I have an old macpro, how easy is it to move photos etc to a new Apple laptop

If you can connect them via target disk mode, it will no more difficult than a tradition drag and drop.

https://support.apple.com/kb/PH10725?locale=en_US

Ciao.

Move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

How old is old? What OSX version on the old Mac?

Migration Assistant in OS X Mavericks and Yosemite can transfer information from other computers that have OS X Snow Leopard v10.6.8 or later installed. If you're migrating from a computer with an earlier version of OS X, update your older computer first, or manually copy your data from one computer to another.

From:

Move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support