Using High Dynamic Range (HDR) iPhone Footage in Premiere Pro: Complete Guide for 2025

I was editing a YouTube video last year when I saw something terrible. I realised my iPhone footage looked dull and blown out when I put it in Adobe Premiere Pro. The colors were oversaturated. The whites were burning. Everything looked terrible.

I wasn’t alone. Many iPhone video editing fans had been facing a nightmare like this one. The problem? Premiere Pro would not accept iPhone HDR footage.

Here’s the good news. Adobe had fixed the problem in Premiere Pro 23.2, which was launched in February 2023. However, most creatives don’t really know the proper way to work with HDR video.

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Understanding the HDR iPhone Footage Problem

What Is High Dynamic Range (HDR) Video?

High Dynamic Range video is a type of recording that contains more information than video. It’s like this: regular video can only show so much color. HDR video can show way more.

HDR lets whites be brighter. It makes colors more vibrant. Dynamic range, the difference between darkest and brightest part, is much large as well. This creates videos that look more lifelike and cinematic.

iPhones have recently begun recording in HDR by default. Apple did this to make iPhone video production look better. The technical term for this is a larger color space. Regular video uses a small box of colors. HDR video uses a much bigger box. This wide color gamut is what makes everything pop.

Why Your iPhone HDR Footage Looks Blown Out in Premiere Pro

Here’s where the problem starts. When video editing software opens a video file, it interprets the file through a system called a colour space. It’s like a language for colors.

The standard color space for most video is called Rec. 709. This has been the industry standard for years. It works great for Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) video.

iPhone clips use a separate color space called Rec for high dynamic range footage. 2100. Specifically, it uses Rec. 2100 HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma). This is a much larger color space that supports HDR.

When you drop a Rec. 2100 clip into a Rec. In Adobe Premiere Pro, when you set the timeline to 709, it tries to squeeze that big color into a small color. The result? Blown out highlights. Oversaturated colors. Everything looks terrible on your screen. The color space mapping is all wrong.  If you have any issue related to Cannot Verify Server Identity then dont worry we also provide solution of this issue here on this website.

Preparing Premiere Pro for HDR iPhone Footage

Essential Premiere Pro Settings for HDR Editing

This is the most important step. Without these settings, your HDR video footage from iPhone will look faulty.

Open Adobe Premiere Pro. Head over to Preferences to get started (Edit > Preferences on Windows, or Premiere Pro > Preferences on Mac). Click on “General” in the preferences menu.

Find Display Color Management. Check this box to turn it on. Find Extended dynamic range monitoring. Check this box too.

Verifying Your iPhone Footage Is Actually HDR

Before editing, ensure the footage is in HDR format. On your Mac, right-click the video file and open it in QuickTime Player. Go to Window > Show Movie Inspector.

Look for the transfer function line. If your video says BT.2100, HLG, it is HDR. HLG refers to Hybrid Log-Gamma, the HDR iPhone format.

Editing HDR iPhone Footage in Premiere Pro

Creating a Rec. 2100 Sequence from Your HDR Clip

Here’s the easiest trick for iPhone video editing in HDR. Don’t create a manual sequence. Let the clip do it for you.

Import your iPhone HDR footage into Premiere Pro. Right-click your clip in the Project panel. Select New Sequence From Clip.

When you import a clip, Premiere Pro will create a sequence that matches the clip’s settings. The color space, resolution and frame rate all match your clip exactly. This is the foolproof method.

Verifying Your Sequence Settings

Use the right click on your sequence. Select Sequence Settings.

Look at the Working Color Space. It should say Rec. 2100 HLG. Check the Video Previews Codec. It should be Apple ProRes 422 HQ. This codec is important because it allows for HDR support and no loss of quality during editing.

If everything shows Rec. 2100 HLG is all set! Your timeline is now properly configured for HDR workflow.

Editing Your Footage

Drag your clip onto the timeline. It should look normal now—not blown out or oversaturated. Edit normally. Cut your clips, add transitions, and insert titles.

Be careful when adjusting colors in Premiere Pro. HDR video has a wealth of information so super-aggressive grading can appear harsh and untrue to the source. The saturated colors of HDR usually need less saturation than SDR video, because it’s so vibrant.

Exporting HDR iPhone Footage

Export Settings for YouTube and Vimeo

Go to File > Export > Media. Select QuickTime as your format. This is crucial for HDR export.

Under video settings, find the color space dropdown. Select Rec. 2100 HLG. This maintains your HDR throughout the export.

Choose Apple ProRes 422 HQ as your codec. This video compression standard preserves HDR quality.

Uploading to YouTube or Vimeo

Upload to YouTube or upload to Vimeo as you normally would. Both services automatically enable HDR playback when Rec is detected. 2100 metadata.

HDR processing can take a few minutes after upload. Once processing is complete, you will see an “HDR” badge in the settings gear icon on Youtube HDR. Vimeo HDR shows similar indicators.

If the viewers have HDR enabled displays, they will see the full HDR of the video. The SDR version that is tone mapped will automatically look good for viewers without the HDR screen.

Converting HDR to SDR with Tone Mapping

At times, you require SDR output rather than HDR output. Maybe you’re posting to a platform without HDR support. Or mixing with non-HDR footage.

Enable Auto Tone Map Media in your sequence settings. Create a Rec. 709 sequence instead of Rec. 2100. When you import your iPhone HDR footage, Premiere Pro automatically applies tone mapping.

HDR’s greater color space is shrunk down to fit Rec by tone mapping. 709 without looking blown out. It’s like smart compression for color space.

Export with Rec. 709 settings. The final outcome will be the SDR video, which will have the correct look with no blown out highlights or bizarre coloring.

Conclusion

Once you’re familiar with the color space problem, using HDR iPhone footage in Premiere Pro isn’t that difficult. Activate color management and extended dynamic range display for thorough evaluation. Use New Sequence From Clip in doing so to match your iPhone HDR footage settings. Export in Rec. Use 2100 HLG for HDR or use tone mapping for SDR.

Make sure your timeline setting, preview and export setting settings are all in the same color space. Paraphrase this (15 words):

Do this right, and your iPhone video editing will look professional and polished every time.