diff --git a/src/sigal/gallery.py b/src/sigal/gallery.py
index 8ca5e01..addddb2 100644
--- a/src/sigal/gallery.py
+++ b/src/sigal/gallery.py
@@ -45,7 +45,13 @@ from natsort import natsort_keygen, ns
 from PIL import Image as PILImage
 
 from . import image, signals, video
-from .image import get_exif_tags, get_image_metadata, get_size, process_image
+from .image import (
+    EXIF_EXTENSIONS,
+    get_exif_tags,
+    get_image_metadata,
+    get_size,
+    process_image,
+)
 from .settings import Status, get_thumb
 from .utils import (
     Devnull,
@@ -264,7 +270,7 @@ class Image(Media):
         datetime_format = self.settings["datetime_format"]
         return (
             get_exif_tags(self.raw_exif, datetime_format=datetime_format)
-            if self.raw_exif and self.src_ext in (".jpg", ".jpeg", ".heic")
+            if self.raw_exif and self.src_ext in EXIF_EXTENSIONS
             else None
         )
 
@@ -289,7 +295,7 @@ class Image(Media):
     @cached_property
     def raw_exif(self):
         """If not `None`, contains the raw EXIF tags."""
-        if self.src_ext in (".jpg", ".jpeg", ".heic"):
+        if self.src_ext in EXIF_EXTENSIONS:
             return self.file_metadata["exif"]
 
     @cached_property
diff --git a/src/sigal/image.py b/src/sigal/image.py
index 4996125..f7d154b 100644
--- a/src/sigal/image.py
+++ b/src/sigal/image.py
@@ -45,15 +45,20 @@ from pilkit.processors import Transpose
 from pilkit.utils import save_image
 
 try:
-    from pillow_heif import HeifImagePlugin
-except:
-    pass
+    from pillow_heif import HeifImagePlugin  # noqa: F401
+
+    HAS_HEIF = True
+except ImportError:
+    HAS_HEIF = False
 
 from . import signals, utils
+from .settings import Status
 
 # Force loading of truncated files
 ImageFile.LOAD_TRUNCATED_IMAGES = True
 
+EXIF_EXTENSIONS = (".jpg", ".jpeg", ".heic")
+
 
 def _has_exif_tags(img):
     return hasattr(img, "info") and "exif" in img.info
@@ -71,7 +76,7 @@ def _read_image(file_path):
 
     for w in caught_warnings:
         logger.warning(
-            f"PILImage reported a warning for file {file_path}\n"
+            f"Pillow reported a warning for file {file_path}\n"
             f"{w.category}: {w.message}"
         )
     return im
@@ -185,6 +190,11 @@ def process_image(media):
         options = media.settings["jpg_options"]
     elif media.src_ext == ".png":
         options = {"optimize": True}
+    elif media.src_ext == ".heic" and not HAS_HEIF:
+        logger.warning(
+            f"cannot open {media.src_path}, pillow-heif is needed to open .heic files"
+        )
+        return Status.FAILURE
     else:
         options = {}
 
@@ -298,7 +308,7 @@ def get_image_metadata(filename):
         logger.error("Could not open image %s metadata: %s", filename, e)
     else:
         try:
-            if os.path.splitext(filename)[1].lower() in (".jpg", ".jpeg", ".heic"):
+            if os.path.splitext(filename)[1].lower() in EXIF_EXTENSIONS:
                 exif = get_exif_data(img)
         except Exception as e:
             logger.warning("Could not read EXIF data from %s: %s", filename, e)
diff --git a/src/sigal/settings.py b/src/sigal/settings.py
index 2ed1b4f..c26be32 100644
--- a/src/sigal/settings.py
+++ b/src/sigal/settings.py
@@ -42,7 +42,16 @@ _DEFAULT_CONFIG = {
     "google_tag_manager": "",
     "ignore_directories": [],
     "ignore_files": [],
-    "img_extensions": [".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".gif", ".tif", ".tiff", ".webp"],
+    "img_extensions": [
+        ".jpg",
+        ".jpeg",
+        ".png",
+        ".gif",
+        ".heic",
+        ".tif",
+        ".tiff",
+        ".webp",
+    ],
     "img_processor": "ResizeToFit",
     "img_size": (640, 480),
     "img_format": None,
diff --git a/src/sigal/templates/sigal.conf.py b/src/sigal/templates/sigal.conf.py
index 77505a6..4c02597 100644
--- a/src/sigal/templates/sigal.conf.py
+++ b/src/sigal/templates/sigal.conf.py
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ img_size = (800, 600)
 # map_height = '500px'
 
 # File extensions that should be treated as images
-# img_extensions = ['.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png', '.gif']
+# img_extensions = [".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".gif", ".heic", ".tif", ".tiff", ".webp"]
 
 # Pilkit processor used to resize the image
 # (see http://pilkit.readthedocs.org/en/latest/#processors)
diff --git a/tests/test_gallery.py b/tests/test_gallery.py
index cf6978c..31489f0 100644
--- a/tests/test_gallery.py
+++ b/tests/test_gallery.py
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ def test_gallery(settings, tmp_path, caplog):
     gal = Gallery(settings, ncpu=1)
 
     gal.build()
-    assert re.match(r"CSS file .* could not be found", caplog.records[3].message)
+    assert re.match(r"CSS file .* could not be found", caplog.records[4].message)
 
     with open(tmp_path / "my.css", mode="w") as f:
         f.write("color: red")
diff --git a/tests/test_image.py b/tests/test_image.py
index 34298aa..fac4fc8 100644
--- a/tests/test_image.py
+++ b/tests/test_image.py
@@ -201,7 +201,9 @@ def test_get_exif_tags():
     assert "datetime" not in simple
     assert "gps" not in simple
 
+
 def test_get_heic_exif_tags():
+    pytest.importorskip("pillow_heif")
     test_image = "outdoor.heic"
     src_file = os.path.join(
         CURRENT_DIR, "sample", "pictures", "dir1", "test1", test_image
@@ -211,6 +213,7 @@ def test_get_heic_exif_tags():
     assert simple["Make"] == "samsung"
     assert simple["datetime"] == "01/09/2024"
 
+
 def test_get_iptc_data(caplog):
     test_image = "1.jpg"
     src_file = os.path.join(CURRENT_DIR, "sample", "pictures", "iptcTest", test_image)