I ran into this issue, and it was a puzzle. I had recorded the footage on a very bright day on my smartphone, but it looked okay on the phone screen. My research showed that this is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) mismatch. Apparently, a very common issue when filming on an iPhone or a newer mirrorless camera that records in HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) or PQ.
Premiere uses a Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) timeline. It doesn’t know how to handle extra-bright HDR highlights, so it just blasts them out, making the video look overexposed or “blown out.”
Here is how to fix it:
- The “Quick Fix” (Auto Tone Map)
Premiere Pro has a built-in setting that tries to fix this automatically.
Go to Settings (or Preferences on Mac) > Timeline.
Check the box that says “Auto Tone Map Media.”
This will automatically squeeze that high-range data into your standard workspace.
- The Manual Fix (Interpret Footage)
If the auto-fix doesn’t look right, you can manually tell Premiere how to handle the file:
Right-click the clip in your Project Panel.
Select Modify > Interpret Footage.
Go to the Colour tab at the bottom.
Under Colour Space Override, change it to Rec. 709.
Note: This “squashes” the HDR data into the standard colour space used by most monitors.
- Check Your Sequence Settings
If your footage is fine but your export looks blown out, your sequence might be set to the wrong workspace.
Go to Sequence > Sequence Settings.
Ensure the Working Colour Space is set to Rec. 709 (unless you specifically intend to produce an HDR video).
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Most modern smartphones (like iPhone 12 and newer) record in 10-bit Dolby Vision HDR by default. Older versions of Premiere used to ignore this data, but newer versions try to read it. Without proper “tone mapping,” the software sees values that are “whiter than white” for a standard monitor, resulting in that overexposed look.
If you don’t want to deal with this every time you edit, you can disable HDR on your smartphone (though you’ll lose a bit of colour detail):
Open the Camera app.
Switch to Video mode.
Tap the Settings (gear icon) in the bottom left.
Toggle 10-bit HDR to Off.
