How to make a GIF on an iPhone or iPad

When all the cool kids send images to one another on the TikTok, Twitter, Gmail, or the ‘Gram, then the chances are good it’s a GIF image. If you’re not up with the lingo, a GIF image is a moving image that loops and repeats itself repeatedly. We’ve already covered how to create GIF images on Android phones. Now we’re going to move over to the Dark Side and show you how to make a GIF on an iPhone or iPad.

Make a GIF using Live Photos

Probably the easiest way to make a GIF is to use Live Photos in the iOS Photos app. After all, a Live Photo is a GIF, in a way. With a couple of seconds of movement before the picture was taken, you already have the beginnings of a GIF. Now you just have to make sure it repeats as a loop to turn it into a real GIF.

Go to the Live Photo you want to turn into a GIF and drop down the LIVE menu at the top-left. You’ll see options such as Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure. Try both Loop and Bounce to see which one looks better. Sometimes Bounce is better.

If you were planning to upload your GIF to Instagram, it wouldn’t work because the GIF needs to be in video format. You can therefore convert the GIF with this GIF to MP4 converter or look for an app in the App Store.

Convert burst photos to GIF

Burst photos are when you hold down the camera shutter button on your iPhone, and it takes a rapid “burst” of photos at the rate of 10 images per second. This is good if the subject of your photo is moving fast, such as a person running or an animal playing. It is also good if you want to turn those burst photos into a GIF image using the iOS app, Shortcuts.

• Open Shortcuts and tap Gallery. Now search for “gif.”
• Tap and select Convert Burst To GIF.
• It will now appear on your main screen. Tap the new pink tile.

Assuming you have burst photos in your camera roll, they will show on the screen. Tap the set you want to use. If you haven’t got any burst photos, you can enable the feature in Settings > Camera.

After tapping the set you want to use, you will be asked what you want to do with the newly created GIF. You can either save it to your camera roll or immediately share it. It would be best to put it in your camera roll first to review it.

Make a GIF by using Giphy

The third alternative is to use a third-party app such as Giphy.

• Tap Create in the top-right corner.
• To film something new for a GIF, tap the round white button. To select an image, tap the image thumbnail at the bottom left.
• If you select an image, tap the one you want to use.

• You’ll then need to do something to the image, such as add a filter, add a sticker, crop it, and so on.
• When you’ve done that, tap the purple arrow button at the far right.
• You’ll then be invited to share your GIF or upload it to Giphy.

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