. If you are using a standard dynamic range monitor, or if your EDR monitor is set to a standard Photo editing workspace (non-HDR), it will display completely washed out. The solution in that case is to use an Exposure Adjustment Layer and reduce exposure by up to 4 f-stops (depending on the brightness range and contrast of the original image capture) to cram all those extended brightness levels into standard dynamic range. 

It's all very confusing at present. My inclination at this point in time (and I may change my mind) is to stick with editing all my iPhone images (HEIC or DNG) using Apple's built in editor in the Apple Photos App. This works well for routine edits (and is sort of like LightRoom in some of its controls). If I need to do any heavier work (compositing, layer masks, textures, etc), I'll bring it into Affinity. I'm still trying to find a suitable workflow. I'll probably do basic edits in Apple Photos, then from within Apple Photos, File > Edit With> Preview, then export from Preview to PNG, 16 bit, P3 profile to whatever folder I want to keep it in. Then, from Affinity, File > Open. As mentioned previously, if you are using a HDR monitor and have Enable EDR checked in the 32 bit Preview Panel, all those super bright tones will display brilliantly. But if using an SDR monitor, or your EDR monitor set to SDR mode, you will need to apply a fairly aggressive Exposure Adjustment Layer to fit all those super bright tones into range.  

I know this is long, and probably confusing, because which tools you use to open/export iPhone images (Apple Photos, Preview, Colorsync), what formats you choose for export, etc, and whether Affinity can handle those formats, is still pretty unclear. It's a bit of a circus now. That's why I have decided to try to stay within the Apple ecosystem for now if at all possible, with iPhone images. Also, file sizes are enormous when editing these HEIC or Apple DNG files in Affinity (another story). I'll continue to use Affinity with my DSLR DNG images because that works well and I can use RAW Layer Linked when sending from the Develop Persona to AfPhoto. Simple, right? 😵‍💫

[cohn17]

@Ldina that is complex! Thanks for your reply and recommendation.

[Ldina]

@cohn17 Yes it is complex, and confusing. 

Here's another possibility, depending on how particular you are. At time mark 5:00 in the attached video, he talks about accessing "extensions" from within the Apple Photos App (on a Mac). Affinity does have extensions that allow local editing from within Apple Photos, so that could be a simpler option that provides flexibility and keeps file sizes from being gigantic (I just discovered this). I usually want total control over bit depth, color space, quality, file size, etc., which is why I shot RAW in the first place. I'm not sure yet what is happening with this approach 'behind the scenes'. Worth checking out if you want easy access to Affinity with your iPhone images. It provides the ability to enhance images "locally" from within Apple Photos, without all the importing/exporting nonsense. 

Using the Retouch "extension" will allow you to save it to your original iPhone file inside the Apple Photos Library. If you use the full AfPhoto extension, you will probably have to save to a new file in a different file folder as a native Affinity Photo file. As with the previously discussed export/import options, you may not have control over bit depth, color space or file size. Using Affinity extensions from within Apple Photos is new to me, so I am still experimenting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjwgT45qLLE