HT204599: Sync media between your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and iTunes on your Mac or PC

Learn about Sync media between your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and iTunes on your Mac or PC
Michael Debonis

Q: Is there a way to manually move photos from my Mac to my iPad and iPhone?   I do not want to use photostream because I do not want to use up my memory on my moble devices with my entire photo collection.

Is there a way to manually move photos from my Mac to my iPad and iPhone?   I do not want to use photostream because I do not want to use up my memory on my moble devices with my entire photo collection.

iPad 2, iOS 9.3.1

Posted on Apr 15, 2016 3:06 AM

Close

Q: Is there a way to manually move photos from my Mac to my iPad and iPhone?   I do not want to use photostream because I d ... more

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie Apr 18, 2016 3:33 AM in response to Michael Debonis
    Level 10 (106,904 points)
    iLife
    Apr 18, 2016 3:33 AM in response to Michael Debonis

    With iTunes Photo Sync you can copy selected albums from your Photos Library to the iPhone or iPad.

     

    see:  Sync photos to your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch in iTunes - Apple Support

     

    But this method is only available, if you do not use iCloud Photo Library on your mobile device.

  • by Ashka,Solvedanswer

    Ashka Ashka Apr 18, 2016 3:29 AM in response to Michael Debonis
    Level 4 (3,865 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 18, 2016 3:29 AM in response to Michael Debonis

    I move all my photos to the iPhone & iPads through iTunes on the Mac. I also back two of the four up on iTunes too for the same reason as you.

    Attach the device to the Mac. Open iTunes if it isn't already open, select the device then scroll down to photos and select the ones you want. Then Sync.

    I have all of my photos in various folders in Photos so it's easy to choose the ones I want.

    Have fun.

  • by Michael Debonis,

    Michael Debonis Michael Debonis Apr 18, 2016 3:33 AM in response to Ashka
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Apr 18, 2016 3:33 AM in response to Ashka

    Thank you, this worked.  My basic problem was that iCloud photo sharing somehow was turned on.  I know that I previously had turned it off.  I'm not sure if I turned it back on, or it was the result of an update.  Once I tured it off and re-backed up my iPad, my photo library appeard in iTunes, just as you said it would.

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Apr 18, 2016 10:17 AM in response to Michael Debonis
    Level 10 (141,095 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 18, 2016 10:17 AM in response to Michael Debonis

    Just so you know, photos added to the My Photo Stream by a device is not stored on the other mobile devices. They are only imported into the Photos library on your Mac.  They are stored on the iCloud servers and streamed to each device.  That's why if you delete a photo from the MPS on one device it will be deleted from all MPSs. 

     

    The following is from this Apple document:  My Photo Stream FAQ - Apple Support

    To save storage space, your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch keep your most recent 1000 photos in the My Photo Stream album. From My Photo Stream, you can browse your photos or move the ones you like to another album to keep them on your iOS device forever. And if your Apple TV has limited storage, you'll see only your most recent photos.

    OTsig.png