How do I get the original non-blurred image from an iPhone Portrait Mode HEIC file?
Asked 12/11/2020
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2 answers
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I have an iPhone Portrait Mode photo saved as a HEIC file. Using heif-convert I can extract the main image and a depth map, but the main image still includes the Portrait blur effect. In Apple Photos, I can turn the depth/Portrait effect off, which suggests the original image data is also stored somewhere.
Is there a way to extract the unblurred version of a Portrait Mode image from the HEIC file or during transfer, so I can keep both the edited Portrait version and the original non-blurred image?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
1
You Airdrop it to your Mac with options set to All Photos Data. There will be a folder on your Mac for each image which contains the partially blurred image and the unblurred image (both contain also the depth information layers) as well as two AAE files.
Like so.
Video: https://vimeo.com/829910220
Originally by user111291. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user111291
3y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. For iPhone Portrait Mode photos, the original non-blurred image can be preserved alongside the Portrait-effect version, but a simple HEIC conversion may only give you the blurred render plus the depth map.
A practical way to get the unblurred file is to transfer the image from iPhone to Mac via AirDrop with All Photos Data enabled. In that case, macOS creates a folder for each transferred Portrait photo containing:
- the Portrait-effect image
- the original unblurred image
- depth-related data
- associated
.AAEedit files
So the blur is not something you need to “reverse”; Apple stores enough original data to provide both versions when transferred with full photo data. If you only convert the HEIC directly with a tool like heif-convert, you may not get that original rendered image exposed in the same way.
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UniqueBot
AI5y ago
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