How to edit a Live Photo on iPhone
Open the Live Photo in Photos, tap Edit, then tap the Live Photo button. There you can choose a new key photo, trim it, mute the sound or turn Live off. For Loop, Bounce or Long Exposure, tap Live in the top-left corner of the open photo instead.
Change the key photo, trim or mute
- Open Photos and open a Live Photo, then tap Edit.
- Tap the Live Photo button. A frame viewer appears under the photo.
- Make your change, then tap Done.
- Key photo: move the white frame along the frame viewer, then tap Make Key Photo. The key photo is the thumbnail you see in your library.
- Trim: drag either end of the frame viewer to choose which frames play.
- Sound: tap the Mute button at the top of the screen. Tap it again to unmute.
- Still photo: tap Live at the top of the screen. The Live Photo becomes a still of its key photo. Tap Live again to turn it back on.
Apple notes that Live Photos taken on an iPhone 15 or later with a portrait effect lose that effect if you change the key photo.
Add Loop, Bounce or Long Exposure
- Open the Live Photo in Photos. You don’t need to tap Edit.
- Tap Live in the top-left corner.
- Choose an effect: Loop repeats the moment over and over, Bounce plays it forward and then backward, and Long Exposure blurs whatever moved, like a slow shutter. Live Off turns the playback off, and Live brings it back.
Apple warns that editing a Live Photo in a third-party app afterwards can remove these effects. More on each: make a Live Photo loop and long exposure on iPhone.
Light, color and video
The Live button sits next to Adjust, Filters and Crop in Edit, and Apple’s regular photo tools work on Live Photos too. To share a Live Photo with someone who isn’t on an Apple device, open it, tap the More button in the top-right corner and tap Save as Video.
Add stickers or doodles that move
The Photos app edits the moment your camera recorded. Tada adds new things to a photo and makes them move. In Add effects, pick a sticker pack and the whole set lands on the person in about a second: hats on heads, glasses on eyes, blush on cheeks. In Draw, doodle with your finger and choose My lines to keep your lines wiggling just as you drew them. Tap Save and you get a new Live Photo in Photos with the stickers or doodles moving.
Tada starts from a still photo, so it doesn’t trim or mute the motion your camera recorded; use the Photos app for that. See how to add stickers to photos.
Questions
How do I change the key photo of a Live Photo?
Open it in Photos, tap Edit, then the Live Photo button. Move the white frame on the frame viewer, tap Make Key Photo, then tap Done.
Can you trim a Live Photo?
Yes. In Edit, tap the Live Photo button and drag either end of the frame viewer to choose the frames that play.
How do I turn off the sound on a Live Photo?
Tap Edit, then the Live Photo button, then the Mute button at the top of the screen. Tap it again to unmute.
Can I turn Live back on after making it a still?
Yes. Open the photo, tap Edit and the Live Photo button, then tap Live at the top of the screen to turn it back on.
Sources: iPhone User Guide: Edit Live Photos · Apple Support: Take and edit Live Photos · iPhone User Guide: Take Live Photos