“Keep folder organisation” in Photos but still photos are shuffled inside folder

The import option "Keep folder organization" will import the photos into folders and albums corresponding to the nested Finder folders.

You can sort the albums manually, or by the capture date or by the title.

To be able to use the sort commands, you have two options:

1. Either copy the filenames with the image numbers to the title field. This can be done in the Info panel of a photo
2. Or adjust the date for each photo according to the correct date the photo has been taken. You can change the date of a photo with the command "Image > Adjust Date & Time".

I am using Apple Script to batch change the titles and the capture dates of scanned photos, because Photos has only limited batch change tools:

1. To copy the filenames to the titles see this user tip: Script: Batch Changing the Titles to the Filenames with Extension
2. To batch change the dates of selected photos to the same date see: Script: Batch Change the Date and Time to a fixed date

However am I understanding you correctly regarding the ordering of photos within a folder or album is purely date driven?

It will depend on the version of Photos.

In Photos 3.0 and 4.0 you can sort an album manually - drag the photos around to rearrange them. Oruse the sort command:

Ctrl-click the album in the sidebar and use "File > Sort > Keep sorted by ...".

But you have to provide the titles for sorting or to adjust the dates for sorting.

If you previously used iPhoto, this has been slightly easier, because iPhoto automatically used the filenames of the imported files as a title. And iPhoto has nice batch-change commands to adjust the dates. Photos does not do that. Photos treats the filenames only as filenames and does not use them as default titles. That is why you need to copy the filenames to the titles manually or by using a script.

This will work on a Mac. I have not found any way to reliably carry the sort order of an album over to an iPad. My way to deal with this is to make many small albums in sorted folders instead of just one large album. If an album only has a few photos taken on the same date or place, it will not matter so much if the sort order is not transferred to the iPad or iPhone. Are you syncing with iTunes or with iCloud Photos?

; the inability to add your pet as a face; or the fact that each device ipad and iphone has to start its own scan rather than accept the one from your MacBook....or have I misunderstood something here?

You can add any face name on the Mac, also for pets.

And if you use iCloud Photos (library) instead of iTunes syncing the named faces will be synced the iOS devices, also the folders and albums, but not the smart albums.

Moments are much more useful, if you tag all photos with places names. Then the moments will be named by the place and the date, and the collections will group related moments (photos taken in the same location/state over several days). The drawback of syncing with iCloud will be the fee for sufficient cloud storage, but otherwise it will give the best syncing results, because it will sync both ways- from the Mac to the iPhone/iPad and back.

Neither iCloud Sync no iTunes sync are perfect.

• I used iTunes Sync for a long time, but it is annoying that the synced those are treated in a special way and edits do not sync back. But the big advantage is, that we can sync selected albums, and that smart albums will be synced.
• iCloud photos sync is a true syncing and edits I apply only iPhone will sync back to my Macs. It is much better for the new formats on the Phone, like Portrait Mode pictures and Live Photos. But smart albums do not sync. And nearly all my albums are smart albums. I have to duplicate them as standard albums to get them to the iPhone.