Even though we are not fully capable of defining what a GIF image is, the reality is that it is tremendously possible that we may have already seen one before. Even when the mobile phone industry was not so advanced, just a decade ago the typical banner ads that flooded our favorite web pages were created with this type of file, especially before the advent of Flash animation technology.
In short, we can define a GIF as a single animated image . It originally consists of a single image file, as with other common file formats such as PNG or JPEG, so it can also be used for creating still images.
However, the GIF format itself has a very special feature: it can be used to create animated images. And we say “animated images” because, indeed, they are not really videos, but snapshots that are put together to create animations. In fact, another of the main characteristics of GIF images is the lack of sound, something that is not usually so common in videos.
Today it is possible to implement and use them on a wide variety of sites, from our Twitter account to Facebook. And, unlike what happened until recently (when to generate them we needed an application to generate them), today we can do them directly from the camera of our mobile phone .
iPhone
Of course, do not forget that if you have an iPhone , the system already integrates the Live Photos functionality, a function of the camera itself of this Apple device that gives movement to the photos, since instead of freezing a moment in time Like a still photograph, this service offers the possibility of capturing a moving image of a duration of 3 seconds .
It is an option that can be easily activated or deactivated using the Live Photos button, which is shown as an icon of concentric circles and that you will find on the camera’s shutter screen.
If you have this option enabled, any image captured with Live Photos can be converted into GIF from the Photos application on your phone. And it’s very simple: with the photo on the screen, swipe up to choose Loop (the animation repeats) or Bounce (the animation moves forward, then backward). Then click on Share and the GIF format will be used by default.
However, if you want to have a little more control over the process, you can opt for the Lively application, an app for iOS that allows you to crop the GIF, adjust the size of the frame and change the speed, although it has a price of 4, 49 euros if you want to remove the watermark that will appear on all creation.
Google Pixel
If you have a Google Pixel phone (especially a version from 2017), you will find the Motion Photos functionality, which would have the same utility and almost the same operation as Live Photos on iPhone.
To choose this option you just have to touch the arrow on the side of the shutter screen, and enable snapshots in motion. Once we have captured the photograph, and we are inside the Google Photos application, to export it to GIF we just have to press the Menu button, Export and click on GIF . But if you can’t find the Export option, it won’t originally be a moving photo.
Samsung galaxy
On most flagship phones of the Samsung Galaxy brand (as of 2016) you will also find the Motion Photos option. To make sure that this option is activated, you just have to click on the gear icon located on the camera’s shutter screen, and choose the Motion Photos lever.
But within the integrated software there is no easy way to convert these photos into GIF format, although it is true that originally the option was previously available. Yes, it is possible to export them in the form of videos. In fact, what we can do is generate a GIF from the video that we have captured , which would include the moving photos that we have exported as videos.
To do this, you must play a video with the Gallery application, then pause it, click on the GIF button (which you will find located at the top, on the right), and then options will appear to trim or change the speed of the click before to proceed to share it.
