Drag/Drop Pictures from iPhone to MackBook

I'm having a heck of a time figuring out how to get pictures off my iPhone. (I've never used the camera before, so I know almost nothing about the workflow).

I tethered my iPhone to my MacBook. I then opened iPhoto on my MacBook. Once opened, it showed the 20 or so pictures that were taken on the iPhone. I pressed COMMAND+A (Select All), and then dragged the pictures to the destination folder on the MacBook. I'm fairly certain OSX picks up the action since there's a small badge by the cursor with the picture count as I drag around the screen.

Lo and behold, nothing gets transferred. I'm absolutely befuddled at the hardships the world's most advanced operating system is creating for such a simple operation.

Does anyone know how to put pictures where I want them?

Thanks in advance.