How Google Photos HDR editing impacts users

Many photography enthusiasts use Google Photos to store and organize their photos. However, some new Android phones, such as the Google Pixel 8a, have recently had issues with HDR photo editing. In this article, we explain why edits are duplicated and how it affects your photos and storage.

HDR (High Dynamic Range) takes multiple photos of a scene and combines them. This creates a single image with enhanced detail in both bright and dark areas. Regular photos can lose detail in very bright and very dark areas. HDR prevents this, making photos look more realistic.

The problem stems from the way Google Photos edits HDR photos. Unlike regular photos, which you can edit and revert to their original state, when you edit an HDR photo, a copy is made. So you end up with two versions of the HDR photo: the original and the edited version. This can lead to two issues:

The issue arose when HDR support was built into Android 14 (first on the Pixel 8). Prior to that, Google Photos was unable to preserve HDR information while editing. To fix this, we saved edits as copies to preserve the original HDR data. While this was a necessary step at the time, it wasn't ideal in the long run.

There's hope! Google says it's working on a fix, which means a future update to Google Photos will likely let you edit HDR photos without creating duplicates.

What is HDR editing?

HDR (High Dynamic Range) editing combines multiple photos of a scene shot at different brightness levels, creating a final image that has greater detail in both the shadows and highlights compared to a single photo.

Edit your HDR photos with Google Photos

When editing HDR photos in Google Photos, there are a few technical points to keep in mind.

Exposure Merging: Merging different exposures into one image is important, this is handled by special algorithms, but if not done well your photo may look strange.

Ghosting: Slight movements between photos can create ghost-like overlaps in the final image. Editing tools attempt to correct this, but a balance must be struck to avoid losing HDR data.

Why duplicate saves occur

When you edit an HDR photo in Google Photos, a copy is saved. It might seem odd, but there's a good reason for it.

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Saving HDR Data: Normal editing can alter image data and cause HDR information to be lost. Saving a Copy keeps the original HDR data intact so you can always revert to the original if needed.

Give you control: Google wants you to be in charge of your photos. By storing a separate copy, you can experiment with edits without affecting the original. This aligns with Google's focus on user control over their data.

How other apps handle HDR editing

Let's take a look at how other photography apps handle HDR editing.

Apple Photos (iOS): Edits are virtual, so you can always revert to the original – no duplicates required.

Adobe Lightroom Mobile: This app allows you to edit your HDR photos with powerful tools without altering the original file.

Cloud photo editing services: Many cloud-based services offer HDR editing, and some even have non-destructive options, but they may require an internet connection and have storage limits.

Managing duplicate storage space

Duplicate edits aren't ideal for your storage space, but here are some tips.

Cloud storage: Use Google Drive or iCloud for additional storage. The free plan is limited, so you may need to upgrade to store a large photo library.

Compress photos: Compressing your photos can save space. Lossless compression preserves quality but saves less space. Lossless compression saves more space but might lose some quality. Find the balance that works for you.

Local storage management: Periodically delete unnecessary or duplicate photos to free up space on your device. You can also move old photos to an external hard drive.

The future of HDR editing in Google Photos

While storing duplicate edits may be a temporary inconvenience, Google is working on a solution. They understand the importance of user experience and are committed to solving this issue. In the future, they may offer non-destructive editing capabilities within Google Photos, allowing you to edit your HDR photos without creating duplicates.

The curious case of Google Photos and HDR editing overlap: what the future holds

Have you noticed that you have some extra HDR edits in Google Photos? We've explained the technology and looked at workarounds, but what does the future hold? Going forward, Google Photos may handle HDR edits in the following way:

Smarter Editing with Machine Learning: Imagine a magic edit button. Machine learning can analyze your HDR photos and suggest the perfect edits while keeping the magic of HDR intact, saving you time and preventing you from accidentally altering HDR details.

Power your photos with the power of the cloud: Google Photos works with the cloud to make advanced HDR edits possible. The cloud does the computing and stores your original photos safely on your device, freeing up space on your phone and making edits easier.

Work with your favorite editing apps: Google Photos has partnered with some of the best photo editing apps known for non-destructive HDR editing, so you can easily send your HDR photos to these apps for advanced editing while your originals stay safe in Google Photos.

Easy and convenient: Editing HDR photos is easy, regardless of your technical skills. Google Photos handles the complicated parts so you can focus on making your photos look great.

Your creative touch matters: Even if they offer suggestions, you're still in charge of the edits, and Google Photos should let you tweak them to create the look you want.

Understanding through education: Google needs to be clear about how it handles HDR edits. Explaining the benefits of HDR, its limitations, and why users (for now) see additional edits will increase user understanding and trust.

The future of HDR editing on mobile

These overlapping HDR edits show that mobile photography and editing is constantly changing, which is an opportunity for us to improve HDR editing in Google Photos. By exploring these ideas, we can help make editing easier and faster, and make the power of HDR photography more accessible to mobile devices.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.gizchina.com/2024/06/29/how-google-photos-hdr-edit-is-affecting-users/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

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