Photos helps you keep your growing library organized and accessible. Powerful and intuitive editing tools help you perfect your images. Memories displays the best images from your photo library in beautiful collections. And with iCloud Photos, you can keep a lifetime’s worth of photos and videos stored in iCloud and up to date on all of your devices.

Before you begin

To take a photo using your Windows laptop camera, first open the Camera program by searching for it in the Start menu. When you’re ready to take a picture, click the camera-shaped “Capture” button at the bottom of the app window. To take a photo using a MacBook, open 'Photo Booth' from your applications. The PhotoStick is a neat innovative bit of invention that is a tiny USB. Use PictureEcho and cleanup an unlimited amount of duplicate. Switch from a Windows-based system to a Mac, or from an iPhone to an Android-powered one. A smartphone is 64 GB, and for a computer/ laptop, a staggering 1 TB!

• Update your Mac to the latest version of macOS.
• If you use iPhoto or Aperture to manage your photos and videos, upgrade to the Photos app.

Access all of your photos from anywhere

iCloud Photos automatically keeps all your photos in iCloud, so you can access them on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, Mac, iCloud.com, or on a PC. When you edit and organize images in the Photos app, your changes are kept up to date and visible everywhere.

Manage your iCloud storage

The photos and videos that you keep in iCloud Photos use your iCloud storage. Before you turn on iCloud Photos, make sure that you have enough space to store your entire collection. You can see how much space you need and then upgrade your storage plan if necessary.

Turn on iCloud Photos

It's easy to get started. Just turn on iCloud Photos in your Settings and make sure that you're signed in with the same Apple ID on all of your devices. On your Mac, go to System Preferences > iCloud and click the Options button next to Photos. Then select iCloud Photos.

Keep your photo library organized

On your Mac, your photo collection is separated into four main categories: Years, Months, Days, and All Photos. The All Photos tab shows all your photos and videos in chronological order. In Years, Months, and Days, you'll find your photos and videos grouped together based on the time and place they were taken.

The Photos app sorts your photos into Memories, Favorites, People, and Places in the sidebar under Library. The sidebar also shows what you and your friends have shared, your photo albums, and projects that you've created.

Learn more about organizing and finding your photos.

Do more with the Photos app

Your Mac is the place that you go to get things done. That’s why the Photos app makes it easier than ever to create a stunning slideshow, share with anyone you like, and quickly find the moment you’re looking for. All with a few clicks.

Play a slideshow or movie

You can prepare a slideshow directly in Photos with a few clicks. Open any album and click Slideshow. Customize the theme and music, then click Play Slideshow.

To play a movie, go to the Months or Days view, click the more button on any collection, then click Play Movie.

You can also view movies in the Memories section. Open a memory, then click the play button . As the movie plays, click the gear button to adjust the movie's mood and length.

Share with friends

Click the share button to share photos in Shared Albums, Mail, and more. Or send photos to your social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Search your photos

Find the photo or video you're looking for in no time. Just use the search bar that's built directly into the Photos toolbar. You can search for photos using names of family and friends, locations, or what appears in the photos, like cake or balloons.

Delete photos and videos from your library

If there are photos and videos that you don't want anymore, you can delete one at a time, or several.

Delete one photo

1. Select the photo that you want to delete.
2. Press the Delete key.
3. Confirm that you want to delete the photo.

Delete multiple photos

1. Press and hold the Command key.
2. Select the photos that you want to delete.
3. Press the Delete key.
4. Confirm that you want to delete the photos.
   

When you delete a photo, it goes into your Recently Deleted album, where it stays for 30 days. If you use iCloud Photos, the photos that you delete are moved into the Recently Deleted album on your other devices too. After 30 days, Photos deletes the photos permanently. You can permanently delete photos right away when you click Delete All in the Recently Deleted album.

When you delete photos directly from an album by pressing the Delete key, you only remove them from the album and not your entire photo collection. If you want to delete photos from both the album and your collection, press Command-Delete.

Edit your photos

Photos includes powerful, easy-to-use editing tools. You can apply adjustments to your photos and make them look exactly the way you like. Then if you want to start over, you can always revert to the original photo. Here's how to get started:

1. From the Photos view, or from within an album, double-click the photo you want to edit.
2. Click Edit in the upper-right corner of Photos.
3. The editing tools appear along the right side of the window. Click the tool you'd like to use.

After you edit your photo, click Done. Want to start over? Click Revert to Original. If you use iCloud Photos, you'll see the changes on all of your devices.

With Photos for macOS High Sierra and later, you can also send a photo to most third-party photo apps for editing, then save the changes right back into your library. Learn more about editing your photos with third-party apps and extensions.

See and add information about a photo

You can also add details to your photos, like a description, keywords, or a specific location. You can even Add Faces to name your friends and family in each photo.

To view the Info window, double-click a photo to open it and then click the information button in the upper-right corner, or select a photo and use the keyboard shortcut Command-I. Once you add information, you can use the Search bar to find photos by keyword, title, description, faces, or location.

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• 4 Connect a MicroSD Card to a USB Port

When you need to transport images, such as your company logo or a photo of your corporate headquarters to different offices, a professional printer or other off-site locations, carry them on a compact, lightweight Secure Digital memory stick. If you require photos not already on the memory stick, you must obtain them from the computer first. Once you move them to the appropriate folder on the memory stick, you can plug the stick into any computer and transfer the images.

Insert the memory stick into an SD port on your computer or a memory card reader that's connected to the PC. Click the Windows orb and select 'Computer' in the right pane of the Start menu. Double-click the SD memory stick in the 'Devices with Removable Storage' section and then minimize the folder that opens.

Navigate to the folder containing the pictures that you want to copy or move to your memory stick. If you want to transfer the entire folder, navigate to the folder location but don't open it. If you want only certain pictures, open the folder. Press and hold the 'Ctrl' key and then click on each photo you want to transfer.

Right-click the folder or the photos you want to transfer. Click 'Cut' to remove the photos from their current location and transfer them to the memory stick, or click 'Copy' to transfer copies of the selected photos.

Open the minimized SD memory card folder. Right-click inside of the folder and click 'Paste' to transfer the images you cut or copied. Alternatively, you can drag the images from their current location to the SD card folder.

Close the memory stick folder. Click the 'Safely Remove Hardware' icon on the right side of your taskbar near the clock and select 'Eject.' Remove the memory stick from the SD port or card reader.

Tip

• Depending on your digital camera's configuration, it may not be able to display photos that have been edited or formatted on a computer and placed back on the memory stick. Other devices, such as printers and digital frames, however, will be able to view and display the images from the SD stick.

About the Author

Tricia Goss' credits include Fitness Plus, Good News Tucson and Layover Magazine. She is certified in Microsoft application and served as the newsletter editor for OfficeUsers.org. She has also contributed to The Dollar Stretcher, Life Tips and Childcare Magazine.

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