- Jul 08, 2019 Dragging is the quickest and simplest way to save an image on a Mac, but it offers less control than right clicking, as you can't name the file. Left click and hold on the image to be saved.
- Inscape is a free and open-source app with similar possibilities as Adobe Illustrator and has versions for all operating systems Mac, Windows, etc. Using Inkscape, you can convert JPG images to various vector formats such as Inkscape SVG, Plain SVG, Encapsulated PostScript EPS, Portable Document Format PDF, PostScript PS, etc.
If you're an Apple user, chances are you've seen the .heic file extension on your photos. And you might wonder – what is this photo format, and why does Apple use it?
In this article we'll discuss what HEIC is, how it's different from the JPG format, why Apple uses it, how to convert from HEIC to JPG, and more.
What is the HEIC file format?
What should be the best image editors on Mac? The default image editing software, Preview, has the ability to save other format images as JPEG. So you might not need other tools to help you. When it comes to the details, you can follow the steps below. Step 1: Press Ctrl and click the image at the same time.
Well, first of all, .heic is the file extension that appears on HEIF files/images. HEIF stands for High Efficiency Image Format, and it was adopted by Apple in 2017.
As you might be able to guess from its name, photos stored in this way are 'more efficient'. That is, they're smaller while still maintaining their quality.
HEIF isn't actually a format, per se. Rather, it's a container in which the photo is stored that uses advanced compression techniques to squish that photo down into about half the size of a JPG.
A quick note, in case you're wondering: HEIF is the standard, and HEIC is the format name Apple gave it :) So I'll refer to it as HEIC in this article for simplicity's sake.
The differences between HEIC and JPG
There are several important differences between HEIC files and JPG files. You might be more familiar with JPG, because it's been around longer and everyone (on any device) can use and view them easily.
So let's break down the main differences between these two formats:
Operating system support for HEIC vs JPG
One of the limiting factors of HEIC is that it's only natively supported by Apple's operating system (iOS 11 and higher, and MacOS High Sierra and higher).
But don't worry – even though your iPhone takes photos in HEIC, if you have iOS 11 or MacOS Sierra and higher you can easily convert these photos to JPG (more on that below).
That way you can share them with whomever you want without worrying if your buddy will be able to open them on their Android phone, for example.
If you're a Windows or Android user, you can't simply open a HEIF should you find yourself in possession of one. You'll need to download an extension or program to help you deal with it.
Size and quality of HEIC vs JPG photos
Another main difference is the size of the photos, as mentioned above. HEIC photos are extra compressed, basically, so that they end up being about half the size of their JPG counterparts.
Also, despite that extra compression, HEIC photos still maintain their quality (and will actually be higher quality than a JPG of the same size). So you can actually get a better, higher resolution HEIF photo that's the same size as a not-so-high-quality JPG. Pretty neat.
Compatibility of HEIC vs JPG
As you now already know, you can't just casually open a HEIC file if you don't have a Mac or iPhone. That's one of it's major downsides, and the reason Apple's OS converts HEIC photos to JPG when you download them or go to share them.
JPG files, on the other hand, are compatible with all operating systems and browsers. So you can open a JPG anywhere.
Until the rest of the world adopts the HEIC format, you'll have to convert to JPG if you want an easy photo opening/viewing experience.
Format details
There are a couple other interesting differences between HEIC and JPG.
First of all, HEIC photos have 16-bit 'deep color', whereas JPG only have 8-bit. So your HEIC photos can capture all those beautiful sunset nuances a lot better than JPG.
Second, HEIC files can store multiple images or bursts or live photos (in a single file), whereas JPG can only store one image per file. This gives HEIC more flexibility and allows it to store more types of photos (and more than one photo per file).
How to convert HEIC to JPG on your Mac
If your Mac is running High Sierra or later, you can convert HEIC images to JPG right in your photo Preview App.
Note: if you haven't updated your OS, you'll need to use an online converter.
But back to our process - here's how to convert those images in a few simple steps.
Step 1: Select the photo you want to convert to JPG
First you need to open Finder and get to your HEIC photos. I just searched for 'heic' in the search bar, but if you have a folder where you keep them you can go there.
Next, select the photo(s) you want to convert, and right click on it (two-finger click on your laptop's trackpad). That will bring up a little menu like you see below:
Step 2: Open the photo with the Preview App
You'll select 'Open with' (the second option for me) and then the default, 'Preview' as you see in the image above.
Once you make those selections, it'll take you to the photo in the Preview App.
Step 3: Select and export the photo
Next, you need to choose 'Edit' from Preview's menu bar, and then 'Select All'.
You'll see a little moving dashed line around the outside of the photo - this tells you your 'select all' action worked.
Now, go back up to Preview's menu bar and select 'File' and then 'Export', like this:
Step 4: Convert from HEIC to JPG format
Once you select 'Export', you'll see the following box pop up:
You'll see that the 'Format' is currently set to HEIC. Just click on HEIC and a little dropdown will show you all the other formats you can choose from (like in the image above).
Just select 'JPG' instead and hit 'Save'. Then your photo will be converted into JPG! And you can confidently share away.
Just a quick note: you can also update where you want the photo saved. You can see in the image above that I have Desktop selected, but feel free to save to whatever location you like.
What if you want to turn HEIC off?
So what if you don't want to deal with these steps and just want your phone to take JPG photos instead of HEIC?
You can do that by following these steps:
- Go to your iPhone's settings, and scroll down until you see 'Camera' – select it
- You'll see various settings, with 'Formats' at the top – select it
- You'll see two options, 'High Efficiency' and 'Most Compatible'. It's likely set to 'High Efficiency' by default (HEIC) so just change that to 'Most Compatible' and that'll change it to JPG.
And voilà, the photos you now take will be in JPG format.
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Since launching in 2010, Instagram has quickly become the most influential social media platform. Its visual nature, mainly photos and videos, are attractive and easy to consume. The addition of Stories, a feature first introduced by Snapchat, in 2016 further accelerated the collective Instagram addiction by playing on time sensitivity (Stories disappear after 24 hours).
So, overall, Instagram is taking over. Right now it’s the best place to keep up with friends, follow celebrities, express your creativity, and get inspired by what others are doing. However, if you stumble upon some visuals you like and want to bookmark or download Instagram pictures for later reference, you’ll find that it’s not easy to do, since all Instagram files are DRM-protected.
But there are some workarounds that can show you how to download instagram photos on your iPhone and Mac. On iPhone, for example, you could take screenshots and then crop them to only show the actual photo. Then, you might wonder, how to download pictures from Instagram for Mac?
How to download Instagram photos to Mac
Because Instagram is so dominant today and we post so much (more than 100 million photos every day), for a lot of us, it’s the most complete photo collection of our lives that we have. So let’s first explore how the built-it Instagram photo downloader works to be able to retrieve our own images.
To activate Instagram downloader:
Go to the Instagram website on your Mac
Click on your profile ➙ Settings
Navigate to the Privacy and Security tab
Select Request Download in the Data Download section
Type in your email to receive a link to the archive ➙ Next
Enter your password ➙ Request Download
While it might take up to two days to process your request (although unlikely), Instagram will then email you a package with all your photos, comments, profile information, and more. That’s one way of getting your photos back in full resolution. But what if you only need to get that one photo real quick or something from a profile you’re following?
How to save Instagram photos via source code
The beauty of the open web is that with little technical assistance you can read the source code of any website and get any files you want when you know where to look.
To manually work around the Instagram picture downloader:
Right-click on the photo you like and select to View Page Source or Inspect Element, depending on the browser you’re using
Navigate to the Sources tab
Find the Images folder
Scroll through all the elements and, when you find the photo you’re looking for, literally drag it to your Desktop to save it
This way, not only can you download Instagram photos, you can also save photos from nearly any website on the web.
How to bookmark images on Instagram
If all you want is save Instagram photos so you can simply reference them later, the easiest way to do that is using Instagram’s native bookmarking functionality, which lets you save any video or image, and even organize them into custom collections (on mobile only).
To save Instagram photos and videos to collections:
Open the photo or video you like
Click the bookmarking icon to save it
See all the saved items when you click on your profile ➙ Saved
When you bookmark an image on iOS or Android, you get to also tap Save to Collection and create a new folder or choose an existing one.
How to edit and upload Instagram photos in bulk
After you use the Instagram image downloader to get all your photos from the platform, you might want to rename or resize the files for your local library. Doing it one file at a time would be a complete waste of time. Is there a more automated solution available?
PhotoBulk is a workflow-based image editor that lets you modify dozens or even hundreds of images at once. Apply watermarks, get rid of any metadata, resize, rename, optimize, and even change formats — all with a single click of a button. To edit, simply drag and drop your images into PhotoBulk, add the appropriate functions, and click Start.
You can even use PhotoBulk to create a uniform Instagram profile, where all the pictures are of the same size, don’t have metadata, and feature watermarks to protect your intellectual property. But how do you upload all these pictures back to Instagram?
Uplet is a minimalist Instagram for Mac client that will solve the task of bulk uploading with ease. You can switch between a few accounts, post multiple photos/videos at the same time, and add captions — all from a single intuitive interface.
Mac Copy Image From Internet
Efficient as it is, Uplet doesn’t have the traditional Instagram flow you’re used to — with comments, tags, search, and DM messages. If you want a full-featured Instagram app for Mac, get Grids. It has everything you need and is the only desktop app that allows you to post Instagram Stories.
How To Save Photo As Jpeg On Macbook Air
How to save Instagram Stories offline
While we know how to use the Instagram post downloader to get the images and videos you like from your feed, what do you do when you want to save a few Instagram Stories?
It’s easy to download Instagram pictures from your own Stories: just click the three dots to call up a menu and then choose “Save photo.” Downloading someone else’s Stories is trickier. On your iPhone, you could take a screenshot and then crop it to only show the photo. On your Mac, your best bet is to use a high-quality screen-recording app.
CleanShot X is an almost invisible but powerful screenshot taker. Most of the time, the app stays out of the way in your menu bar, always easily accessible. Just click its icon (or set a specific shortcut in Preferences) and choose which way you want to record your screen, from a simple screenshot to a scrolling capture to a timed shot. You can even hide Desktop icons, annotate, and blur sensitive information in seconds.
Capto is the best choice when you need to record video Instagram Stories and edit them using the same tools. The app lets you choose a portion of the screen or a particular app window to record (using a handy menu bar utility), and crop the result right away using built-in features. After that, you can seamlessly share the video online or save it to your local library.
As you can see, there are quite a few techniques to approach the how to download pictures from Instagram problem. You can use CleanShot X for photos, Capto for videos, edit a few at a time with PhotoBulk, and upload using Uplet. These tools really offer you the best Instagram workflow on Mac.
Best of all, PhotoBulk, Uplet, Grids, CleanShot X, and Capto are available to you absolutely free for seven days via Setapp, a platform with more than 190 outstanding Mac apps for practically anything you want help with during your day. Try them all today at no cost and see how software can really power up your life!