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Edit HDR photos in Lightroom for mobile (Android)

Last updated on Apr 19, 2024

Learn how to capture, import, edit, and export HDR photos in Lightroom for mobile (Android).

What is HDR?

High Dynamic Range (HDR) displays offer greater brightness and contrast than Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) displays. Photos optimized for HDR displays have brighter highlights and more detailed shadows, resulting in an increased sense of realism and more significant impact.
Lightroom for mobile (Android) version 9.0 now introduces High Dynamic Range Output. With this, you can capture, view, edit, and export HDR photos on supported HDR devices.

Capture, edit, and export HDR photos in Lightroom for mobile (Android)

Lightroom for mobile (Android) now lets you capture, enhance, and export HDR photos. You can now create stunning HDR photographs that take advantage of the latest display technologies.

System requirements and recommendations

Lightroom for mobile (Android) currently supports HDR on Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel Fold devices only on Android 14. For the full list of supported devices, see HDR-compatible devices.

HDR is currently unavailable on Google Pixel 8 devices. For more details, see Known Issues.

Alert:

On all the other Android devices, you'll be able to access the HDR editing control. However, when you render the image, you'll only be able to view the SDR output.

Import HDR photos in Lightroom for mobile (Android)

Lightroom for mobile lets you enable editing mode in photos with HDR data. Once an HDR photo is imported, you can view and edit it with HDR data and export it in compatible formats like AVIF and JPG.

Select icon > Preferences > Photo Import Options > enable HDR edit mode for new photos. This will allow you to automatically view HDR data while editing an imported HDR photo.

Access HDR photos in Lightroom for mobile (Android)

You can import HDR photos or directly capture an HDR photo in Lightroom for mobile. Lightroom for mobile automatically imports pictures from your device to Lightroom. You can then open the HDR photo that you want to edit and follow the steps shared below.

In the Edit panel, navigate to the Light tool.
Scroll through the bottom of the Light tool and enable the Edit in HDR Mode toggle.
Tap on the HDR logo at the top-right side of the screen to view the HDR histogram. The histogram helps to control the distribution between the darkest and the brightest regions in your photo.

Histogram showing HDR and SDR setting changes.

Note:

The HDR section in the histogram will be colored red if the device isn't compatible with HDR. You can select the icon at the lower-right of the histogram for more information.
You can also choose to enable:
- Visualize HDR toggle if you wish to view the display of the adjustments made to the settings. Enable this option if your screen can't natively display full HDR brightness.
- Preview for SDR display toggle to view how the changes will appear in the SDR display.
Select the SDR Settings option to make precise adjustments to the Exposure, Contrast, Clarity, and other local settings.
Once you're done with the adjustments, select the share icon to export your HDR photo. In the Export as... settings dialog box, select the desired File Type and select .

Saving HDR photos

Once you've finished editing a photo in HDR mode, select the Export icon. In the Export settings, specify the Image Type and check the HDR Output box.

Supported non-Raw HDR file formats include:

AVIF
JPG

RECOMMENDATIONS

Use AVIF or JPG for sharing and web applications, such as online web galleries.

HDR Color Spaces

Lightroom for mobile (Android) currently supports three color spaces while editing, opening, or saving a photo in HDR:

HDR sRGB (Rec. 709)
HDR P3
HDR Rec. 2020

These are HDR-enabled versions of the existing sRGB, Display P3, and Rec. 2020 color spaces. sRGB has the smallest color gamut, and Rec. 2020 has the largest.

HDR Visualisation

The highlight clipping warning indicator uses the same color scheme as the histogram's HDR range. The color range in the histogram, like orange, indicates highlight areas in the HDR range that are within the display's current capabilities. Red indicates pixels beyond the display's current capabilities.

A two-finger swipe over the edit sliders will show a highlighted clipping warning over the highlighted and affected areas.

SDR Preview and Settings

When an HDR photo is viewed on an SDR display, it must be adjusted or tone-mapped to preserve its appearance as closely as possible. The High Dynamic Range section provides additional options for previewing a photo on an SDR display and adjusting its appearance. These controls affect how Lightroom for mobile saves an HDR photo when the HDR Output box is unchecked in the Export dialog.

Copy and paste the Presets and Sync settings

You can copy and paste HDR edits and SDR preview settings to Presets and Sync settings. Select > Copy Settings > Light > HDR.

Workflow limitations and recommendations

Software support for HDR photos across is limited. Currently, you can use the HDR Output feature in Lightroom to view and edit HDR photos and save them to disk in the AVIF formats to be viewed in Google Chrome.

Currently, Lightroom supports HDR only while editing photos. You cannot share your HDR photos to Community.

Other Apps

Google Chrome supports AVIF photos and the proper display of HDR photos.

This makes it possible to make standard web galleries that contain HDR photos. It's recommended to use Chrome version 116 or later.

Other apps on your macOS system, such as Finder, Preview, and Safari, may not currently support reading AVIF or JPEG XL photos. Even if they do, they may not support displaying HDR content. The same applies to apps on other platforms, such as Windows, Android, and iOS.

HDR compatible devices

Google Pixel 7, Google Pixel 7a, and Google Pixel 7 Pro
Google Pixel Fold

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