Organizing iPhone Photos

Have you organized photos using Folders?

To Organize albums in folders

1. Open the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad (easier to see on larger screen)
2. Tap Albums, then tap + and hold
3. Choose New Folder.
4. Name the folder, then tap Save.
5. Open the folder, tap Edit, then tap + to create a new album or folder inside the folder.

So instead of 100 Albums you might have 10 folders and in each folder 10 Albums.

It is a little annoying to set up (unless you have a Mac and can easily drag and drop) and select and move but easier to locate once bundled.

From Apple - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cZpxhihQGw

For example I have a folder called Photography

Within are many Albums, see photos below.

As you already have Albums set up (and if you don’t have a Mac) you can still fairly easily create the new Albums within folders and go to old Album, select all and place in new Albums within Folder, then delete the old Album, which does not delete the ONE photo.

and here are the Albums within Photography Folder

If you are using an iPhone (or iPad) you can manually move the albums to whatever order you wish. I don’t believe there is a one click way unless you have a Mac or try the iCloud option. FYI, I have over 150 albums and a few years ago discovered I could create Folders to group the albums after watching the Sync Sisters on YouTube.

In my case I find it quick to ”file” new photos as I have 8 Folders and a few random Albums. For example, if I take a bunch of garden photos, I go to Gardening folder and I can easily find the album I want (tomatoes, veg, landscaping, tulips, dahlias, and so on). My albums/folders are in the order I have placed them and they stay that way until I move them (see photo below).

To arrange Albums/Folders - Open Photos, Go to View All Albums, click Edit, you will see red “-“ sign on each Album, then hold finger on Album and drag where you want it to be, release, keep moving Albums, select Done. Shouldn’t take long even with 160 to arrange alphabetical or however you wish.

No matter how many folders or albums you create and place a photo in - there is only the original photo, these processes are not making copies. The folders/albums are like pointers back to the main Library/Camera Roll and the ONE photo. You can place a photo in 50 different Albums, you will still only have the one original photo.

Hi Qrpfun,

It looks like if you follow the steps here to search Search for photos on iPhone, it will search for albums as well. You might need to scroll down to see the album category. However, the search will only show your albums and not shared albums.

If you want to leave Apple feedback about this feature, you can do so here Product Feedback - Apple.

Take care.

Hey Qrpfun,

We can see how managing your extensive photo library on your iPhone may be time consuming. Have you tried organizing them using the iCloud website? It may be easier to drag and drop or quickly select from a list of albums on a bigger screen. Here's how:

Add photos and videos to an album

1. In Photos on iCloud.com, select the photos or videos you want to add to an album, click , then choose Add to Album.

2. From the pop-up menu, choose the album you want to add your selection to, then click Add.

You can also add photos and videos to an album by dragging them to the album in the sidebar.

Organize photos and videos in albums on iCloud.com - Apple Support

Kindest Regards.