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How to replicate nested folders of photos from Mac to iOS?

I use Lightroom on my Mac to export photos (from a variety of sources); these are exported into a logical, nested format, e.g.


Holidays

---Holidays 2010-2019

-----2010 Florida 2010

-----2011 Washington DC

---Holidays 2020-2029

etc


I am struggling to see how I can then get this structure (and photos) into Photos on the Mac and then copied to the iPhone. I can add folders into Photos simply by dragging and dropping, which DOES retain the folder structure under "My Albums"


However when I then use Finder to Sync to my phone (using Photos as the sync target) it does not retain the structure and the albums are copied to the phone in a single flat container (under "From My Mac" in iOS Photos). Whilst this does copy all the albums selected, the resulting structure is not ideal as I have scores and scores of nested folders. This will make browsing a bit of a chore!


Anyone have any suggestions, am I missing something obvious as to how to do this? I feel it is a fairly simple request of the Photos ecosystem, but maybe I'm wrong!


Thanks in advance! Gareth






iPhone 12 Pro Max

Posted on Jul 24, 2023 7:18 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 24, 2023 10:16 AM

A folder structure can be maintained during import like this:



However, folder organization is not available in iOS Photos. Tell Apple what new features you'd like to see via Apple via Feedback - iPhone - Apple


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7 replies

Jul 25, 2023 8:50 AM in response to Ralf-F

Thanks Ralf; currently only have 50Gb but willing to upgrade if I can get this working! Yep, I also use Lightroom Classic and export my "fave" photos as jpgs into a logical parent/child folder structure which I am hoping to replicate on the iPhone.

Can you please bullet point the steps as to how I would do this in terms of transferring my folder structure & photos to iCloud? So that I don't have to use the useless Finder Sync option :-)


Thanks very much,

Gareth

Jul 25, 2023 8:53 AM in response to Old Toad

Thanks for the cool video! I have indeed been able to do this no problems in Photos on the Mac, which is mirrored in My Albums.


As you point out tho, this structure is lost when syncing to the phone. Will definitely follow up with Apple.


Generally I use Plex for viewing my photos as it maintains whatever folder structure I have created, however the Plex server can be a bit iffy sometimes so looking to use a better, more reliable and solution.


Thanks!

Gareth

How to replicate nested folders of photos from Mac to iOS?

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