Apple Photos tips and tricks: Storing, editing and sharing your iPhone photos

Many of us use our smartphones to take photos and if you’re anything like us, you’ll probably have thousands of images on your device. For iOS users, these photos automatically file into the Apple Photos app, which is available on iPhone, iPad and Mac. 

It’s possible to use a third party app – like Google Photos – but for those who stick with the native Apple Photos app, this feature guides you through how to get the most out of it on your iPhone.

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Navigating the Apple Photos app

The Apple Photos app has four tabs on iPhone: Library, For You, Albums and Search.

Library: Presents all the photos on your device. From this tab, you can favourite photos, delete photos, hide photos, create albums and view your photos by day, month or year. 

For You: Features your Memories, Shared Album activity and the best moments from your library, curated by Apple. You’ll also find suggestions about some photos that might look better with an effect, as well as Shared With You photos and some photos with sharing recommendations for certain friends or family, depending on who is in the photos.

Albums: Displays all the albums you have created, and the ones that have been created for you – such as Instagram and WhatsApp. It’s also where you will find Shared Albums, People and Places albums and a list of Media Types, offering quick access to all your videos, hidden photos or screenshots, for example.

Search: Allows you to search your photos by typing in things like ‘Holiday’ or ‘Concert’, but you can also search by People and Places too, as well as a combination.

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Apple Photos general tips and tricks

How to add the Photos widget to your home screen

Adding the Photos widget to your home screen will slowly scroll through past photos throughout the day. It’s a great trip down memory lane.

Hold down on your Home Screen till the apps wiggle > Tap “+” in the top left corner > Choose Photos in the list of Widgets > Press Add Widget > Tap Done in the top right corner of your Home Screen.

How to add a caption to a photo on Apple Photos

You can add a caption to photos in the Photos app, and the captions will sync across your Apple devices, whilst also being searchable.

Open the Photos app > Open the photo you want to add a caption to > Swipe up on the photo > Add a caption. The caption box is easy to miss. It’s greyed out, just under the photo.

How to favourite a photo on Apple Photos

If you favourite a photo, it will appear in the Albums section of the Photos app in a Favourites folder, allowing you to find it easily.

Open Apple Photos > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left > Tap on the photo you want to favourite > Tap on the heart at the bottom.

How to delete photos on Apple Photos

If you delete a photo, it will appear in the Albums section of the Photos app within Recently Deleted. After a month, the photos in this folder will automatically delete but until then, you can recover them. 

Open Apple Photos > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left > Tap on the photo you want to delete > Tap on the bin in the right-hand corner > Delete Photo.

How to delete multiple photos at once on Apple Photos

As with deleting one photo, multiple photos you delete will also appear in the Recently Deleted folder of the Albums section of the app. To delete several photos at once:

Open Apple Photos > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left > Tap ‘Select’ in the top right corner > Start selecting the photos you want to delete > Tap the bin in the bottom right-hand corner > Delete [x] Photos.

Tip: If the photos you are selecting are next to each other, you can select them quickly by sliding your finger across your screen without lifting it off. 

How to hide a photo on Apple Photos

It’s possible to hide a photo on Apple Photos, meaning it will only appear in the Hidden Photos folder in the Albums section and not in your main library. 

Open Apple Photos > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left corner > Tap on the photo you want to hide > Press the Share icon (square with arrow) in bottom left corner > Scroll down to ‘Hide’ within the bottom set of options.

How to hide the hidden photos album on Apple Photos

If you don’t want the hidden photos album to appear under the albums tab, you can hide it but you’ll need to unhide it again to open the folder and view the images. 

Open Settings on your iPhone > Scroll down to Photos > Untoggle Hidden Album.

How to share a photo or multiple photos on Apple Photos

Sharing a photo or multiple photos through the Photos app is simple.

Open the Photos app >  Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left > Tap ‘Select’ in the top right corner > Select the photos you want to share > Press the Share icon (square with arrow) in the bottom left of your screen > Select the service or app you want to share your photo(s) using.

The Photos app will also suggest certain people you might want to share a set of photos with, whilst also allowing you to share with other people, sending a link in Messages. If you tap on Options at the top of your display, you can choose between sending the image as automatic, an individual photo or an iCloud link.

If you’re sharing with AirDrop, tapping on Options at the top of your display will allow you to toggle on ‘All Photos Data’ to send the original image quality, along with edit history and metadata.

Share or Add to Album quickly on Apple Photos

The Photos app organises photos by date, whilst also offering location information if you have your location turned on. When in the daily view, you can select an entire day of photos to share or add to an album quickly. 

Open the Photos app >  Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left > Tap on ‘Days’ > Tap ‘Select’ in the top right corner > Tap ‘Select All’ on the days of the photos you want to share, delete or add to an album > Tap on the Share icon in the bottom left corner > Scroll down to select what you want to do.

Use 3D Touch/Haptic Touch to see an image when in select mode

You might have started selecting images to delete, share or add to an album but you have two similar and you’re not sure which is the better one to pick.

Rather than coming out of select mode, if you have an iPhone with 3D Touch or an iPhone with Haptic Touch, you can hold down on the thumbnail picture you want to see whilst still in select mode. This will bring the picture up on the screen for as long as you continue to hold down on your display. Once you let go, you’ll return to where you left off in select mode.

Tap on the Library tab to return to most recent images

If you’ve scrolled up through your photos and you want to get back to your most recent photos, just tap the Library tab in the bottom left corner again and it will zoom back to your latest shots.

Find out more information about a plant, pet or object

There’s a Look Up feature in Apple Photos that will allow you to find out more information about a breed or dog or cat for example, or a type or flower or a landmark. 

Tap on the Library tab and open the photo of the thing you want to find more information about. If Look Up is available, there will be an “i” at the bottom of the image with a couple of stars next to it. Tap on this symbol and tap on Look Up.

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How to see your Favourite photos on Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Select the Albums tab > Select Favourites. If you don’t see it, select ‘See All’ in the top right corner and it will appear in your list of albums. 

How to see all your videos quickly on Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Select the Albums tab > Scroll down to Media Types > Select Videos. You’ll then be taken to all your videos. 

If you want to share, delete or add a video to an album, tap ‘Select’ in the top right corner and select your videos followed by the respective icon at the bottom of the screen. Use the share icon to add to an album.

How to see all your screenshots quickly on Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Select the Albums tab > Scroll down to Media Types > Select Screenshots. You’ll then be taken to all your screenshots. 

If you want to share, delete or add a screenshot to an album, tap ‘Select’ in the top right corner and select your screenshots followed by the respective icon at the bottom of the screen. Use the share icon to add to an album.

How to see your selfies quickly on Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Select the Albums tab > Scroll down to Media Types > Select Selfies. You’ll then be taken to all your selfies. 

If you want to share, delete or add a selfie to an album, tap ‘Select’ in the top right corner and select your selfies followed by the respective icon at the bottom of the screen. Use the share icon to add to an album.

How to view Recently Deleted Photos on Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Select the Albums tab > Scroll down to Utilities right at the bottom of the screen > Tap on Recently Deleted.

You’ll then be able to see all your recently deleted photos, along with how long they have left before they are permanently deleted. 

How to permanently delete photos on Apple Photos

Once you delete a photo from your library, it will move to the Recently Deleted folder, where it will remain for 30 days. You’ll need to go into this folder to permanently delete a photo from your phone.

To delete all the photos in the Recently Deleted folder, press ‘Select’ in the top right corner, followed by ‘Delete All’ in the bottom left.

You can also choose certain photos to delete. After you press ‘Select’, pick the photos you want to delete and press ‘Delete’ at the bottom of your screen.

How to recover deleted photos on Apple Photos

You have 30 days to recover deleted photos after you initially delete them from your library thanks to the Recently Deleted folder. After 30 days, photos are automatically deleted and that’s that. If you recover a photo, it will go back into your photo library.

To recover all the photos in the Recently Deleted folder, press ‘Select’ in the top right corner, followed by ‘Recover All’ in the bottom right.

You can also choose certain photos to recover. After you press ‘Select’, pick the photos you want to recover and press ‘Recover’ at the bottom of your screen. 

How to show your pictures by day, week/month or year in Apple Photos

The Library section of the app will display your photos by day, week/month or year. It depends on how many photos you have for a particular week or month as to how they will appear. You’ll see the day, month and year tabs at the bottom of your display when in the Library tab.

Open Apple Photos > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left > Tap on day, month or year. This will take you to a daily, week/monthly or yearly view of your photos depending on which tab you select. Select ‘All Photos’ from the bar to go back to seeing all your photos.

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Apple Photos editing tips and tricks

How to manually edit a photo in Apple Photos

It’s easy enough to edit a photo in the Photos app, whether you want to make a slight rotation, change it to black and white, or change a multitude of settings.

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left of the display > Tap on the photo you want to edit > Click ‘Edit’ in the top right of your screen. Editing options will then appear at the bottom of your screen under the photo. Make sure you press ‘Done’ when you’re finished.

How to crop or rotate a photo in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left of the display > Tap on the photo you want to edit > Click ‘Edit’ in the top right of your screen > Tap on the square icon with the arrows at the bottom of your screen > Adjust accordingly. 

How to change a photo to black and white in Apple Photos

There are several ways to change a photo to black and white, with varying levels of control.

The simplest way is to open the Photos app > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left of the display > Tap on the photo you want to edit > Click ‘Edit’ in the top right of your screen > Tap on the three circles icon at the bottom of your screen > Scroll across to the black and white options. 

Alternatively, open the Photos app > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left of the display > Tap on the photo you want to edit > Click ‘Edit’ in the top right of your screen. From here, you’ll see a number of circular icons below the image, allowing you to adjust things like exposure, contrast, brightness, colour, etc. Play around until you get the result you want. 

How to apply a filter to a photo in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left of the display > Tap on the photo you want to edit > Click ‘Edit’ in the top right of your screen > Tap on the three circles icon at the bottom of your screen > Scroll across till you find the filter you like. 

How to adjust colour, exposure, brightness and light balance in a photo in Apple Photos

The Photos app allows you to edit a photo’s light balance, colour balance, exposure, brightness, shadows and contrast, among other elements. 

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left of the display > Tap on the photo you want to edit > Click ‘Edit’ in the top right of your screen. From here, a number of circular icons will appear below the image. Scrolling right to left will reveal more. Move the slider below each icon to adjust that particular element.

How to draw on a photo in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left of the display > Tap on the photo you want to edit > Click ‘Edit’ in the top right of your screen > Tap on the pen in the top right of your display > You can then add various marker style pen lines to your photo.

How to automatically edit a photo in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left of the display > Tap on the photo you want to edit > Click ‘Edit’ in the top right of your screen > Tap the circular magic wand icon under the image > Press Done.

How to select a different photo from a Live Photo in Apple Photos

Live photos capture a couple of seconds before and after you press the shutter button, with an aim to get the best shot. Apple then picks which frame it thinks is the best option but you can select a different still to be the best photo if you think differently.

Open the Photos app > Select the Live Photo you want to edit > Tap ‘Edit’ in the top right corner > Tap on the Live icon at the bottom if your screen (the one with three circles inside each other) > Scroll between the stills at the bottom of the image > Press ‘Make Key Photo’ > Done. 

You can also turn Live off by tapping Live at the top of the image when on the Live editing icon. When highlighted in yellow, Live is on. It will say have a line through Live if you have successfully turned Live off.

How to save a live photo as a video

You can save a Live Photo as a video so you don’t have to hold down on the photo to see it move.

Open the Photos app > Open the Live Photo you want to save as a video > Tap on the share icon in the bottom left corner (square with arrow) > Tap on Save as Video. It will then save the Live Photo as a separate video, so you’ll have both the Live Photo and the video in your Photos Library.

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Apple Photos Memories tips and tricks

How to create a Memory Movie in Apple Photos

The Photos app will create a movie of a set of photos, whether in day, week/month or year. It’s a great feature for holidays, for example, pulling together a highlight of your photos in an easy-to-watch video.

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left > Tap on day, month or year > Find the selection of images you want to create a movie of > Tap on the three dots in the top right corner of the selected images > Play Memory Video.

How to edit a Memory Movie in Apple Photos

It’s possible to edit the movie created by Apple Photos. You can select short, medium or long, as well as various moods for different music. You can also retitle it from the location it will be called by default and you can change which images are used if you add the movie to your Memories first. 

Follow the instructions above to create the movie > Then tap once on the movie when it’s playing > Change the length and pictures by tapping on the three dots in the top right corner.

You can also choose different photos, hide photos and choose a key photo from these three dots. 

How to change the music and look of a Memory Video in Apple Photos

Apple has a feature called Memory Mix in Apple Photos that allows you to choose a Memory Look and pick accompanying music from Apple Music for your Memory Video.

Once you have your Memory Video, tap once when it starts playing and you’ll see a music note with a couple of stars in the bottom left corner. Tap on the button and then tap on the icon with the three circles to change the look and apply a filter to the images in the movie.

To change the music, tap on the music note with the “+” symbol and you’ll get some top suggestions, along with other music you might have liked and might want to choose for your movie.

You can also just swipe through the Memory Mix options.

How to share a Memory Movie in Apple Photos

Once you’re happy with your movie and you’ve finished editing titles and images and music etc, you can then share your movie through the usual apps and services.

After you’ve hit ‘Done’ on your movie, you will be taken back to the screen with your movie and the Memory Mix options. In the top right corner is the Share icon – a square box with an arrow pointing upwards. 

Tap on the Share icon, followed by the service you want to use to share, whether this be AirDrop, Messages, Shared Albums in Photos – more on those in a bit – WhatsApp, Facebook, etc. The movie will then export as a Full HD file and you can share away. 

How to delete a Memory in Apple Photos

Any memories you add appear at the top of the For You tab, but you’ll also see some memories curated for you too, such as Best of Last Month, Best of Last 4 Weeks and On This Day. You can delete any you don’t want to remember though.

Open Photos > Tap on the For You tab > Tap on the Memory you want to delete > Tap on the three dots in the blue circle in the top right of your screen > Delete Memory.

How to favourite a Memory in Apple Photos

Some Memories might be particularly special to you, for example your wedding, an anniversary, a child’s birthday etc. For those particularly special memories, you can favourite them. 

Open Photos > Tap on the For You tab > Tap on the Memory you want to Add to Favourite Memory > Tap on the heart to favourite the memory.

How to remove a Memory from your Favourite Memories in Apple Photos

If you added a particular memory to your Favourite Memories but later decide you don’t want to be reminded of it anymore, you can remove Memories from your Favourite Memories.

Open Photos > Tap on the For You tab > Tap on the heart on the Memory you want to remove as a favourite memory.

How to delete a picture from a Memory in Apple Photos

A Memory within the For You tab might have 20 great photos from an event but a couple of bad ones that you don’t need in the Memory Movie. Don’t worry though, you can delete individual photos from a Memory. 

Open Photos > Tap on the For You tab > Tap on the Memory you want to edit > Tap once on the memory when it starts playing > Hit the circle with the three dots in the top right > Select Manage Photos > Tick or untick the photos you want to appear in the movie, or don’t want to appear.

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Apple Photos Albums tips and tricks

How to see Shared Album activity in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Tap on the For You tab at the bottom > Scroll down to Shared Albums. Slide across from right to left for the latest photo uploads to any Shared Albums. 

Press ‘See All’ above the photos next to Shared Album Activity on the right to see all activity within your Shared Albums and give specific photos a thumbs up. You can also tap on a photo in the Shared Album Activity section to see all activity and add comments.

How to add photos to an Album in Apple Photos

There are a couple of ways to add photos to an existing Album. It’s also possible to do it through the photo itself. Here is how to do it from the Albums tab though.

Open the Photos app > Click on the Albums tab > Tap on the Album you want to add a photo to > Press the “+” at the bottom of the album > Select the photos you want to add to your Album > Press ‘Done’.

Alternatively, open Apple Photos > Tap on the Library tab in the bottom left > Tap Select in the top right corner > Select the photos you want to add to a new or existing album > Press the Share icon in the bottom left of your screen > Scroll down to ‘Add to Album’ > Select an existing album or press New Album. 

If you select New Album, you’ll need to name it and hit Save.

How to remove photos from an Album in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Click on the Albums tab > Tap on the Album you want to remove a photo from > Press ‘Select’ in the top right corner of your screen > Select the photos you want to remove > Press the bin icon in the bottom right of your screen > Remove from Album.

The photo will remain in your library but it will be removed from your album. You can select delete if you want to remove it from your album and library.

How to delete an entire Album in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Click on the Albums tab > Press ‘See All’ > Tap ‘Edit’ in the top right corner > Press the red circle with the line in the top left of the album you want to delete > Delete Album.

How to create a new Album or Shared Album in Apple Photos

There are a couple of different ways to create a new album. You can do it by selecting the photos you want to put into an album, or you can create the album and then add the photos to it.

The latter way requires you to open the Photos app > Click on the Albums tab > Press the ‘+’ in the top left corner > Select ‘New Album’ or ‘New Shared Album’ > Name your Album.

When creating a new Shared Album, you will have the option of adding the contacts you want to share the album with, after which you’ll need to hit Create. For a standard new Album, you’ll name it and then press Save, after which you can add photos to it and press Done.

How to remove a Shared Album in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Albums tab > Scroll down to Shared Albums > Select ‘See All’ in the right corner of the section > Tap ‘Edit’ in the top right corner of your display > Tap on the red circle with the line in the middle at the top left corner of the Shared Album you want to delete > Delete. 

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Apple Photos People & Places tips and tricks

How to view your photos on a map in Apple Photos

Apple Photos allows you to see your photos on a map so you can look at where you have been and where you’ve taken photos. It also means you can quickly find the photos you took on your holiday to New York, for example.

Open Apple Photos > Tap on the Albums tab > Scroll down to People & Places > Tap on Places > You’ll then be able to move around the world map. Anywhere you have taken photos with your phone will appear in the respective city. 

How to associate photos with people in Apple Photos

Apple Photos will recognise people in your photos, pulling them into the People & Places section where you will then be able to label them. It’s great for when it comes to searching, allowing you to search for ‘Mum’ or your partners name and see all the pictures in your library with them in it.

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Albums tab > Scroll down to People & Places > Tap on People. A number of cards will be here with faces on them. Tap on a card with a person you want to label > Press ‘Add Name’ at the top of your screen > Type the name of the person > Select the person from your contact list.

If there are other photos that Apple thinks is the same person but it hasn’t confirmed them, these will then appear. Deselect any photos that aren’t the person in question and press ‘Done’. 

How to confirm additional photos of a tagged person in Apple Photos 

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Albums tab > Scroll down to People & Places > Tap on People > Tap on the person you want to check for additional photos of. If there are additional photos that need review, a button will appear at the top. Tap Review > Select ‘all photos of that person and tap on Confirm. 

How to favourite a person within People & Places in Apple Photos

You might have multiple people saved within your People & Places section. They are organised alphabetically, which means your partner or child might be further down the list than you would like. Don’t worry though, you can favourite them to put them at the top of the list when you hit the People section.

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Albums tab > Scroll down to People & Places > Tap on People > Tap the heart on the card of the person you want to favourite.

How to remove a person from your People Albums in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Albums tab > Scroll down to People & Places > Tap on People > Tap on the person you want to remove > Tap on the three dots in the circle in the top right corner > Remove [Name of Person] from People.

How to merge people in your People Albums in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Albums tab > Scroll down to People & Places > Tap on People > Press ‘Select’ in the top right corner > Select the cards of of the people you want to merge > Press ‘Merge’ in the bottom right corner.

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Apple Photos Search tips and tricks

The search function on Apple Photos allows you to search your photos by typing in things like ‘Holiday’ or ‘Concert’, but you can also search by People and Places too. 

How to use Search in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app, click on the Search tab in the bottom right and start by searching for something related to the photo you are looking for in the search bar at the top. You might remember it was in a nightclub, or on your birthday for example. 

Categories appear under the search bar, like ‘Baby’, ‘Summer’, ‘2017’, and all these categories have a number next to them relating to the number of photos within that category relating to the search term you have used. 

People also appear in the categories so you might search for ‘Concert’ and you might have gone with your friend ‘Lucy’. If there was a photo of you and Lucy together, you’ll find it if you tap on Lucy’s name at the top of the categories. 

You can also search for people directly in the search bar too, or places and all the photos in your library relating to the person or place you searched for will appear. 

It’s also worth noting you can select numerous categories for the search bar – similar to how you select multiple email addresses when sending an email –  and they will appear in the search bar at the top alongside each other, narrowing the search. 

For example, you could search for your partner’s name, select it if it appears in the categories below, then type in ‘Baby’, select that from the categories, then type in ‘Summer’ and select that. You’d then press Search in the bottom right of your screen and you’d get any photos of your partner with a baby in the summer come back. It’s excellent. 

If you don’t want to use the search bar, you can scroll down the Search tab and you’ll find a People section you can swipe though, as well as Places, Categories and Groups. 

How to clear your recent search history in Apple Photos

Open the Photos app > Tap on the Search tab > Scroll to the bottom where you will hit the Recently Searched section > Tap Clear on the right.