if i delete my photos off of my camera does it delete my pictures off of the "photos" app on my computer also?

If you have already backed up all of the pictures to Photos on your Mac, you should be just fine with deleting them from your phone. They should not disappear from Photos.

If you already deleted them off your iPhone and they still appear on your Mac right now then nothing will occur when plugging your iPhone into the computer unless you explicitly choose to import to iPhoto, or if in iTunes you have Sync Photos checked under the Photos settings off to the left column on the iPhone summary page.

In other words, nothing will happen just by simply plugging your iPhone in if the photos are still on the Mac at this time. The only time you could see something occur (whether it will or not) is if you go into iPhoto/Photos and choose to import/sync, or choose to sync your iPhone in iTunes and have Photos set to sync.

Have a look at this article and just make sure you don't have any of these photo sync settings enabled in iTunes before you choose to sync your iPhone with iTunes.

Sync photos from your computer to your iOS device using iTunes - Apple Support

The article linked in the post above has nothing to do with your concern, it refers to syncing from your computer to your iPhone, which is irrelevant to your question. Here is what you need to be concerned about:

1) Do you have iCloud Photo Library enabled? If so your pictures will sync across devices.

2) Do you have My Photo Stream enabled? If so this could also present issues.

3) If none of the above are enabled your pictures in your iPhone will reside in Camera Roll, not in All Photos, and if you have imported them to your computer already, deleting them on your iPhone will not delete them on your computer.

4) If you have either 1 or 2 enabled you need to read these articles before you take action:

Deleting photos from Photo Stream

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204022

Help with iCloud P. L.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204264

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204570

http://www.imore.com/how-use-icloud-photo-library-ultimate-guide

The article was referenced in this case because she is going to be plugging her iPhone into her computer and was worried that when she goes to sync it's going to alter the photos on her iPhone or her computer. If she originally has the option to "Sync Photos" checked in iTunes then upon plugging her iPhone into the computer and choosing to sync this could negatively affect the photos on her computer or iPhone. That's why I referenced the article "Syncing photos from your computer to your iOS device using iTunes".

Sorry for the confusion.

Have you had any luck, KarleeSteel?

bren_nan wrote:

The article was referenced in this case because she is going to be plugging her iPhone into her computer and was worried that when she goes to sync it's going to alter the photos on her iPhone or her computer. If she originally has the option to "Sync Photos" checked in iTunes then upon plugging her iPhone into the computer and choosing to sync this could negatively affect the photos on her computer or iPhone. That's why I referenced the article "Syncing photos from your computer to your iOS device using iTunes".

I understand your good intentions but please note the words I bolded and underlined above. Having "Sync Photos" checked will NOT do anything to her computer photos or her iPhone, she would have to follow that up by clicking on Sync or Apply at bottom right. Even if she has not checked the "Prevent iPhones from syncing automatically" under iTunes > Preferences > Devices, the worse that would happen is that all her photos get copied (not erased) from her computer.

I recommend that you test your answers with your own devices before posting them on the forum.

Regards,

elcpu

elcpu wrote:

bren_nan wrote:

The article was referenced in this case because she is going to be plugging her iPhone into her computer and was worried that when she goes to sync it's going to alter the photos on her iPhone or her computer. If she originally has the option to "Sync Photos" checked in iTunes then upon plugging her iPhone into the computer and choosing to sync this could negatively affect the photos on her computer or iPhone. That's why I referenced the article "Syncing photos from your computer to your iOS device using iTunes".

I understand your good intentions but please note the words I bolded and underlined above. Having "Sync Photos" checked will NOT do anything to her computer photos or her iPhone, she would have to follow that up by clicking on Sync or Apply at bottom right. Even if she has not checked the "Prevent iPhones from syncing automatically" under iTunes > Preferences > Devices, the worse that would happen is that all her photos get copied (not erased) from her computer.

I recommend that you test your answers with your own devices before posting them on the forum.

Regards,

elcpu

Understood. Thanks for the advice 😁

My pleasure. I do not want to dissuade you from posting here, please keep doing so and please keep offering your genuine recommendations to others who will no doubt appreciate them. 🙂