Editing a photo on your iPhone has never been more simple than it is now. With a variety of apps as well as built-in photo editing technology in the standard Photos app, you can transform your photos and play around with the many filters and editing features. If you aren’t sure you’ll like the edited version, you can always keep the original.
To edit an iPhone image and keep the original in your camera roll, you have the following options:
- Duplicate the photo
- Screenshot and crop the image
- Copy or save to files
- Use HDR Mode
- Use 3rd party photo editing applications
- Revert edited photos to original in Photos app
Multiple options for editing iPhone images and keeping the original make it easy to play with photos and not worry about losing any of the original versions. With many creative ways to edit your photos, having the original photo handy allows you to experiment with editing while always have a starting point for new creations. Read on to find out how to edit your iPhone photos without losing the original images.
How to Keep Original and Edited iPhone Photos
Having multiple options to edit your iPhone photos means that the process you use is decided on your personal preference. Depending on the type of software you use for editing, you can keep your original copy intact.
Duplicate Photos on iPhone
The most common way to keep an original iPhone image is to duplicate the photo before you do any editing.
To duplicate your photo on an iPhone, follow these steps:
- After taking the photo, click on your Camera Roll or open the Photos app.
- Select the photo you want to duplicate.
- Select the Options button in the lower-left corner of the photo.
- Scroll down and select Duplicate. Another copy of the photo will appear in your Camera Roll.
If you wish to make separate edits to the same original photo, you can duplicate the image multiple times so that an original copy always exists. This is particularly helpful when using outside apps for editing. (Source: PixemWeb)
Screenshot and Crop Photos on iPhone
Another simple method for duplicating an original photo is by screenshotting the image—how you screenshot will depend on the version of the iPhone you have.
- If your phone has a Home button, you will hold it and the Sleep/Wake buttons simultaneously and then release.
- If you have a newer iPhone without a Home button, press the Volume Up button on the left side and the Sleep/Wake button on the right side of the phone simultaneously.
The screenshot will be waiting for you in your Camera Roll. A successful screenshot will look like a small camera flash and even be accompanied by a camera clicking sound if your volume is enabled. (Source: Apple)
Once you have your screenshots, head to the screenshotted photo in the Camera Roll, and follow these steps to edit:
- Select Edit from Options in the lower-left corner of the image.
- You will be greeted with multiple editing options.
- At the bottom of the screen, you will see a box with arrows around it. This is used for cropping and rotating the photo.
- Click on this if the original photo includes black or white borders. You can crop the photo to just what you need
Screenshotting the original image is a quick way to make sure you have an original copy without having to go back to a specific screen or page. You can easily screenshot editing options as well to see how different edits look before committing to them.
Copy or Save To Files on iPhone
Duplicating the Photo works perfectly well for saving the original, but you might forget about the original copy or accidentally edit it. While you can always revert the edited image to the original, consider copying or saving the photo file somewhere else outside the camera roll.
To do this, follow these steps:
- Click the photo in your Camera Roll.
- Select the photo options in the bottom left-hand corner.
- At this point, you will have a few options:
- You can Airdrop, Message, or Email the photo directly with the apps that your phone suggests.
- You can select Copy Photo and paste it in other applications, such as Notes, Email, or Messages.
Save to Files is a similar option that allows you to import or transfer the image into another location so that an original copy is stored. When you save from those locations, it will often add it to your camera roll without deleting from this stored location. This serves as an additional backup for your photos. (Source: Apple Files App)
Use HDR Mode on iPhone
The high dynamic range (HDR) option in your camera takes multiple photos at once at different lighting and exposure levels to create a more dynamic photo. These are blended into one photo to make your photos pop! You can let the iPhone do some editing for you and keep the original copy. (Source: Business Insider)
To enable HDR on your iPhone, follow these steps:
- Select Camera in the Settings app.
- You will see HDR settings at the bottom (to either enable or not) and an option to keep the original Photo.
- This setting allows the camera to present the best blends of lighting and exposure in one photo. Less editing may be needed when this feature is turned on.
- If you do select Keep Normal Photo, all photos will end up with a duplicate, which can be either helpful for duplicates or frustrating to delete every time if you are happy with the HDR version and do not need a copy.
Use Photo Editing Apps on iPhone
Uploading your pictures to photo editing apps will still allow you to keep your original photo in the Camera Roll. When you export the edited photo, it will save separately to the Camera Roll. The hardest thing to remember is actually to export the edited version and not lose any progress.
These are some editing apps (both for professional and amateur use) that allow you to edit your photo while also saving the original version:
- Instagram: When editing and posting to Instagram, the newly edited photo will save as your most recent photo. The original will still be intact as long as you have selected Save Original Photos in your Instagram settings. (Source: How-To Geek)
- VSCO: Similar to Instagram, the VSCO is uploaded to a feed and will need to be exported to the Camera Roll for a saved edit. (Source: VSCO)
- Snapseed: Google’s photo editing product also allows you to save the edited photo separately. (Source: iPhone Photography School)
- Adobe Lightroom: Catered to professionals, you can save the original copy in its actual size and dimensions. This also applies to edited photos within the app. (Source: Adobe Lightroom).
Revert Edits with Apple Photo App
The cool thing about editing photos in Apple’s Photos app is that you will never lose the original version of a photo. After editing a photo, there is an option in the lower right-hand corner on the edit screen to Revert or turn the photo back into the original. (Source: Apple Photo Editing)
This feature is particularly useful if you make a mistake, or you decide to go in another editing direction. The downside of this feature is that it doesn’t allow you to save the edited version. You must either screenshot or duplicate the image to save your progress.
Keeping Photo Edits and Original is Easy
Saving your edits and original photos is simple on an iPhone, given the range of options you have at your disposal. No matter what you do to the original on the Photo’s app editing software, you can always take it all away and start fresh with the image you initially took.