Source: https://restorebunny.com/guides/get-original-photo-files-before-restoration/ # Get the Original Photo File Before Trying AI Restoration Retrieve unmodified photos from Apple Photos or stored copies from Google Photos, preserve sidecars, and verify dimensions before using AI enhancement. AI & software5 min readUpdated 13 September 2026 Quick answer ## The short version Look for an unmodified export from the source photo library or the photographer's original file before enhancing a screenshot or shared preview. Download into a new folder, preserve accompanying files and compare dimensions and visible detail. Exporting cannot reverse compression or resizing that happened before the service stored the photo. ## Define which original you are trying to retrieve The camera original, the file imported into a photo library and the largest copy still available are not necessarily the same thing. A library may have received an already cropped JPEG from a relative. An 'unmodified original' export can faithfully retrieve that imported JPEG without restoring the earlier camera file. Record what you know about the source instead of allowing an export label to create a false provenance claim. Start with the person who took or scanned the photograph, an earlier device, the source library and existing backups. Ask for the file itself rather than a screenshot of it. Keep the currently available small copy while searching; it may be the only surviving reference or may contain notes that the higher-resolution candidate lacks. This is a retrieval workflow, not a promise of recovering deleted or corrupted storage. ## Export an unmodified original from Apple Photos on Mac 1. Select the intended photo in Photos and use File \> Export \> Export Unmodified Original, as documented by Apple. Choose a new destination folder so a repeated filename cannot silently replace a file you already have. 2. If you need library-added IPTC information and keywords, consider the Export IPTC as XMP option. Keep that sidecar beside its image; it is supporting metadata, not another photograph to discard as a duplicate. 3. For a Live Photo, expect separate still-image and video components in an unmodified export. Keep both if motion is part of what you are preserving. A restoration upload may use just the still image without making the video component unnecessary. 4. If the current edited appearance matters too, export it separately using the regular export workflow and label it as edited. Open the saved files and confirm that the unmodified and edited versions have the expected content. Menu wording may vary with software versions; the linked Apple guide is the authority for the current workflow. ## Retrieve the version actually stored in Google Photos Google documents downloading a selected photo from the desktop website and exporting a larger collection through its data-export tools. Use the download function rather than saving a screen preview. For a collection export, retain accompanying metadata files and the original downloaded package until you have checked its contents. Do not assume every file in the package should be uploaded to a restoration tool. Check the item's backup quality where available. Google's Original quality and Storage saver are different storage choices; changing a setting now does not recreate a larger source that was already reduced. Compare the downloaded file with any device copy you still possess. If the stored version is the best remaining file, preserve and label it as such instead of repeatedly downloading in the hope that it will acquire missing pixels. ## Worked example: screenshot, download and camera file Consider three hypothetical candidates for the same portrait: a 1080×720 screenshot, a 2048×1365 downloaded library copy and a 4032×3024 file supplied by the photographer. The last file is not automatically authentic merely because it is larger, but it deserves inspection as a potential better source. Compare whether it contains more of the frame, finer captured detail and metadata consistent with its stated history. The screenshot may include display scaling or interface pixels. The downloaded copy may have a different crop or stored compression. The larger file could be the original, an edited export or an upscale. Write a source note for each and select the best-supported input. If you choose the photographer's file for restoration, keep the download and screenshot only where they preserve useful context or remain unresolved—not as unnamed competing 'final' versions. ## Verify the export before you edit it - Content: open the actual file, not its thumbnail. Check that it is the correct frame and that faces and edges are not unexpectedly cropped. - Dimensions: read width and height in pixels. A DPI label alone cannot establish detail, and file size alone cannot distinguish a genuine original from a high-quality re-encoding. - Companions: retain relevant XMP, JSON, motion or other exported components with a clear relationship to the image. Keep a short note explaining files that your usual viewer does not open. - Dates: distinguish embedded capture information from a filesystem creation or download timestamp. Exporting into a new folder can create a new file-system event without changing when the scene was photographed. - Provenance: record the account or person who supplied the file, export date and known edits without storing passwords. Mark uncertain history explicitly and back up the checked export before further processing. ## Make a compatible restoration copy without losing the source A retrieved original may be HEIC, RAW or another format your chosen restoration workflow does not accept. Check its current upload requirements and make a compatible working copy where necessary. Keep the original extension and file unchanged; renaming a filename to end in .jpg does not convert its encoding. Document conversions that change dimensions or colour interpretation. Restore from that working copy, then compare the result with the retrieved source at equal display size. AI may create plausible details where earlier compression removed information. A successful-looking output therefore does not prove that a low-quality input was fully recovered. When no better source survives, a restrained enhancement can still make a useful viewing copy, provided the original and the limitation remain clear. ## FAQs Does Export Unmodified Original undo all past compression? No. It exports the original held by that library. If the imported file was already compressed, cropped or resized, the earlier missing information is not recreated. Why did one exported photo produce several files? A photo can have metadata sidecars or motion components, such as the still and video parts of a Live Photo. Keep the related files until you understand their roles. Can changing backup quality recover a full-size photo? It does not reconstruct detail lost from a version already reduced before or during storage. Look for an earlier device copy or another source and preserve the best surviving file. ## Sources Preservation and technical guidance reviewed for this article. - Apple: [Export photos, videos, slideshows and memories on Mac]() - Google: [Download photos or videos to your device]() - Google: [Choose the backup quality of your photos and videos]() ## Related - [Compare duplicate files and edited versions]() - [Understand blurry WhatsApp photos]() - [Back up your family archive]() ## Ready to restore your photos? Upload an image, choose your settings, and preview results with a before/after slider. 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