Are you trying to upload a RAW file and noticing that it doesn't work? That's because RAW files aren't actually image files. Here you'll find out exactly what's behind this and how you can upload your images without any problems.
What actually is a RAW file?
A RAW file is not a finished image file, but a kind of "digital negative". It contains the pure image information captured by your camera – but not yet a fully developed image.
- RAW files are meant to be imported into programs like Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Photoshop and edited further there.
- Only during editing is an actual image file exported from the RAW file – for example in JPEG format.
- So a JPEG is the finished image, while a RAW file only contains the raw data from which an image can be developed.
Why can't we process RAW files?
The key point: RAW files are "developed" differently by every program.
- Your iPhone displays the RAW file differently than Photoshop or a Windows viewer.
- So there is no uniform display.
- We therefore couldn't guarantee that the image would look on our platform the way you had in mind.
That's why we (like other creator platforms) unfortunately can only process already developed image file formats such as JPEG.
What can you do?
- Shoot directly in JPEG
- If you don't edit your images in professional software, you don't need RAW at all.
- Simply switch your camera or smartphone camera to JPEG.
- Open Settings.
- Select Camera → Formats.
- Turn off Apple ProRAW.
- Convert RAW to JPEG afterwards
- If you've already taken RAW files, you can easily convert them to JPEG on your iPhone or computer.
- Choose Save to Files or Mail → iOS will automatically convert the file to JPEG.
- Tip: If you email the photo to yourself, it is sent as JPEG by default.