Live Photos

S3 Image Port can display Apple Live Photos with their motion playback, just like the Photos app on your iPhone or Mac. This page explains what a Live Photo actually is, how to upload one so the panel recognizes it, and how the pairing works behind the scenes.

What is a Live Photo?

A Live Photo is not a single file. When your iPhone captures one, it saves two separate files that belong together:

1. A still image — the frame you see, usually IMG_0001.HEIC (or .JPG).
2. A motion video — the short clip of movement and sound, IMG_0001.MOV.

The only thing linking them is their shared basename: IMG_0001. The Photos app keeps that relationship internally, but once you export the files to your computer or directly to S3, they become two ordinary files. S3 Image Port pairs them back together based on that shared name.

How to upload a Live Photo

1. Export both files from your device

When exporting from the Photos app or iCloud, make sure you get the unmodified originals so you receive both the image and the .MOV file. AirDrop and "Export Unmodified Original" both preserve the pair.

2. Keep the matching names

The two files must share the same basename. The extension is ignored and the match is case-insensitive, so all of these pair correctly:

• IMG_0001.HEIC + IMG_0001.MOV
• IMG_0001.JPG + img_0001.mov
• vacation.png + vacation.mp4

If you rename one of them, rename the other to match.

3. Drop both files into the uploader at once

Select or drag both files together into the upload area. When they are in the same batch and their names match, the panel automatically links them — the motion video is stored alongside the still under the same key base, so they stay paired the next time the gallery loads.

After uploading, the gallery shows a single item with a LIVE badge. Open it and press-and-hold (or click) to play the motion.

Supported file types

A pair is only formed when the batch contains one still image and one motion video that share a basename.

How the system identifies a Live Photo

There are two moments where pairing happens, and both rely on the shared basename.

On upload. When a batch is added, each file is classified as an image or a video (by its MIME type, falling back to its extension). Files that share a basename and contain exactly one image and one video are treated as a pair. The motion video is then saved under the same key as its still, with only the extension changed (for example …/abc.jpg and …/abc.mov). This guarantees they share a key base in your bucket. If the still is compressed or converted during upload, the motion video's key follows the still's final name, so the pair is preserved.

On listing. When the gallery loads your bucket, objects are grouped by their key base (the path without its extension). A base counts as a Live Photo only when it has both a still image and a motion video. When it does:

• The bare .mov is hidden from the grid — it would otherwise show up as a broken/unviewable item.
• The still is rendered with the LIVE badge, and its paired video is loaded on demand for press-and-hold playback.

A video with no matching still is left untouched and listed as a normal file.

Troubleshooting

• No LIVE badge appears. Confirm both files share the exact same basename and that the video uses a supported extension (mov, mp4, m4v). If you uploaded them in separate batches with different generated names, they won't share a key base — re-upload them together.
• The motion doesn't play. The browser must be able to decode the video. .mov from an iPhone (HEVC) plays in Safari and most modern browsers; if it fails, the panel falls back to showing the still image only.