The use of aptamer-fluorogen complexes is an emerging strategy for RNA imaging. Despite its promise for cellular imaging and sensing, the low fluorescence intensity of the Spinach-DFHBI RNA aptamer fluorogen complex hampers its utility in quantitative live-cell and high-resolution imaging applications. Here we report that illumination of the Spinach fluorogen complex induces photoconversion and subsequently fluorogen dissociation, leading to fast fluorescence decay and fluorogen-concentration-dependent recovery. The fluorescence lifetime of Spinach DFHBI is 4.0 +/- 0.1 ns irrespective of the Spinach DFHBI RNA imaging tag in living cells.